Cat Step – new novel from Alison Irvine

Alison’s second novel, Cat Step (Dead Ink Books), was published in November 2020. It was an editor’s pick on Radio 4’s Open Book, a Guardian readers’ favourite book of 2020 and was included in the inews’ 50 best books for Christmas 2020.

Set in Lennoxtown, just north of Glasgow, Alison applied her non-fiction research techniques of oral history taking for the book’s research. She interviewed residents of a sheltered housing complex, former cruise ship dancers and social workers for her literary fiction novel about a mum whose decision to leave her four-year-old in the car for a short time impacts badly on her barely held-together life.

Alison has received Creative Scotland funding to support the writing of her third novel.

Reviews:

Cat Step by Alison Irvine: book review – The Skinny

Cat Step by Alison Irvine, review: A pacey read about a single mother who makes a single mistake (inews.co.uk)