In Paul Perry’s The Garden

(New Island Books, approx €14.95, out now), we meet Swallow, an Irish immigrant who works on an orchid farm. His garden, however, has seen better days, thanks to the aftermath of the worst hurricane in Florida’s living memory. Soon Romeo, an enigmatic outsider with legendary horticultural skills, is hired, but all is not what it seems and the hunt for a ghost orchid begins to haunt them all. An enjoyable and captivating Irish debut.