It is 2021 and Rachel Murray is an Irish journalist, married, pregnant and living in London, when her 2009 self presents itself in a pub and she decides to tell her story.

In 2009, Rachel was a college student living in Cork Ireland and working at a book store.  The country was in a financial recession and Rachel’s parents (her father a dentist and her mother also working in the practice) had fallen on hard times.  Rachel meets James Devlin at the book store and they become fast friends.  James suggests she move out of her parents’ home and live with him. Rachel is fairly certain that James is gay but he denies it.  She decides to move in with him.

Rachel has a crush on her professor, Dr. Fred Byrne.  He is 38 years old in 2009 and married to Deenie, a book publisher.  Dr. Byrne has published a book call “The Kensington Diet”, which is about Irish writers during the famine.  Dr. Byrne shows up at the book store and asks how many copies the store has ordered of his book.  Rachel looks on the computer, sees that the number is zero and tells Dr. Byrne that the store has ordered 15, all customer requests.  She then arranges for him to launch the book at the store.  She is hoping she can use the opportunity to seduce him.

When the book launch is over she goes to the stock room to return some of the books where she finds James and Dr. Byrne in a passionate embrace.  This is the beginning of an intensive romantic relationship between the two.

Rachel meets a man named James Carey.  He is six years older than Rachel and seems to be at loose ends.  They begin a passionate relationship, but James is erratic.  Long stretches of time pass when he is absent and uncommunicative and the relationship ends.  In the meantime, she is trying to figure out what she wants to do after graduation and is considering publishing.  Dr. Byrne arranges for her to have an internship with Deenie for a modest (very Modest) wage.    Dr. Byrne and James are on and off and James decides that he and Rachel should move to London.  James has been writing a television show and is hoping to sell the show. Rachel is considering whether to move.

Carey and Rachel reconnect and she has trouble telling him that she plans to move to London with James.  Carey’s mother becomes ill and he moves home to help.  She is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, for a variety of reasons Rachel and Carey’s relationship is on and off.

In the meantime, Rachel is doing more and more work for Deenie but Deenie does not increase her pay.  “I was terrified of being ungrateful, so instead I said nothing, and just became resentful.”

The bookstore falls on hard times and Rachel is fired.  She gets a job at a local call center which she finds absolutely mind numbing.  Deenie accuses her of having an affair with Dr. Byrne and ultimately, Rachel uses the accusation to her benefit and moves to London.  James gets a job with a night show and moves to New York where he becomes fabulously wealthy.

Rachel returns to Ireland to visit her family with her newborn son.  While she is there she faces her past through an encounter with Deenie.  If you want to know the rest you have to read the book. The Rachel Incident is a clever, twisting coming of age story, with joy and sorrow and a lot of humor.  You can reserve the novel at the Cuyahoga County Public Library by clicking on: https://discover.cuyahogalibrary.org/Record/213801