Cunningham's fiction is said to be distinguished by its fusing of political material with psychological realism and a lyrical sensitivity to place and people.
Cunningham's first novel, Noble Lord, was a thriller, written under the pseudonym Peter Lauder.
[1][2] He is best known for the historical novels The Sea and the Silence,[3] Tapes of the River Delta, Consequences of the Heart and Love In One Edition, which chronicle the lives of local families during the twentieth century in Monument, Cunningham's fictional version of Waterford, Ireland.
Cunningham's novel The Taoiseach,[4] based on the life of Charles J. Haughey, was a controversial bestseller.
Capital Sins,[5] a satirical novel, dealt with the collapse of the Irish economy during the Great Recession.