Dublin 6: €1.6mThe four-bed home of thriller writer John Connolly proves an interesting plot and includes the room where his novels were penned, writes Rose Doyle

Writer John Connolly is selling the Rathgar home in which many of his spine-chilling and highly literate thrillers began their journey to bookshelves and the best-seller list.

At the quieter, lush leafy end of Frankfort Avenue, number 48 was built in 1877 as part of a red-brick terrace and has kept its original features intact. Plasterwork, doors, windows and flooring all lend themselves with considerable grace to the Victorian layout which, with three floors and two large returns, makes it feel as if the house is on five levels.

There are some 176sq m (1,900sq ft) over those levels in which four bedrooms, two reception rooms and a big eat-in kitchen make for a good family home. The asking price is €1.6m and agent Felicity Fox is looking after the private treaty sale.

The colours throughout - earthy brown-pinks, dark honey wood, creamy ceramics and the occasional yellow - create a mood of timeless opulence and comfort. The drawing and diningrooms have sliding, interconnecting doors with ornate leaded-glass panels, a delight mirrored in the French window opening from the diningroom to the rear patio and garden. A contemporary, sandstone fireplace adds a warm shape and tone in the drawingroom and a wide box window gives a lot of light.

A vaulted glass ceiling and wall of windows added to the kitchen/breakfastroom help make the old-style fuschia, hydrangea and rich, bushy plant life of the patio and garden an intimate part of breakfasting.

The landing on the first return has a leaded glass window to the side, beside which there's a reading/book shelved area. The bathroom on this return is large with ceramic tiles on walls and floor and a claw-foot, free-standing bath as well as separate shower.

The main bedroom is to the front, off the first landing, and has an impressive three windows overlooking Frankfort Avenue. A second bedroom on this floor overlooks rear gardens as does another, en suite bedroom on the second return.

When not working in the US (where his novels are set), John Connolly spends a lot of writing time in the quiet, top-floor study with his private eye character, former police officer Charlie Parker, the lead player in most of his novels - including The Unquiet, his current best-seller. It's where he's also worked on a book of ghost stories, a non-Parker thriller, and a magical children's book. Filled with light, bookshelves, an interesting nook or two and with an en suite, it could make a bedroom - with-a-history or, now it's been "broken-in", continue as a study/office.

The attic bedroom is en suite, has a Velux and front window and lots of storage.