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A Book of the Year in THE TIMES, THE GUARDIAN, and ELLE

‘A treat’ – Paul Murray, author of The Bee Sting
‘Dazzling’ – Colin Walsh, author of Kala
‘Brilliant’ – The Times
‘Ingenious’ – The Telegraph
‘Terrific’ – The New York Times
‘Heartbreaking’ – The Guardian

THE HEART IS A LOCKED ROOM

Abigail’s brother Benjamin is dead, and her world has literally been split in two. In one reality Abigail finds herself back at work, navigating the frustrations of well-wishers and busybodies, desperately wondering why her brother has gone. In the other an eminent detective arrives determined to find Benjamin’s killer among his circle of close friends.

Is this a murder mystery or something more? What secrets do Benjamin’s friends hold? And can Abigail, immersed in her grief, find out the truth of her beloved brother’s life?

Publisher Review

Louise Hegarty’s genre-splicing debut is a treat – clever, confident, and always surprising, a mystery story that ingeniously escapes the locked room of the genre to take on the biggest questions of life and death — Paul Murray, author of The Bee Sting As soon as I finished this fiendishly elegant jigsaw puzzle of a book, I dashed back and scoured its pages trying to find if Hegarty had planted a glinting, hidden clue somewhere to unlock the mystery * The Sunday Times * A brilliant dissection of the murder mystery format . . . Both funny and moving, it’s a really impressive debut — The Times, ‘Best Books of 2025 So Far’ Dazzling, formally subversive, brimming with compassion, Fair Play explodes the conventions of a mystery in order to confront us with the genuinely mysterious. An emotional ambush of a novel, this book will delight readers – then it will haunt them — Colin Walsh, author of Kala It takes skill, and even a sense of anarchy, to produce a novel as funny, baffling and occasionally moving as Fair Play — The Irish Times A fiendishly designed, intricately layered, psychologically astute tale, and so elegantly written too. I’ve never read anything like it . . . a story of striking originality. I am full of admiration. — Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters An ingenious puzzle-box of a novel . . . Sad, funny, clever, engrossing; this is a wonderful debut. — Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13 Undoubtedly the most original crime novel you’ll read all year * The Guardian * [An] ingenious debut novel — The Telegraph A witty, knowing homage to classic detective fiction, but also a deeply sensitive examination of the loneliness and confusion of grief * The New York Times * Fair Play is ambitious and unpredictable and riotous and at the same time full of meaning and compassion. It’s a triumph — Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies With each turn of a page the plot thickens masterfully and the form twists like a wicked game. Get to the Louise Hegarty party early, she’s brilliant — Jodie Harsh, author of You Had To Be There Each time you think you’ve got the measure of this clever and immensely readable debut, it turns around at the door, looks you in the eye, and offers up one more twist, one more audacious shattering of genre and convention that you never saw coming — Andrew McMillan, author of Pity A smart, intricately plotted novel — iNews Acts as both witty deconstruction of a genre and portrait of unbearable grief and loss * Financial Times * I loved it . . . intriguing, smart, fun, and devastatingly poignant . . . I shall now read everything Louise Hegarty ever writes — Effie Black, author of In Defence of the Act In crime novels, a death is often merely the inciting incident. Murder gets the party started, so to speak. Grief, the monster in the shadows that keeps you awake at night, rarely features. That Louise Hegarty has not only upended the genre, but combined this with a moving exploration of loss, makes this inventive debut all the more impressive * Irish Independent * Louise Hegarty is such a talented writer. In Fair Play, she delivers a Rubik’s Cube of a debut novel, both an expert evocation of a Golden Age mystery and something else entirely. I was moved and surprised and I can’t wait to see what she does next — Catherine Kirwan, author of Cruel Deeds A fantastical locked room mystery — PA Review Fair Play shows how the true mysteries of death and life can elude the consolations of genre fiction . . . Fair play, indeed * The Wall street Journal * Amazing . . . a really modern, interesting, bizarre take on the murder mystery . . . It’s brilliant * LA Times * An ingenious take on how we make sense of both life and death — Guardian Books of the Year