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‘Will chill you to the bone … fantastic’ PAULA HAWKINS
‘Brilliant … a terrific start to a series’ MICK HERRON
‘An instant crime classic’ ERIN KELLY
‘Will take your breath away’ JANICE HALLETT

Every place has its ghosts. Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most.

17 years ago, its inhabitants were hit by tragedy when a school bus veered off the road and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since.

Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants to find the very real killer who has left no trace and apparently had no motive.

Joining forces, Joe and Laurie work to uncover the secrets of Edenscar, both past and present.

But when you dig up the dead, expect to get your hands dirty…

PRAISE FOR SARAH HILARY:

‘An astonishingly gifted writer’ MARIAN KEYES

‘A master of her craft… she makes the words sing’ ANN CLEEVES

‘Sarah Hilary writes beautifully and unflinchingly’ PETER JAMES

‘Hilary is my drop-everything writer; always original, always bang-on psychologically, always gripping’ ALEX MARWOOD

‘Sarah Hilary has always known how to chill her readers’ VAL MCDERMID

Publisher Review

A crime fiction masterclass. Sarah Hilary's latest touches on survivor's guilt, small towns, murders and driven detectives in prose that rivals the best in the business -- STEVE CAVANAGH Wonderful, sad and wise. It's a relentless crime drama, a devastating meditation on loss, and a dual character study full of humour and charm. Hilary doesn't just investigate an unspeakable crime; she investigates the human heart. I'll be counting the days until I can get back to Edenscar. -- ABIGAIL DEAN Will chill you to the bone... Fantastic * Paula Hawkins * Darkly atmospheric and overflowing with humanity, The Drowning Place is both breathtakingly original and an instant crime classic. An career best from the inimitable Sarah Hilary. -- ERIN KELLY Works on multiple levels: a compelling murder mystery, an examination of the impact of survivor's guilt, and an empathetic dissection of life in small town Britain. Written with Hilary's trademark flair for prose, this first episode in a new police procedural series sings with originality and authenticity -- VASEEM KHAN I've found my favourite new series. The Drowning Place is the first in Sarah Hilary's gothic-tinged, Peak District-set police series, introducing us to an engaging and emotionally-complex cast of characters, with her trademark astute and compelling writing. A moving, gripping and unique exploration of survivor's guilt, and the web of relationships and secrets in a small-town community. Happy Valley, but haunted. I genuinely can't wait for the next book in the series -- ANNA MAZZOLA Brilliant! A truly impressive piece of work that breaks new ground for the genre - dark, original and quite alarmingly readable. I'm delighted we'll be seeing more of Sammi, Joe and Laurie - and I hope the gothic world of the Peak District -- ANDREW TAYLOR Crime novels often feature the detectives' personal lives alongside their professional work but in this book the two truly intertwine with poignant, sometimes shocking results. DS Joe Ashe is a beautifully drawn character to be sympathised with, but never pitied, while the rural Derbyshire landscape, expertly evoked forms a stunning backdrop for a very satisfying mystery. The Drowning Place marks the start of a wonderfully constructed police procedural series, where the crime at the heart of the novel is only part of the very moving story -- SINEAD CROWLEY Exceptional. This is impeccable crime fiction from one of the very best writers of her generation: gripping, moving, taut and utterly compelling. DS Joe Ashe and DI Laurie Bower won my heart and I'm counting the days until the next in this superb new series. -- JANE CASEY Beautifully written with a premise that grips you from the start, I fell in love with this new novel from Sarah Hilary. -- SARAH WARD A cracking read...shot through with pathos and pitch-dark humour, it's an utterly immersive mystery that teases via masterful misdirection and haunts you with the humanity of its characters. -- D. V. BISHOP Smart, beautifully balanced, and with a plot that blasts through defences, this start to a new detective series is an absolutely cracker. * LoveReading.co.uk * Brilliant... a terrific start to a series * Mick Herron * Shot through with pathos and pitch-dark humour, it's an utterly immersive mystery that teases via masterful misdirection and haunts you with the humanity of its characters. Best of all, the first in a series! * DV Bishop * Sarah Hilary has created something truly special and unique. A soulful, haunting mystery that brings something entirely new to the genre, all told with Hilary's stand-out prose to deliver a stellar first entry in a new series that I immediately want to read more of. Bring on book two! * C.M. Ewan * Absorbing, moving, unforgettable ... I've never read a book quite like The Drowning Place. A grieving town, a haunted detective and a crime that affects the living and the dead. A triumphant start to a new series from the brilliant Sarah Hilary * Elly Griffiths * A character-driven plot that will take your breath away. A first class read * JANICE HALLETT * Darkly atmospheric and overflowing with humanity, The Drowning Place is both breathtakingly original and an instant crime classic. A career best from the inimitable Sarah Hilary. * Erin Kelly * The Drowning Place is a masterpiece. Simple as that. A gripping, atmospheric, chilling novel replete with Sarah Hilary's trademark unnerving turn of phrase and layered characterisation. A thriller that lingers long after lights out * William Hussey * A dazzling crime novel that heralds the start of an unmissable new police procedural series. Sarah Hilary's writing is bitingly authentic and riven with emotional insight. I loved every page of this dark, propulsive, and assured novel. * Lucy Clarke *