Darkrooms

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What to expect

'Haunting, fast-paced and unforgettable' KARIN SLAUGHTER


'Astonishing' LUCY ROSE


A chilling thriller' PETER SWANSON


A masterful, menacing debut' ANNA BAILEY


__________

Two girls went into the Hanging Woods. Only one returned.

Twenty years ago Caitlin vowed never to return to her small Irish hometown. Now she drifts from temporary jobs to temporary men, trying to escape memories of the Hanging Woods. Of what happened to Roisin there.

But with news of her estranged mother's sudden death, Caitlin is forced to return home, back to the town where everyone knows each other's business and old resentments run deep.

Roisin's sister Deedee, now a Garda, has never given up on finding the truth of what happened in those woods. And Caitlin's return makes old wounds fresh, threatening to exhume secrets that have lain buried for two decades - while the Hanging Woods begin their siren call to Caitlin and Deedee once more . . .
__________

FIVE-STAR READER REVIEWS OF DARKROOMS

'Honestly this is one of the best books I've ever read' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'the novel grips you with its atmospheric tension and emotional resonance' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'No matter what theories I formed, I was still no where close to figuring out the final twists' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Hannigan has gone above and beyond in building astonishingly raw, brutal, real characters' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'If you like dark twisty mystery thrillers you have to keep an eye out for this one' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'This is a gripping, masterfully written debut' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Critics Review

Haunting, fast-paced and unforgettable
Karin Slaughter, author of WE ARE ALL GUILTY HERE
Impressive . . . A well paced story of shame, guilt, misplaced loyalty and generational trauma, the conclusion of which has a heartbreaking inevitability
Guardian
Darkrooms is a powerful firecracker of a debut. It's an unflinching and brutal thriller, but a rare, bleeding and cadenced feminist story lurks just beneath. It is, in a single word, astonishing
Lucy Rose, author of THE LAMB
A creepy, imaginative, and moody thriller that explores the rippling effects of a young girl's disappearance in the woods near a small Irish village. A chilling mystery about damaged people and the secrets they keep
Peter Swanson, author of KILL YOUR DARLINGS
A masterful, menacing debut, which neither flinches from its own integral darkness nor succumbs to it. Rebecca Hannigan is a powerful new voice in literary thriller fiction
Anna Bailey, author of TALL BONES
Darkrooms possesses some of the most piercing, haunting character work since Tana French
Tom Benn, author of OXBLOOD
The plot's slow burn heats up at just the right pace, and the twists excite without straining plausibility. Readers will look forward to Hannigan's next outing
Publishers Weekly
Rebecca Hannigan is a brilliant new voice and I loved Darkrooms. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel because the story is so assured, sophisticated and complex, with brilliant characters and a really cleverly constructed plot that had me hooked from the first chapter. It also felt really fresh and contemporary, while also having all of the elements I love in a mystery novel. An utterly gripping and modern novel
Edel Coffey, author of BREAKING POINT
Tense, atmospheric and unforgettable. Darkrooms is an enthralling and haunting novel, beautifully written and skilfully plotted. And the ending will leave you gasping
B. P. Walter, author of THE GARDEN PARTY
A lush, moody mystery. Darkrooms is gripping and atmospheric, as two women wrestle with guilt and injustice
Flynn Berry, author of TRUST HER
I adored this simmering, tense novel. Both gripping and propulsive, yet somehow still slow burning and intensely atmospheric, it is as disorientating as a double exposure, with layers of shifting timelines, viewpoints, secrets, memories. In it, I saw the grittiness of Colin Walsh's Kala meeting the otherworldliness of Tana French, but it forges its own dark path in its twisting uneasiness . . . Haunting and brilliant
Emma Van Straaten, author of THIS IMMACULATE BODY
A finely plotted mystery, two complicated young women and a dark, dark wood, what's not to like? I could not get enough of these characters, their unease with each other, with themselves and their small town. Darkrooms is an arresting and atmospheric debut from a striking new voice
Emma Styles, author of NO COUNTRY FOR GIRLS
In this complex and riveting debut, Hannigan brings an almost unbearable angst and growing sense of menace in a narrative that goes back and forth in time in alternating voices
Booklist
Darkrooms is a twisting, shifting kaleidoscope of Irish noir . . . A real page-turner that immersed me in the very dark, claustrophobic world of policing small communities
Nina Bhadreshwar, author of THE DAY OF THE ROARING
Elegant, unsettling and evocative, Darkrooms is a simmering literary thriller that got under my skin. A haunting exploration of the ties that bind us to the past, and the danger of secrets long buried - I loved it. The last chapter made me cry
Nicci Cloke, author of CLOSE YOUR EYES
A thrilling revelation: a complex look at the mythologies we create surrounding much-loved people and places
BookPage
A perfectly executed and exquisitely layered piece of literary crime fiction with two relatable and flawed protagonists. The setting shows a rural Ireland that's far from the leprechauns and Guiness clichés but instead is something darker and more visceral. I was completely absorbed into this accomplished debut
Chris Bridges, author of SICK TO DEATH
Hannigan's first novel is equal parts engrossing character study and moody thriller . . . This brooding, atmospheric suspense novel explores the grim underbelly of a small Irish town; perfect for fans of Tana French and Liz Nugent
Library Journal
An intricate, twisted thriller where secrets can't stay buried - and will forever haunt a small Irish town and its inhabitants. Moody and evocative, it's a dark, layered tale and a powerful debut
Clémence Michallon, author of THE QUIET TENANT
Beautifully written and claustrophobic . . . Hannigan does a brilliant job of making us empathise with her two morally-dubious main characters
Trevor Wood, author of THE INSIDE MAN
Unforgettably unsettling . . . Hannigan's beguiling debut offers the reader so much more than merely a superbly-crafted mystery; it is an elegy to childhood trauma, beckoning us deeper and deeper into her Hanging Woods with every step, every whispered lie
Nicolás Obregón, author of THE IWATA SERIES
Rebecca Hannigan's debut is deeply impressive. Skilful and unexpected, Darkrooms slowly builds dread in the stomach, takes the reader through a small town, and leads them to a horrifying conclusion
Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of I DIED AT FALLOW HALL
With an explosive ending, this Irish noir explores the insidious effects of the past on the present, and asks whether some secrets should be buried forever
Candis
Twisty, dark and utterly compulsive
Irish Examiner
An ambitious debut thriller . . . Told across two timelines, it nails the complex tapestry of small town life and reminds us that festering secrets never stay hidden forever . . . A page turner
Sunday Independent

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