Darkrooms

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