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The Drowning Place

Sarah Hilary

$34.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
Harvill
21 April 2026
Series: DS Joseph Ashe
The first in a stand-out and haunting new crime series for fans of Vera, Broadchurch and Happy Valley. Set in a town steeped in history and horror, the series follows DS Joseph Ashe, a young man haunted by the ghosts of his past and struggling with survivor's guilt, and DI Laurie Bower, an outsider fighting to fit in.

'A master of her craft... she makes the words sing' ANN CLEEVES 'An astonishingly gifted writer' MARIAN KEYES

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...
By:  
Imprint:   Harvill
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 153mm,  Spine: 25mm
Weight:   408g
ISBN:   9781787305403
ISBN 10:   1787305406
Series:   DS Joseph Ashe
Pages:   336
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

Sarah Hilary is the critically-acclaimed author of nine novels. Her debut, Someone Else's Skin, won the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year 2015 and was also a World Book Night selection, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a finalist for both the Silver Falchion and Macavity Awards in the US. No Other Darkness, the second in her DI Marnie Rome series, was shortlisted for a Barry Award. Sarah is Programme Director for St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend, and co-founder of Ledburied, a crime fiction festival in her home town. Her short stories have won the Fish Criminally Short Histories Prize, the Cheshire Prize for Literature, and the SENSE Prize. www.sarahhilary.com

Reviews for The Drowning Place

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


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