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Darkrooms

The must-read debut thriller of 2026! Dark, twisty and shocking

Rebecca Hannigan

$59.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English
Sphere
27 January 2026
'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' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
By:  
Imprint:   Sphere
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 236mm,  Width: 158mm,  Spine: 38mm
Weight:   580g
ISBN:   9781408733783
ISBN 10:   1408733781
Pages:   368
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

Rebecca Hannigan was born in London but raised in Sunderland by Irish immigrant parents, and therefore never quite fit in anywhere. She has worked in marketing in London for ten years and DARKROOMS is her first novel. Hannigan is based in South-East England, where she lives with her husband, cat, and far too many books.

Reviews for Darkrooms: The must-read debut thriller of 2026! Dark, twisty and shocking

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 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 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 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 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 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


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