Where They Lie

An immersive, literary thriller about an ambitious young female journalist whose investigation of a long missing actress will take her through the misty streets and tangled underworld of 1960s Dublin—and force her to confront the dark, long buried secrets of her own past. Some stories demand to be told. They keep coming back, echoing down through the decades, until they find a teller Dublin, 1943. Actress Julia Bridges disappears. She was last seen entering the house of Gloria Fitzpatrick, who is later put on trial for the murder of a woman whose abortion she facilitated. But it’s never proved that Gloria had a hand in Julia’s death—and Julia’s body has never been found. Gloria, however, is sentenced to life in an institution for the criminally insane, where she’s found dead a few years later from an apparent suicide, and the truth of what happened to Julia Bridges dies with her. Until . . . Dublin, 1968. Nicoletta Sarto is an ambitious junior reporter for the Irish Sentinel when the bones of Julia Bridges are discovered in the garden of a house on the outskirts of the city. Drawn into investigating the 25-year-old mystery of Julia’s disappearance and her link to the notorious Gloria Fitzpatrick, Nicoletta becomes immersed in the tangled underworld of the illegal abortion industry, stirring up long-buried secrets from her own past. A beautifully atmospheric, timely thriller, Where They Lie uses a murder mystery as a lens to focus on the long struggle of women fighting to achieve autonomy and succeed in a man’s world...M.F 'A superb novel, evoking a bygone era when women could not afford to put a foot wrong' SUNDAY TIMES 'This isn't just a mystery novel: it's a window into a vanished world' TANA FRENCH Some stories demand to be told. They keep coming back, echoing down through the decades, until they find a teller . . . Dublin, 1943 Actress Julia Bridges disappears. Her body is never found. Dublin, 1968 The bones of Julia Bridges are discovered in a back garden. Nicoletta Sarto, an ambitious junior reporter for the Irish Sentinel , investigates the mystery of Julia's disappearance, drawing her into the tangled underworld of the illegal abortion industry. But some stories remain a mystery for a reason, and it's not long before this one stirs up buried secrets from Nicoletta's own past. Secrets that perhaps should stay buried . . . 'A thrillingly dark and atmospheric tale, richly evocative of its time' JOHN BANVILLE 'Atmospheric and absorbing, . . . A dark and turbulent journey to unexpected truths' VAL McDERMID 'A dark, gorgeously-written thriller' NICCI FRENCH 'Atmospheric, authentic, and almost unbearably poignant . . . transports the reader back in time while holding up a mirror to the present. A must-read' ERIN KELLY 'Gripping and brilliantly atmospheric' RODDY DOYLE 'Deliciously evocative and atmospheric . . . a shocking story, stylishly told' IRISH SUNDAY INDEPENDENT