Sinead Crowley

"With consciousness came distress. Her eyes flickered open and met his. but her thirst was greater than her feat and she moved her hand feebly on the blanket, her fingers flickering in the direction of the bedside locker."

(adapted from Goodreads) Struggling with a new baby in a new city with a new husband, Yvonne turns to an online support group for help and support. When one of her new friends goes offline, Yvonne is concerned but dismisses her fears. She doesn't know the woman, after all. show more But when the body of a young woman with striking similarities to Yvonne’s missing friend is found, Yvonne realises that they’re all in terrifying danger. Can she persuade Sergeant Claire Boyle, herself about to go on maternity leave, to take her fears seriously?

This felt quite slow to get going (despite the nearly first-page murder), as two apparently separate storylines took their time to intermingle. Once we did get going though, there was no stopping our twisty-turny plot. Relatively straightforward to children of the internet age, some of it might be confusing to older readers. I loved it.Writing? So standard, so good, right? for a police procedural? I've got nothing to say on the writing - nothing exceptional, but certainly nothing that got in the way or in any way detracts from the book.

As I always do, I really like the lead police character in this one; and of course she's a single-minded five-months-pregnant go-getter determined to absolutely get this bad guy right now. Yvonne came across as a bit pathetic, but on the whole totally believable and rounded. I was unconvinced by Eamonn as a character - he seems overly charming, too nice. But for me the most skilful bit of character-building was the online chat - Yvonne's character chatted online in a manner that fitted her offline personality, and the other online voices were easily distinguishable and well-built up.

My knowledge of Dublin is zero (never having been), and Crowley sets the scene well with the run-down estate, the dingy pub, the pleasant terrace houses, the surety of rain at an Irish funeral. There's a smattering of Irish dialect to make absolutely sure that you know you're in Ireland - I didn't mind it, and I imagine it makes the dialogue more authentic. It certainly doesn't get in the way.

And I most definitely did not see the identity of the bad guy coming. I had a couple of indications in that general direction, but it was a huge surprise to me when it was revealed. A quick, thrilling read, and a slightly scary look into online forums (fora?) and life. show less

A multi timeframe story set in Ireland. It starts in 1825 where we meet Deidre FitzMahon, daughter of the owner of Hollowpark House. In 2007 Grace, who is a nanny, moves from Greece to Ireland to look after three year old Skye FitzMahon. Events come to light about the disappearance of a teenager in 1973. Grace starts to see faces at windows of Hollowpark and mysterious ghostly figures. Can it all be connected?

I very much enjoyed this intriguing tale. I hadn’t realised it had a supernatural show more element when I started reading it but as the spectral side of it emerged, I was gripped and I thought it was very well done. I loved the thought of the maze and the tower, they put me in mind of the Minotaur and Rapunzel! It’s evocatively written with some vivid descriptions and some great characters. I liked how the three timelines interconnected. It was all pulled together wonderfully. The ending is maybe a little too neatly tied up but don’t let this detract from the enjoyment of this book. It’s fiction at the end of the day where anything goes. An engaging, atmospheric and compelling ghost story about secrets and about how the past can catch up with you. Hollowpark looks after its own. show less

This book centres around internet message board, Netmammy. As the name suggests, it's an Irish site for mums and mums-to-be. Yvonne Mulhern is one of its users, increasingly reliant on it to get her through each day with her baby daughter. When a young mother goes missing and is later found dead, she thinks there might be a link with one of her online friends. Detective Sergeant Claire Boyle, herself pregnant, is the investigating officer.

I enjoyed this thriller. I've seen reviews that say show more there are too many pregnancy and baby references. As the mother of a 5 month old who spent a lot of her pregnancy on similar forums I really liked the fact it was very orientated towards mothers, but I can imagine that it might not appeal so much to those without children. Nevertheless, it's a great story that kept me guessing completely until the big reveal at the end.

It's very current and makes you think about just how much you are revealing about yourself online. I raced through it and found it to be a page turner. show less

Bought this on impulse on the way through Dutyfree for a short holiday in Spain and finished a good chunk of it on the plane. I hadn't heard of this author before, but bought it just because of the on cover reviews, which sounded like a page turner – something that could be read while lying in the sun, on a lounger with the book in one hand and a G&T in the other.

And so it proved. The drinks ice melted to water often during the few days in the sun, G&T forgotten and it was only hunger show more pangs that brought me back from Southern Ireland (where the story is set) to Andalusia, for some tapas and to refresh the gin.

I liked the 'Oirish' phrases that are scattered through the book “Jaysus, you eejit!” and “...he got on the bus to be sure, I'm only after remembering that now.” to give example from each extreme. This syntax had me thinking all the narrative passages in an Irish accent.

A detective, psychological, murder thriller, easy to read and hard to put down. It soon becomes apparent that this is a secound book in what might be a series, now I must get the prequel. show less