Crookedwood - Liza Costello

'Liza Costello writes beautifully and there are echoes of Donal Ryan and Tana French in this intriguing slice of slow-burn rural noir.' Catherine Kirwan, author of Cruel Deeds

'Captures the claustrophobic nature of small town life with its gossip and innuendo, secrets and lies... Filled with characters you care about, Crookedwood keeps you guessing right to the end.' Louise Phillips, author

Crookedwood, quiet Irish midlands town, place of secrets, past and present. Sarah left it behind years ago for life in the city, where she's now a rising star of the Dublin culinary scene.

She's home to help her mother sell the family farm. One evening, while out walking in the nearby woods, Sarah is chased by a man and his vicious dog, narrowly escaping injury. In the days to follow - as painful memories resurface of another dark night in the woods years before - further unsettling events unfold, and Sarah becomes convinced that she is under threat, despite the reassurances of those close to her.

What might she have stumbled upon on her walk? Who could be after her, and why? As Sarah closes in on hidden agendas at work in the town, dangerous forces close in on her.

It soon becomes clear that, in order to survive, Sarah must return to the dark place where it all began.

Crookedwood is a compulsive psychological thriller about buried trauma, small town vendettas and how, in the dark woods, the only person who can save you is yourself.