Sarah

The second book in my DS Joseph Ashe series will be out in April 2027 and is available for pre-order now. Following on from The Drowning Place, it sees my new detective duo tackling a chilling crime in the Peak District, one with the power to haunt both Laurie and Joe.

You can read more about it here, where there are links to pre-order.

With The Drowning Place out on 16 April, I’ll be on the road so do pop along and say Hello if you’re able to make it to any of these great events.

14 April: Woking Library, with Abir Mukherjee

15 April: Daunt Books in Oxford, with Lucy Atkins

16 April: Serenity Booksellers in Romiley, with Chris McDonald

17 April: Dark Peak Books & Gifts in Glossop, with Anna Caig

22 April: Hull Noir, with Nick Triplow

23 April: Wilmslow Library

24 May: Derby Book Festival

2 June: Waterstones Hereford, with Peter Yates

20 June: Capital Crime in London, with Chris Brookmyre & Doug Johnstone

25 June: Bromsgrove Arts Festival

30 June: Ledbury Library

8th July: Rossiter Books in Ledbury

10 July: Newark Book Festival

23-26 July: Harrogate Crime Festival

18-19 Sept: Bloody Scotland

8-10 August: St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend, Oxford

19-22 Nov: Whitby Lit Festival

The Drowning Place is available from a choice of bookshops and online sites here.

Exciting to be on tour in April with The Drowning Place! I’m visiting amazing bookshops and speaking with brilliant writers. I’ll be at Book-Ish in Crickhowell with Vaseem Khan on Monday 13th then at Woking Library with Abir Mukherjee on Tuesday 14th before heading to Daunt Summertown in Oxford to talk with Lucy Atkins on Wednesday 15th. On Thursday 16th (publication day!) I’ll be with the Serenity Booksellers in Romiley, chatting to Chris McDonald, then wrapping up the week at Dark Peak Books & Gifts in Glossop with Anna Caig on Friday 17th.

Tickets and pre-orders of the book are available here.

—

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 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…

—

The Drowning Place is out in hardback, e-book and audiobook on 16 April.

Tickets and pre-orders of the book are available here.

I’m thrilled to share my book news! A series set in the Peak District, which I haunted as a child, introducing Detective Sergeant Joseph Ashe and Detective Inspector Laurie Bower. I am having huge fun writing these books, and working with the team at Harvill, and Vintage.

From the Bookseller:

Sarah Hilary’s next two novels will be published by Harvill Secker. Deputy publishing director Katie Ellis-Brown has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to two new novels from Veronique Baxter at David Higham. The first in the series, The Drowning Place, will be published in April 2026. 

The Drowning Place is the first book in a haunting new police procedural series, for fans of Broadchurch and Happy Valley. Set in a fictional 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.

Every place has its ghosts. Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most. Seventeen 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 department, 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.

Ellis-Brown said: “The Drowning Place is doing something unique in the procedural space, while also hitting those beats readers find so satisfying. This novel is devastating, funny, deviously clever and utterly beautiful, but its triumph is in the incredible cast of characters Sarah has created – we can’t wait to introduce them to the world.”

Hilary said: “I’m thrilled my new series has found a home with Harvill. The team’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious, and I’m looking forward to working with everyone there. I’ve admired Harvill’s list for a long time, which includes some of my favourite authors, and it is a particular joy to find myself amongst them.”

If you would like more details or to preorder The Drowning Place, please go here.

With Sharp Glass out in paperback on 10 April, I’ll be on the road so do pop along and say Hello if you’re able to make it to any of these great events.

2 March: Bay Tales, Whitley Bay

27 March: Interview Room One, Oxford, with Mick Herron

27 April: Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival, Aberystwyth

17-20 July: Harrogate Crime Festival

8-10 August: St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend, Oxford

Sharp Glass is available from a choice of bookshops and online sites here.