LoveReading Says
Immensely fascinating, atmospheric, and rewarding, I found myself totally engrossed from the first chapter through to the last. In early 1921 IRA intelligence officer Tom Harkin is sent by his boss to investigate an ambush that went badly wrong. The blend of life after the First World War and during the Irish War of Independence makes an unforgettable setting. W. C. Ryan has created characters and a location that feel vividly alive, and as though you are standing in an unsettling slice of history. While the Author’s Note states there are similarities with events that actually occurred, it confirms this is very much a work of fiction. This has the feel of a classic mystery with the number of potential suspects increasing as each new character is introduced. Even with my own list of suspects I had no idea of the destination as I traversed the twists and turns along the way. Tom Harkin sits as an engaging main character, his past haunts his present and allows access to an element of otherworldly that feels entirely real. When I reached the hugely satisfying ending I felt sad to be stepping away from the pages that had so consumed me. I love it when a novel so involves you it encourages you to delve into the history of the time once you’ve finished reading, and that’s definitely my next port of call. The Winter Guest so successfully sends shivers of understanding coursing through thoughts and feelings it just had to be chosen as a LoveReading Star Book.
Liz Robinson
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The Winter Guest Synopsis
A gripping mystery with a classic feel, for fans of Agatha Christie
'Haunting and exquisitely written. Part intricate mystery and part ghost story. This book will stay with me for a long time' Anna Mazzola
The drive leads past the gate house and through the trees towards the big house, visible through the winter-bared branches. Its windows stare down at Harkin and the sea beyond . . .
January 1921. Though the Great War is over, in Ireland a new, civil war is raging. The once-grand Kilcolgan House, a crumbling bastion shrouded in sea-mist, lies half empty and filled with ghosts - both real and imagined - the Prendevilles, the noble family within, co-existing only as the balance of their secrets is kept.
Then, when an IRA ambush goes terribly wrong, Maud Prendeville, eldest daughter of Lord Kilcolgan, is killed, leaving the family reeling. Yet the IRA column insist they left her alive, that someone else must have been responsible for her terrible fate. Captain Tom Harkin, an IRA intelligence officer and Maud's former fiancé, is sent to investigate, becoming an unwelcome guest in this strange, gloomy household.
Working undercover, Harkin must delve into the house's secrets - and discover where, in this fractured, embattled town, each family member's allegiances truly lie. But Harkin too is haunted by the ghosts of the past and by his terrible experiences on the battlefields. Can he find out the truth about Maud's death before the past - and his strange, unnerving surroundings - overwhelm him?
A haunting, atmospheric mystery set against the raw Irish landscape in a country divided, The Winter Guest is the perfect chilling read.
Praise for THE WINTER GUEST and W.C. Ryan
'A snowflake of a novel: intricate, exquisite, and unlike any other. If Sebastian Faulks and Laura Purcell were to join forces, they might produce a novel like this... yet I can't imagine anyone but WC Ryan shaping it with such imagination, or charging it with such intelligence, or gracing it with such heart' A.J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window
'Haunting, gripping . . . hugely evocative' Elodie Harper
'Works superbly on several levels. This is a most welcome winter guest indeed, to be greeted by the fire with drink in hand' Irish Times
'Ryan evokes this moody, gothic atmosphere with convincing skill. Harkin is a sensitive, complex character and his quest to solve the mystery is deftly plotted. A treat' The Times
'A perfectly crafted mystery. Vivid, compelling and deeply moving, it is a triumph both as a crime novel and a work of historical fiction' Jane Casey
'A beautifully taut and evocative thriller' Sarah Hilary
'Superb . . . I could not put it down' Elizabeth Buchan
'Atmospheric and genuinely eerie, this is an ideal winter read' Sinead Crowley
'A terrifically atmospheric, gripping novel' Amanda Craig, The Golden Rule
'Haunting, beautifully crafted, and full of heart. Perfect reading for dark days' A.K. Benedict, author of The Christmas Murder Game
'Beautifully written, haunting and unmissable' Cass Green
'Excellent murder mystery/ghost story set during the Irish war of independence and as usual with W.C. Ryan, beautifully written' Liz Nugent
'Intriguing, haunting, romantic and beautifully written, I cared as much about the fate of the characters as about the gripping mystery' Laura Marshall
*longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger award 2023: 22/04/23 (https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/the-daggers/gold-dagger)
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781838771508 |
| Publication date: |
6th January 2022 |
| Author: |
W. C. Ryan |
| Publisher: |
Zaffre an imprint of Bonnier Books UK |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
345 pages |
| Primary Genre |
General Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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