Esther Is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney #BookReview #EstherIsFollowingYou @tanyasweeney @estherfollowsyou @bantambooksuk @TransworldBooks @RandomTTours

 

You're the love of Esther's life. You just don't know it yet...

Esther first sees Ted walking in a park in London. They lock eyes and for a fraction of a second, she feels something she’s never felt before.

She starts by reading up about his life in Canada and his work as an actor. Then she watches every interview with him online. It isn’t long before she’s joined Ted’s fan site online where her and the ‘Tedettes’ stalk his every move.

When Ted gets a new celebrity girlfriend, Esther decides that things have gone far enough. She leaves her husband, takes all their savings, and buys a one-way ticket to Canada.

After all, Ted might not know it yet, but they are meant to be together – he just needs a little bit of persuading...

Esther Is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney is published by Bantam on 29 January 2026. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy as part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour 

I think we all judge a book by the cover. That first glance often tells us so much about what we are going to find inside. I looked at this one and saw fun, humour, maybe a love story? Well, yes, there are some of those, but there's so much more too. 

There’s something quietly unsettling about the book and the story, and that’s very much its strength. Tanya Sweeney’s debut is one of those novels that slips under your skin almost without you realising, you are nudged into uncomfortable territory yet it's so readable and so compelling at the same time. 

At first glance, the premise feels familiar: obsession, celebrity culture, fandom taken too far. But the author really doesn't sensationalise. Instead, she has produced a wonderful, intimate portrait of a woman whose inner life is far more fragile and complex than the surface narrative initially suggests. Esther is not an easy character to like, and I don't think that she is designed to be. I often found myself questioning her decisions, feeling frustrated by her beliefs and uneasy with the choices she makes. And yet, as the novel unfolds, it becomes harder to dismiss her as simply 'unhinged' or delusional.

The novel is paced so well. This is not a breathless thriller, but it is a slow, psychologically driven exploration of loneliness, longing, and the human need to be seen. There’s a quiet sadness at the heart of the story that lingers long after the final page, balanced with moments of sharp observation and the occasional wry note of humour.

The novel deals with modern fandom and online spaces, where connection and validation can feel so close, yet are ultimately hollow. Esther’s relationship with the digital world feels authentic and frighteningly plausible, particularly in how it feeds both her hope and her isolation.

Esther Is Now Following You is a quietly powerful debut, more melancholic than shocking, and far more empathetic than I expected from the blurb. It’s a novel about obsession, yes, but also about grief, depression, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. Not an easy read, but a rewarding one.

For the last fifteen years, Tanya has been a columnist in a number of Irish newspapers and magazines, among them the Dubliner, STELLAR, U, Irish Tatler, and the Irish Times Magazine.

She is currently a journalist and Weekend magazine columnist at the Irish Independent and is a regular contributor on Irish radio & TV. 

Her work in the music, film & TV industries helped inspire her debut novel, Esther is Now Following You, a funny, fresh and deeply affecting story about celebrity fandom and what happens when it all becomes a bit too real.

IG @tanyasweeney

IG @estherfollowsyou

All The Little Houses by May Cobb #BookReview #AllTheLittleHouses @may_cobb @bookmarked @sbkslandmark @RandomTTours

 

Adults can behave badly, too.

It's the mid-1980s in the tiny town of Longview, Texas. Nellie Anderson, the beautiful daughter of the Anderson family dynasty, has burst onto the scene. She always gets what she wants. What she can’t get for herself…well, that’s what her mother is for.

Because Charleigh Andersen―blond, beautiful, and ruthlessly cunning―remembers all too well having to claw her way to the top. When she was coming of age on the poor side of East Texas, she was a loser, an outcast, humiliated, and shunned by the in-crowd, whose approval she’d so desperately thirsted for.

So when a prairie-kissed family moves to town, all trad wife, woodworking dad, wholesome daughter vibes, Charleigh’s entire self-made social empire threatens to crumble.

Who will be left standing when the dust settles?

A ruthless suspense thriller filled with twisted thrills and jaw-dropping secrets, All the Little Houses is a must-read for thriller fans―and a gripping exploration of what it means to be a wife, mother, and woman in a world of ruthless ambition.

All The Little Houses by May Cobb was published on 20 January 2026 by Sourcebooks Landmark. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour. 

This is my first read from this author and it is a  darkly irresistible slice of domestic noir. From the opening pages, the author builds an atmosphere that thrums with tension, there are sun-baked streets, smiling neighbours, and underneath it all, tightly coiled secrets waiting to be exposed. It’s exactly the kind of structure that I adore: ordinary lives with little cracks that get bigger, little by little, until everything threatens to collapse.

Everything seems so safe and calm, at first. These pretty houses, manicured lawns, and seemingly perfect friendships are beautiful from a distance, but up close you feel everything seething underneath. The characters are wonderfully layered; flawed, impulsive, desperate, and so very human. This author really has a talent for writing women whose choices make you want to reach into the book and shake them, while also whispering, I understand why you did that.

The pacing is so good. Each chapter is like looking into another room of one of those little houses, some are cosy, some are claustrophobic and they are all hiding something. The slow simmer of suspicion, the shifts in loyalty, the creeping dread… it’s all woven so cleverly that by the time the reveals begin to land, you’re already holding your breath. 

And the twists, oh, the twists! The author doesn’t go for shock for shock’s sake; instead, she turns the plot like a key in a lock, slowly, deliberately, until suddenly the door swings open and you’re staring at something far more unsettling than you expected.

Atmospheric, sharp, and wonderfully addictive, All The Little Houses is a fabulous novel of psychological suspense. It’s the sort of book you intend to dip into for a chapter or two and then find yourself devouring in an afternoon, utterly hooked.

Highly recommended for readers who love their thrillers with emotional depth, sun-drenched menace, and a narrative voice that refuses to let you look away.

May Cobb is the bestselling author of The Hunting Wives, The Hollywood Assistant, My
Summer Darlings, and more. 

Her thriller, The Hunting Wives, is now a Netflix series starring Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman, and her books have received attention from Book of The Month, The Today Show, and O, The Oprah Magazine. 

She has an M.A. from San Francisco State University and her essays and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post and Good Housekeeping. 

She currently lives in Austin with her family, where she has a love/hate relationship with the Texas summer heat.

Instagram @may_cobb

www.maycobb.com

Just One Look At You by Jill Mansell #JustOneLookAtYou #JOLY @JillMansell @headlinepg #BookReview #RespectRomFic #Venice

 

Venice. The perfect setting for romance, and for secrets to be shared.

Fen can't believe her luck. A luxury holiday with her beloved grandmother Disa - what could be more delightful? It doesn't cross her mind that she might fall in love. Or that love can bring complications . . .

Jamie can't help it that women always fall for him, rather than for his kind-hearted friend Leon. Nor that only one of them got the looks (that would be Jamie). But how will he feel if the girl he's drawn to only has eyes for Leon?

Disa has a secret. A few weeks ago, an old letter in a file revealed a shocking truth about her late husband. She's come to Venice to find out more.

There's news on the way that will reverberate through all their lives, as Jill Mansell's joyful, heartbreaking new novel takes readers on a roller coaster ride of emotion - and makes us believe in love again.

Just One Look At You by Jill Mansell is published on 29 January 2026 by Headline. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

January would not be January without a new Jill Mansell book. I've looked back through my blog and I've reviewed twelve of her novels on Random Things. In total, she's written thirty-seven books since 1991, and I am more than certain that I've read them all. Whilst I may be more well know for my love of crime fiction; Jill Mansell is and has always been one of my all time favourite authors.

I used to review for the Daily Express and in one of those reviews I called her 'the Queen of feelgood romance' ... that quote is still used on her books and I am chuffed! 

So back to her latest; Just One Look At You. It is utterly captivating; the Venice setting is sublime and the characters are, as always, perfectly formed. I am especially fond of Disa; a glamorous, beautifully dressed older woman - I think I'd like to be Disa! 

Disa and her granddaughter Fen are taking a five star river cruise in Venice. It's Disa's treat and Fen is delighted to accept. However, Disa has her own reason for visiting Venice. She recently discovered something shocking about her late husband, and this has led her to Venice. She is apprehensive about what she may discover, but determined to find out more. 

Meanwhile; handsome rugby star Jamie and his lifelong best friend Leon are also on board. Jamie has a speaking gig and Leon is along for the ride. Everyone always falls in love with Jamie, but Leon adores him too and doesn't really mind.  Things are a little different in Venice when it is Leon who attracts the girl, and Jamie is too much of a good friend to try to but in. 

This is a wonderful escape, perfect for these dreary grey January days. It is not all hearts and flowers though, there are some very emotional scenes, some that brought a huge lump to my throat. 

This is a tender, graceful, perfectly created novel of love, family, secrets, grief and healing. It is perfect and is Jill Mansell at her very very best. Highly recommended.

Jill Mansell started writing fiction while working in the NHS, after she read a magazine article that
inspired her to join a local creative writing class. 

Since then she has written over twenty-five Sunday Times bestsellers. 

Her acclaimed novels include The Wedding of the Year, Promise Me, Should I Tell You?, And Now You’re Back, It Started with a Secret and You and Me, Always. 

Jill’s books have sold over 14.5 million copies worldwide.

Jill lives in Bristol and for many years worked in the field of clinical neurophysiology. You’d think inventing characters and stories would be easier, but she can assure you it isn’t.

Twitter @Jill Mansell

Facebook /OfficialJillMansell

Instagram @JillMansell

Anatomy Of An Alibi by Ashley Elston VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR #AnatomyOfAnAlibi @ashley_elston @headlinepg @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi...

Camille Bayliss suspects her husband Ben hides a dark secret. But as he tracks her every move, she cannot prove it.

Aubrey Price believes lawyer Ben Bayliss knows the truth about the night that wrecked her life a decade ago. But she needs a way in.

When Camille and Aubrey meet, they hatch a plan.

For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille's place. Ben will track the wrong woman, Camille can spy on Ben, and both women will get their answers.

Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered.

Two women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone...

Anatomy Of An Alibi by Ashley Elston was published on 13 January 2026 by Headline. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy as part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour 

Anatomy of an Alibi is a deliciously twisty thrillers that pulls you in with a clever premise.

At its heart are two women connected by the same man, although in very different ways. Camille Bayliss is convinced that her husband Ben is hiding something rotten beneath his polished exterior. Aubrey Price has spent the last decade carrying the weight of a night that destroyed her life, and she’s convinced Ben knows more than he has ever admitted. When Camille and Aubrey cross paths, what follows feels a little inevitable: a risky plan that depends on deception and trust between two strangers.

The author handles the dual points of view confidently, she allows the tension to build steadily rather than relying on constant shocks.  The novel explores control and power within relationships, especially the quiet, creeping kind that’s easy to miss. Ben’s presence looms large even when he’s not in a scene, giving the reader a sense of being watched which adds an edge of unease.

The plot unfolds over a tight timeframe, which gives the story some urgency, but still allows for great character development. Camille and Aubrey are believable and grounded, making their decisions feel authentic rather than convenient. As events spiral, I found myself questioning motives and assumptions right up until the final pages.

This is a clever and compulsive read that keeps you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page. Stylish, perfectly paced and well constructed, it’s the kind of thriller that slips under your skin without shouting for attention. Recommended by me. 

Ashley Elston is the author of several young adult novels, including The Rules
For Disappearing and 10 Blind Dates.

To date, her work has been translated into 23 languages, and her books go from strength to strength.

She lives in Louisiana with her husband and three sons

First Lie Wins, her debut adult thriller, has sold over a million copies, was a No. 1 New

York Times bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, acclaimed and widely

reviewed and a Sunday Times Thriller of the Month.

Find Ashley online: IG: @ashleyelston / X: @ashley_elston

Into the Dark by Ørjan Karlsson, translated by Ian Giles BLOG TOUR #IntoTheDark @orjankarlsson @OrendaBooks #BookReview #NordicNoir

 

In Norway’s far north, something unspeakable is surfacing…

When a mutilated body rises from the icy waters off the jetty in Kjerringøy, it shocks the quiet coastal village – and stirs something darker beneath. Not long after, a young woman is found dead in a drab Bodø apartment. Suicide, perhaps. Or something far more sinister.

Detective Jakob Weber and former national investigator Noora Yun Sande are drawn into both cases. Then a hiker reports a terrifying encounter in the nearby wilderness: a solitary cabin … and a man without a face.

As the investigation deepens, the clues grow more disturbing – and the wild, wintry landscape closes in. Jakob is certain of one thing: if they don’t find the killer soon, he’ll strike again.

SECOND in the dark, addictive Nordic Noir series set in Norway’s unforgiving Arctic north.

Into The Dark by Ørjan Karlsson was published on 15 January 2026 by Orenda Books and is book two in the Arctic Mysteries Series. It is translated by Ian Giles. 

Into the Dark by Ørjan Karlsson, translated by Ian Giles, is very much my type of Nordic Noir. From the beginning it is quietly unsettling, a story that slowly draws the reader into its pages with such confidence.

This is not a book that rushes. Instead, it settles into its own rhythm. There’s an intensity to the writing that encourages you to slow down, and to pay attention, and to really live in the story rather than race through it. 

Set in Norway’s far north, the novel opens with the discovery of a mutilated body pulled from the icy waters near the small coastal village of Kjerringøy. When another death follows soon after in nearby Bodø — one that may or may not be suicide — Detective Jakob Weber and former national investigator Noora Yun Sande are drawn into an investigation that becomes increasingly disturbing. As the boundaries between the cases begin to blur, the sense of unease deepens, particularly when reports surface of a chilling encounter in the surrounding wilderness.

One of the real strengths of Into the Dark is its setting. The Arctic landscape is described with an authority that makes it feel vast, isolating and, at times, almost oppressive. It seems to press in on the characters as the investigation deepens, heightening the tension without ever overwhelming the narrative. I love crime fiction where the location feels integral to the story, and Karlsson does that so well. 

A special mention for the translation by Ian Giles too. It is beautifully done, the writing is understated and never loses the underlying sense of menace. There’s a real emotional feeling to it.

I was really impressed by authentic the story feels. The characters feel believable and human, carrying their fears and uncertainties quietly and never over dramatically. 

Although Into the Dark is the second book in the series, it works perfectly well as a standalone. I never felt as though I was missing crucial information, and the characters are introduced with enough care that it’s easy to settle into their world. 

Overall, this is thoughtful, atmospheric Nordic Noir that lingers in the mind long after the final page. If you enjoy crime fiction that concentrates on mood, character and psychological depth, then you will love this. Highly recommended. 

Ørjan N. Karlsson grew up in Bodø. 

A sociologist by trade, he received officer training in the army and has taken part in overseas missions.

He has worked in the Defence Ministry and is now a departmental manager in the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection.

He has written a large number of thrillers, sci-fi novels and crime novels for adults.

Ian Giles has a PhD in Scandinavian literature from the University of Edinburgh.

Past translations include novels by crime and thriller luminaries such as Arne Dahl, Carin Gerhardsen, Michael Katz Krefeld, David Lagercrantz, Camilla Läckberg and Gustaf Skördeman.

His translation of Andreas Norman’s Into a Raging Blaze was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger.

Women Like That by Fiona Curnow VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR #WomenLikeThat #FionaCurnow @RandomTTours #BookExtract

 

War rages but sometimes the enemy is closer than you think.

Aged 14, Mhairi is forced into adulthood. Evicted from her family home in rural Scotland, separated from her parents, she must find her own way in life. As she fights for survival in a city of strangers, she finds companionship in the most unlikely of places. And she finds love.

But there is war, the world is a terrible place, and the cost of standing up for what you believe in can be high. Mhairi has made an enemy and he is powerful. Women like her have no place in his world and he will do whatever it takes to suppress her.

When the unthinkable happens she loses everything again, including her freedom.

She had the best of friends and the greatest love. Now she has nothing. Will she have the strength to carry out the fight of her life?

Women Like That by Fiona Curnow was published on 1 December 2025. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today. 

Extract from Women Like That by Fiona Curnow 

It was a cruel and heartless place when the navvies had arrived. Mud and machinery. Rock-face and desolation. A brutal wind howled up the valley, over the loch, and into their very souls. Rain lashed alongside it. This was a place needing tamed before it could be inhabited, but there was no taming of the weather. Tame the land. That was their job. Work it. Master it. But that weather? Christ!

Houses weren’t yet built. Not that any house would be for them. No. They would be cast out like intruders, vagrants, people of no use. No worth. Apart from to build and slave and grind away at life as best they could. Shelter for them was minimal. Canvas haphazard as if thrown down by some greater power with no care. No design. But this was at least a job. Money to be made. Lives to be bettered. That was what they had been told, and when you have less than nothing the chance of something is a call to be answered. And they had. Hundreds of men and a handful of women with promises of dinner. A settling of hungry stomachs. Shelter.

Mhairi had cut off all of her hair—rough like a navvy’s—baulked as she had taken the clothes from Jamie, her dead brother, stuffed rags into the toes of his boots so that they would stay on her feet and joined the people of the road. Itinerant workers. People of no importance. People who had fled their homes to look for something, anything, to lighten their load. People like her.

It was easier than she had thought, this disguise, this slip into someone else. She had Jamie to thank for that. The big brother who had toughened her up, challenged her, and she would not be beaten. She worked hard and the strength came of its own accord. Muscles to rival most boys of her age.

Jamie had joked. ‘Ye’ll no be finding a man when it’s time, wi muscles like that!’

‘Oh, and who says I’ll be wanting a man?’ Mhairi had answered, proudly flexing her arm, poking at the muscle she had worked so hard to create. She looked across at him, a grin breaking up her face.

‘Aye, well, just saying,’ he said, with a playful slap to her head.

They raced up the hill, as they had done at the end of every day when they’d been offered casual work at one of the nearby farms. Their income was small, almost insignificant, but it helped to put food on the table. What they had been working on was what they were paid in: potatoes, turnips, cabbage, eggs, milk, oats. It was all welcome. 

Dying bracken, brown and crispy, snapped at their legs. A wind was whipping up, shouting its presence through the trees—aspen and birch with tall, tall pine trees stretching above it all, keeping an eye out—an eerie sound, almost ghostlike. The aspen and birch swayed to its rhythm, casting off their remaining leaves. Hooded crows, rooks, and ravens cawed out their warning. Magpies mimicked the sounds, a flash of white and a swirl of the colours of petrol, barely seen in the decreasing light, but their presence was felt, nevertheless.

When Jamie and Mhairi rounded the brow of the hill everything looked wrong. There was no smoke from the fire twisting out of the chimney. Strangers stood on their land. Their mother, father and the two youngest were huddled together by the front door. A rag-taggle collection of bags at their feet.

‘You’re turning a family out into nothing! How can a man of the cloth do such a thing?’ their father shouted. His wife bowed her head in grief. The children clung onto their mother’s skirt, and she to them. They were too young to understand fully, but they could feel it. The fear. The desperation.

‘You’ve had more than enough warnings to pay your rent or leave. You haven't paid and now it’s time for you to go. Let’s not make this ugly for your children now.’

‘But…’ their father began. But what? There was nothing to be done and he knew it. Their lives had been hard, a challenge, poverty always biting at their bellies, at the clothes on their backs, but they had their home. A place that was full of hope and love, most of the time. No more.

And that was that. Everything had gone. Jamie and Mhairi were old enough to look after themselves now. To find a job of some sort or other. Their parents had agreed that they should leave, fend for themselves. The family would survive easier with just the youngsters. Fewer mouths to feed. More chance of finding some sort of lodgings. A room somewhere. The family were heading to Glasgow, big and dirty and strange, but maybe something for them.

‘You take care o yer wee sister, Jamie,’ their mother called in the wind, a break in her voice, tears streaking her face. She glanced back at them every few steps until she tripped, almost fell. 

Her husband caught her elbow, held her up. ‘That’ll do ye no good, now,’ he said. ‘You need all o yer strength for these two.’ He nodded down at the children still clinging to her skirt. ‘Come on now.’

She knew that he was right, but it broke her heart nonetheless to turn away and walk on, her family splintered, separated in a way she hadn’t anticipated. Yes, they were nearly grown up. They would have moved out with their own loved ones soon enough. Started their own homes, and with luck, their own families. That would have been normal. Expected. Joyous even. It wasn’t meant to be like this. Not in her wildest dreams had she anticipated this. Yet here it was, and she was powerless. A failure of a mother. 

Her husband took her hand and squeezed it tight, before reaching for the hands of his children, a forced smile on his lips. ‘What an adventure this is going to be!’ he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

I was the delighted winner of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) short story competition 2023.

I studied primary education at Edinburgh University, graduating with honours in 1996. As soon as I graduated, I packed everything I owned into my Renault 11, including my daughter, two dogs and a cat, and headed off to Estonia to become an international school teacher.

After fifteen years of teaching, predominantly in Eastern Europe, I became ill and had to return home. Unable to work, but not one to remain idle, I turned to the Open University where I studied creative writing, completing both courses with distinction, and discovering a new passion. Writing is what I do, and I love it!

I find it difficult to be content without a work in progress. That escape into a world of my own making is something very special!

I live on the east coast of Scotland and have written four books under the pen name of F J Curlew. I have now reverted to using my given name.

My writing has been described as, "Human experience impacted upon by political situation, interwoven with a love of nature." That pretty much sums my writing up!

www.fionacurnow.co.uk

IG @fiona_curnow_author 

The Girl in the Tower by Harrison Murphy VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR #TheGirlInTheTower #HarrisonMurphy @RandomTTours #BookExtract @harrisonmurph1.bsky.social

 

When the past lies buried beneath the waves, and the present hides behind a veneer, what power do we have over the future?

As high-flying energy magnate, Parsley Ringland, prepares for maternity leave, tragedy strikes. She passes out after a health complication and wakes up elsewhere. In the tower that sustained the life she had once known.

As she fights to protect herself and her unborn child, Parsley begins to fear for humanity itself. She is faced with an impossible dilemma. Does she keep the world in comforting darkness? Or expose a cruel truth that might destroy it?

Is it better to endure a terrible truth than to lounge inside a lie?

The Girl in the Tower by Harrison Murphy was published on 26 December 2025. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today 

Extract from The Girl in the Tower by Harrison Murphy 

The opening sequence of sunset was broadcast around us.

We had left at sunrise; it had been a long journey. The ornithodroids were like stars, a substitute for streetlights. We weren’t just thankful for their torches penetrating the darkness though, as they had kept us sated and sustained, delivering a cavalcade of culinary delicacies. Returning to take the containers away for cleaning and re-use.

But now the suspendible had come to a stop. Figuratively lowered its anchor.

“We’re here!”

“Really? This exact spot is above where it used to be?”

“Where it still is.”

“Yes, of course,” I corrected myself.

“You said you’ve dived before, right?”

“Virtually a master at it.” 

We both laughed at the world’s most depressing inside joke as we donned our wetsuits. We helped each other with the scuba apparatus, which was much more sophisticated than what I had been accustomed to. Everything appeared to be in working order.

“Three, two, one...

We leant back from the side of the suspendible and plunged into the water, piercing the layer of detritus. The sophisticated headlamp provided a level of visibility like nothing I had known prior.

Though it wasn’t like all the other times. Although I could see everything, everything was nothing. A perfectly unobscured view of a void.

On previous descents, I had been surrounded by shoals of Csh. Naressed by straggly strands of seaweeds and grasses that had become disconnected from the seabed and sidled against me as I swam.

But this ocean was lifeless.

In the past I had observed all manner of tropical Csh, colourful coral reefs, and had even explored the rooms of a colossal ship- wreck, the tour guide like an estate agent showing me around, emphasising the potential the place had. Imagine what it would be like if you knocked this wall down? Or if it hadn’t sunk.

Although I knew that was all artiCcial back then, it was this that felt fake. The ocean felt like a neglected aquarium. We would have to descend much further to see anything awe-inspiring. This was just water itself. A blank screen perpetually buffering.

The descent felt like it took almost as long as our journey to reach the coordinates. For we would have to drop to a level that felt unfathomable to me. Technology had improved immeasurably since my diving era, but we still had to be careful about the bends. So amount of innovation could prevent that phenomenon, so we still had to be patient, not be tempted to descend too abruptly.

If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have remained patient. I was panicked. Lomehow being in water that contained nothing felt more dangerous than water that was teeming with aquatic life. It was eerie and unsettling. I had nothing to do but keep checking my oxygen levels, awash with silent disbelief that we’d barely made a dent in our supply. To seek assurance wasn’t necessary though. Lhe knew what she was doing.

“Hook!” We were mic’d up and both stopped to look at each other. zer Cnger drew downward, alerting me to the fact that I should be able to see something.

At Crst, I didn’t. But suddenly it was as if the buffering had ceased and the image had loaded.

“I see it!” I called out, more loudly than I needed to.

Harrison Murphy is a writer from Motherwell, Scotland. 

He specialises in downbeat, and often provocative, speculative fiction with elements of sci-fi and fantasy thrown into the mix. 

The Girl in The Tower – a cli-fi Rapunzel story – is his most recent novel. 

His fourth novel, IV, is an exploration of the afterlife, as well the limited agency we have in affecting this life. 

He also wrote the Chrysalis trilogy, set in a world where we can design our own minds.

IG @harrisonmurph1