The Drowning Place by Sarah Hillary #TheDrowningPlace @sarah_hilary @harvillbooks #BookReview #CrimeFiction #PeakDistrict

 

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, 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.

But when you dig up the dead, expect to get your hands dirty…

The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary is published on 16 April 2026 by Harvill and is the start of a new series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

I think it's a well known fact that I am a huge fan of Sarah Hilary - I will claim the title of her number one fan, if that's OK?? 

I have owned a pre publication proof copy of The Drowning Place since last summer, but have purposely not posted a review until now - not long until actual publication, and ready to build some hype. 

The authors original police procedural series has long been one of my favourites and I was very excited to discover that she had embarked on a new one. I am also delighted that it is set in the Peak District, around Lady Bower reservoir - a place that I know so well, a place where I spent many happy times as a child with my family. 

Whilst my own memories of this area are happy, Sarah Hilary's version evokes a darkness, that runs through her story. With tragedy and grief and the echoes of the past, and the ghosts of today, this is a chilling, intense novel that captivated me. 

Set in the fictional town of Edenscar in the Peak District, the novel opens with a tragedy that has shaped the community for seventeen long years. A school bus careered off the road and into the reservoir, claiming the lives of nine children and three adults. Only one child survived: Joseph Ashe. Now grown, Joe is a Detective Sergeant in the very town that still feels the weight of that loss. His survival has never felt miraculous to him, it has been more a burden than a blessing, and the past lingers heavily in both his mind and the atmosphere of Edenscar itself.

When a brutal and seemingly motiveless crime shocks the town, Joe is forced to confront not only the present investigation but also the ghosts that have never quite settled. Enter DI Laurie Bower, newly arrived from city policing and unimpressed by whispers of superstition or local folklore. Laurie wants evidence, motive and a suspect; Joe understands that Edenscar does not give up its secrets easily. Together, they begin to dig beneath the surface of a place that has been shaped by grief, silence and something far darker.

The author’s depiction of the Peak District is breathtaking. The brooding moors, the darkened forests, and the reservoir itself feels like a character itself.  The sense of place is utterly immersive; you can feel the damp chill in the air and the claustrophobic darkness of the nights. 

Characterisation is, as ever with this author, pitch perfect. Joe is a fascinating protagonist; outwardly steady and capable, inwardly haunted and carrying a weight of guilt that informs every decision he makes. His relationship with his grandmother adds warmth and depth, grounding him in a way that feels authentic and tender. Laurie is equally compelling: sharp, direct, and refreshingly unsentimental, yet quietly navigating her own challenges. The dynamic between them is evolving, layered with tension, mutual respect and the promise of something more complex to come.

This is a novel rich in atmosphere, emotion and moral complexity. It asks what it means to survive, what a community does with its grief, and how far the past can reach into the present.

The Drowning Place is the first in what promises to be an exceptional crime series, and it is, quite simply, superb.

Sarah Hilary is the critically-acclaimed author of nine novels. 

Her debut, Someone Else's Skin, won the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year 2015 and was also a World Book Night selection, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a finalist for both the Silver Falchion and Macavity Awards in the US. 

No Other Darkness, the second in her DI Marnie Rome series, was shortlisted for a Barry Award. 

Sarah is Programme Director for St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend, and co-founder of Ledburied, a crime fiction festival in her home town. 

Her short stories have won the Fish Criminally Short Histories Prize, the Cheshire Prize for Literature, and the SENSE Prize.

www.sarahhilary.com