The Cutting Stone

A body buried between rock and ice, at a Peak District beauty spot, reveals a secret too close to home for Joe and Laurie in this second DS Joseph Ashe thriller.When a half-frozen body is found under the Bawd Stone, a local landmark linked with pagan ritual, DI Laurie Bower’s first call is to her best detective sergeant, Joseph Ashe. On leave after a traumatic case, Joe is still haunted by the tragedy he survived 17 years ago, when a school bus veered off the road and everyone drowned except him.Joe and Laurie join forces as this new case takes them back to her old stamping ground of inner-city Manchester. But when the body is identified as Godfrey Hulme, her dead sister’s counsellor, it quickly becomes a deeply personal murder investigation. The truth of what happened, in both the past and the present, will have devastating consequences for Laurie and Joe alike.

As soon as I finished the first DS Joe Ashe book, I was greedy for the next instalment, and THE CUTTING STONE more than lived up to my expectations. Sarah Hilary makes the words dance on the page and brings places to life so evocatively it’s as though peaks are rising around the reader and branches cracking underfoot as the pages turn. And the characters; so real, so vulnerable, so alive. I care for her them as though they were my friends.

Sarah Hilary’s writing is bitingly authentic and riven with emotional insight

Highly original. Taut. Propulsive. Beautifully written; atmospheric and immersive. I’ve long admired Hilary’s writing, but this is next level stuff

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

A body buried between rock and ice, at a Peak District beauty spot, reveals a secret too close to home for Joe and Laurie in this second DS Joseph Ashe thriller.When a half-frozen body is found under the Bawd Stone, a local landmark linked with pagan ritual, DI Laurie Bower’s first call is to her best detective sergeant, Joseph Ashe. On leave after a traumatic case, Joe is still haunted by the tragedy he survived 17 years ago, when a school bus veered off the road and everyone drowned except him.Joe and Laurie join forces as this new case takes them back to her old stamping ground of inner-city Manchester. But when the body is identified as Godfrey Hulme, her dead sister’s counsellor, it quickly becomes a deeply personal murder investigation. The truth of what happened, in both the past and the present, will have devastating consequences for Laurie and Joe alike.

Sarah Hilary

Gorgeously vivid, moody and unsettling – I couldn’t put this down.

Hilary excels at the delicate but merciless filleting of PTSD, guilt and grief: a flying start to what promises to be an excellent new series

Already established as one of the genre's most compellingly soulful writers, Hilary has surpassed herself here.

Told with depth, warmth & humanity, this is Ann Cleeves territory, and Hilary displays every bit as much style and insight

A crime fiction masterclass. Sarah Hilary’s latest touches on survivor’s guilt, small towns, murders and driven detectives in prose that rivals the best in the business

Wonderful, sad and wise. It's a relentless crime drama, a devastating meditation on loss, and a dual character study full of humour and charm. Hilary doesn't just investigate an unspeakable crime; she investigates the human heart. I'll be counting the days until I can get back to Edenscar.

Will chill you to the bone… Fantastic

Darkly atmospheric and overflowing with humanity, The Drowning Place is both breathtakingly original and an instant crime classic. An career best from the inimitable Sarah Hilary.

Works on multiple levels: a compelling murder mystery, an examination of the impact of survivor’s guilt, and an empathetic dissection of life in small town Britain. Written with Hilary’s trademark flair for prose, this first episode in a new police procedural series sings with originality and authenticity

I've found my favourite new series. The Drowning Place is the first in Sarah Hilary's gothic-tinged, Peak District-set police series, introducing us to an engaging and emotionally-complex cast of characters, with her trademark astute and compelling writing. A moving, gripping and unique exploration of survivor's guilt, and the web of relationships and secrets in a small-town community. Happy Valley, but haunted. I genuinely can't wait for the next book in the series

Brilliant! A truly impressive piece of work that breaks new ground for the genre - dark, original and quite alarmingly readable. I’m delighted we’ll be seeing more of Sammi, Joe and Laurie - and I hope the gothic world of the Peak District

Crime novels often feature the detectives' personal lives alongside their professional work but in this book the two truly intertwine with poignant, sometimes shocking results. DS Joe Ashe is a beautifully drawn character to be sympathised with, but never pitied, while the rural Derbyshire landscape, expertly evoked forms a stunning backdrop for a very satisfying mystery. The Drowning Place marks the start of a wonderfully constructed police procedural series, where the crime at the heart of the novel is only part of the very moving story

Exceptional. This is impeccable crime fiction from one of the very best writers of her generation: gripping, moving, taut and utterly compelling. DS Joe Ashe and DI Laurie Bower won my heart and I'm counting the days until the next in this superb new series.

Beautifully written with a premise that grips you from the start, I fell in love with this new novel from Sarah Hilary.

A cracking read...shot through with pathos and pitch-dark humour, it's an utterly immersive mystery that teases via masterful misdirection and haunts you with the humanity of its characters.

Smart, beautifully balanced, and with a plot that blasts through defences, this start to a new detective series is an absolutely cracker.

Brilliant… a terrific start to a series

Shot through with pathos and pitch-dark humour, it's an utterly immersive mystery that teases via masterful misdirection and haunts you with the humanity of its characters. Best of all, the first in a series!

Sarah Hilary has created something truly special and unique. A soulful, haunting mystery that brings something entirely new to the genre, all told with Hilary’s stand-out prose to deliver a stellar first entry in a new series that I immediately want to read more of. Bring on book two!

Absorbing, moving, unforgettable … I’ve never read a book quite like The Drowning Place. A grieving town, a haunted detective and a crime that affects the living and the dead. A triumphant start to a new series from the brilliant Sarah Hilary

A character-driven plot that will take your breath away. A first class read

Darkly atmospheric and overflowing with humanity, The Drowning Place is both breathtakingly original and an instant crime classic. A career best from the inimitable Sarah Hilary.

The Drowning Place is a masterpiece. Simple as that. A gripping, atmospheric, chilling novel replete with Sarah Hilary’s trademark unnerving turn of phrase and layered characterisation. A thriller that lingers long after lights out

A dazzling crime novel that heralds the start of an unmissable new police procedural series. Sarah Hilary’s writing is bitingly authentic and riven with emotional insight. I loved every page of this dark, propulsive, and assured novel.

A darkly wrenching whodunnit with a twisting conclusion, and a hero readers are sure to fall for. Sarah Hilary at her very best

The dark poetry of Sarah Hilary’s writing has always been both exhilarating and terrifying, but she has truly excelled herself with The Drowning Place. Every paragraph is tripwire taut, disturbing, and loaded with emotion and pathos. The harsh beauty of the Peak District —including the no-nonsense people who live — is described with Hilary's typical scalpel-sharp vividness, the protagonists are layered and richly drawn, and the plot draws you in from the very first page. Consider me a fan. Highly recommended

Sarah Hilary delivers a masterclass in suspense. Taut, gripping, and utterly compelling. The Drowning Place is filled with unforgettable characters, and a haunting story that will stay with you

Haunting, atmospheric and utterly captivating. Sarah Hilary is a truly gifted writer and has given us a unique double act in Ashe and Bower. This deserves to be a long-running series

Sarah Hilary breaks new ground with The Drowning Place, where the ghosts of the past still have a part to play in the crimes of the now. You will fall in love with Joe Ashe...

Gloriously dark and refreshingly original. This is my favourite Sarah Hilary so far.

This is just so good. Highly original. Taut. Propulsive. Beautifully written; atmospheric and immersive. At times it felt almost unbearably tense, but the whole thing is shot through with such pathos and warmth. Hilary is unflinching in her depiction of the horror of a triple murder, and the reality of rural poverty, but my overriding sense was of the humanity of DS Joe Ashe and his new boss, DI Laurie Bower: a brilliant new police procedural duo. I’ve long admired Hilary’s writing, but this is next level stuff

Sarah Hilary masterfully crafts a dark, atmospheric story, that’s both original and emotionally astute. Beautifully observed characters, complex and multi-layered, bring the narrative to life. Hilary’s writing demonstrates a deep understanding of grief and the psychological toll of trauma on those affected by loss, whilst delivering a dark and satisfying mystery. A haunting, thought-provoking read, guaranteed to keep readers on the edge of their seats

This is just so good. Highly original. Taut. Propulsive. Beautifully written; atmospheric and immersive. At times it felt almost unbearably tense, but the whole thing is shot through with such pathos and warmth. Hilary is unflinching in her depiction of the horror of a triple murder, and the reality of rural poverty, but my overriding sense was of the humanity of DS Joe Ashe and his new boss, DI Laurie Bower: a brilliant new police procedural duo. I’ve long admired Hilary’s writing, but this is next level stuff

Sarah Hilary is the maestra of compelling, thought-provoking crime fiction. The Drowning Place delivers psychological depth laced with the supernatural, as well as a heart-stopping final twist.

A flawless novel. I didn't want it to end

Sarah Hilary’s new detective thriller is exemplary to all lovers of the genre. The blow-in inspector is teamed up with the haunted cop to investigate an armoury in a vacant house and the next day, a triple murder, including a baby. Nothing is as it seems. This is fresh and clever writing, intricate plotting and superb characterisation. I loved every page.

A hauntingly beautiful and truly original crime novel. So layered, so clever; a gripping plot with a cast of unforgettable characters, but also a poignant and darkly charming examination of guilt and loss – I couldn’t read it fast enough, and cannot wait for the next instalment in the series

Deep, atmospheric, original . . . a haunting, riveting story and such a distinctive, almost gothic setting

Incredible characters, darkness, light, warmth, humour, heart . . . Sarah Hilary shows us how it should be done – a masterpiece’

Sarah Hilary navigates the paths between reality and Joe's fantasy with delicate sensitivity as she explores the nature of guilt in this sophisticated and atmospheric novel

Come for the detective who sees dead people; stay for the tightly-knit community, the exquisite prose and the climactic ending. An exceptional crime novel

Already established as one of the genre’s most compellingly soulful writers, Hilary has surpassed herself here

A story that lingers long in the mind

A clever, gripping, and totally unique story... If you love a smart thriller and a dark and twisty plot, you will adore THE DROWNING PLACE

'A master of her craft... she makes the words sing' ANN CLEEVES 
‘An astonishingly gifted writer’ MARIAN KEYES 
 
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…

Sarah Hilary

Praise for The Drowning Place

Gorgeously vivid, moody and unsettling – I couldn’t put this down.

Hilary excels at the delicate but merciless filleting of PTSD, guilt and grief: a flying start to what promises to be an excellent new series

Already established as one of the genre's most compellingly soulful writers, Hilary has surpassed herself here.

Gorgeously vivid, moody and unsettling – I couldn’t put this down.

Hilary excels at the delicate but merciless filleting of PTSD, guilt and grief: a flying start to what promises to be an excellent new series

Already established as one of the genre's most compellingly soulful writers, Hilary has surpassed herself here.

Gorgeously vivid, moody and unsettling – I couldn’t put this down.

Hilary excels at the delicate but merciless filleting of PTSD, guilt and grief: a flying start to what promises to be an excellent new series

Already established as one of the genre's most compellingly soulful writers, Hilary has surpassed herself here.

Books by Sarah Hilary

Series by Sarah Hilary

DS Joseph Ashe

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter