Crime novels set in Ireland

Reading lists

11 top crime novels set in Ireland

The unputdownable psychological thriller with an ending that will blow you away

Stranger

THE GRIPPING NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL UNKNOWN 
 
'A really disturbing tale . . . Assured storytelling and neat twists' DAILY MAIL 
'Compelling, brilliant and entertaining. The twists just kept on coming' LIZ NUGENT 
_________ 
 
Every family has secrets. But now someone knows yours. 
 
Abi's daughters couldn't be more different. 
 
She's always felt close to Eva - her confident, older child. It's troubled young Beth that she worries about. 
 
So when foreign exchange student Corinne comes to stay, it's a relief that Beth finally has someone to talk to. 
 
But soon after Corinne's arrival, Abi notices changes creeping in. 
 
Beth starts to misbehave. Eva becomes distant. And everywhere she looks, Abi sees Corinne watching - and listening. 
 
Can Abi trust Corinne? Because if not, she might already know enough to tear this family apart . . . 
_________ 
 
'In this well-paced thriller, Perry ramps up the tension to almost unbearable heights, leading to an unexpected and utterly devastating denouement' Irish Independent 
 
Praise for Karen Perry 
 
'Slick, engrossing, twisted and addictive. Domestic crime drama at its best. Highly recommended' Jo Spain 
 
'Truly remarkable...Grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go' Jeffery Deaver 
 
 'If you're a fan of menacing psychological thrillers that chill to the bone, this book is for you' Sunday Times

Perry does justice to every one of her flawed but fully rounded characters as the story accelerates towards an ending that is as bleak, bloody and inevitable as that of any Greek tragedy

I read Stranger in 24 hours. What a compelling, brilliant and entertaining thriller it is. The twists just kept on coming as skeletons fell one by one out of this family closet. Most enjoyable!

A really disturbing tale . . . Assured storytelling and neat twists

Throughout this well-paced thriller Perry keeps ramping up the tension to almost unbearable heights to an unexpected and utterly devastating denouement

This well-crafted read goes in unexpected directions, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes

A twisty domestic noir that keeps you guessing right to the end. Fans of Paula Hawkins and Liz Nugent will swallow it whole

Slick, engrossing, twisted and addictive. Domestic crime drama at its best. Highly recommended

Like Gone Girl...it's the most gripping thing I've read for ages

Truly remarkable...Grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go

Tense, unpredictable, blending a thriller with an intimate family story to produce a most compelling read

Karen Perry is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Your Closest Friend, Can You Keep a Secret?, Girl Unknown, Only We Know, Come A Little Closer, and The Boy That Never Was, which was selected for the Simon Mayo Radio 2 Book Club. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Abi Holland considers herself lucky. 
 
She's happily married, and her oldest daughter, Eva, is all set for a place at a top university. 
 
She just can't help but worry about Beth. 
 
So when foreign exchange student Corinne comes to stay, it's a relief her lonely younger daughter finally has someone to talk to. 
 
It's only when Beth starts to misbehave, that Abi begins to wonder how much they really know about their guest. 
 
Because the Holland family have lots of secrets, and Corinne is quietly listening to them all. 
 
And once they come out, there's no going back...

Come a Little Closer

THE MUST-READ PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF GIRL UNKNOWN &amp; YOUR CLOSEST FRIEND 
 
'An intense drama. A clever novel in which everyone is hiding something, and keeps the reader guessing' Sunday Times 
 
 FRIEND. NEIGHBOUR. KILLER? 
 
 Leah's new to Wyndham Park. Lonely and suffering from insomnia, she befriends her upstairs neighbour Anton. 
 
 Anton has only recently returned to the street and is lonely too. 
 
He's been gone for nineteen years - but he hasn't told Leah the reason why. 
 
 That nineteen years ago he was imprisoned for killing his wife. A wife who looked a bit like Leah . . . 
 
 Was he wrongly convicted? 
 
Or is Leah befriending a killer intent on luring her closer and closer? 
 
'This slippery thriller conjures an intense sense of claustrophobia, delivering some deftly crafted surprises' Sunday Mirror 
 
'THRILLING' My Weekly 
 
 Praise for Karen Perry 
 
 'Like Gone Girl . . . it's the most gripping thing I've read for ages' Evening Standard 
 
 'A brilliant binge-read thriller with a real roller coaster of an ending' Heat 
 
 'If you're a fan of menacing psychological thrillers that chill to the bone, this book is for you' Sunday Independent 
 
 'Genuinely surprising' Guardian

An intense drama. Perry has come up with a clever novel in which everyone is hiding something, and keeps the reader guessing

This slippery thriller conjures an intense sense of claustrophobia, delivering some deftly crafted surprises

Reminiscent of Du Maurier's Rebecca . . . Intriguing, compelling and shocking, Perry pulls you into a web of deceit that will enthralled and entertain you. I loved it.

Nicely paced and twisty, this welcome addition to the new trend of 'noxious neighbours' fiction will have you questioning what really goes on behind closed doors

Delightfully slippery thriller. It expertly conjures up an intense sense of claustrophobia as well as delivering some deftly crafted surprises

Like Gone Girl . . . it's the most gripping thing I've read for ages

A brilliant binge-read thriller with a real roller coaster of an ending

Original and impressively contemporary with an excellent final twist

Builds to an incredibly tense finale before delivering an amazing final twist

Truly remarkable . . . Grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go

If you're a fan of menacing psychological thrillers that chill to the bone, this book is for you

Beautifully written, with just the right balance of teasing the reader with clues and hitting them with revelations

Don't be surprised if you devour it in one sitting

Full of intrigue and incident and keeps us guessing until the very last page

It's that most powerful thing, a beautifully written mystery driven by its exploration of the characters' innermost hearts

Unputdownable, leading to a stunning conclusion you won't see coming

Cleverly written. A tense domestic thriller that is full of surprises

One of the most richly satisfying psychological thrillers of the year, a book that hooks the reader from the first page

Perry is excellent at ratcheting up the tension at just the right moment, and the pages just keep turning at a rate of knots

Leah is in love. It should be the happiest summer of her life, but she can't help feeling lonely with Jake's attention divided between her, his ex-wife and his young son. As insomnia sets in, the walls of their new basement flat feel as if they're closing in around her. 
Until she meets her upstairs neighbour, Anton, who has recently moved back in after a long absence from the street. He's a sympathetic ear when Jake can't be, and even though others on the street seem strangely hostile towards him, Leah soon comes to rely on Anton and their secret conversations in the night. 
Leah has no idea that nineteen years before, Anton was convicted of killing his wife. A wife who looked a little bit like Leah. He has always said he didn't do it. 
Is Leah his redemption? Or is she befriending a killer intent on luring her closer and closer?

The twisty shocking thriller

Your Closest Friend

'This brilliant binge-read thriller has a real roller coaster of an ending' Heat 
 
Keep your friends close. And your enemies closer. 
 
Cara shouldn't have survived the attack. But at the last moment, a stranger snatched her to safety. 
 
In the hours that followed, she told her Good Samaritan secrets she'd never told a soul. 
 
Not even her husband. Especially not her husband. 
 
In the aftermath, Cara is home, healed and safe. Which is when the anonymous threats begin. 
 
Someone knows things about her that they shouldn't. 
 
Cara's Good Samaritan offers to help - to save her all over again. 
 
That night, Cara made a friend for life. But what if she isn't a friend at all? 
 
 
'Original and impressively contemporary with an excellent final twist' Daily Mail 
 
'If you're a fan of menacing psychological thrillers that chill you to the bone, this book is for you' Sunday Independent 
 
'One of the most tense openings I've ever read - I loved this clever thriller' Claire Douglas, bestselling author of Do Not Disturb 
 
'This thriller had us gripped right from the start' Take a Break

This brilliant binge-read thriller has a real roller coaster of an ending

With one of the most tense and heart-pumping openings I've ever read, I loved this clever thriller about obsession and toxic friendships

Original and impressively contemporary with an excellent final twist

This thriller starts with a bang . . . a tightly woven thriller that completely sucks you in from the beginning . . . compelling. Another triumph

This thriller had us gripped right from the start

A tightly-paced rocket ride that delivers a brilliant portrait of one woman driven to the edge by another woman's utter obsession. It reminds us that old secrets can bubble away in the background just waiting for the right time to reappear and destroy lives. If you're a fan of menacing psychological thrillers that chill to the bone, this book is for you

This character-driven thriller is smart and compelling

Like Gone Girl . . . It's the most gripping thing I've read for ages

Builds to an incredibly tense finale - before delivering an amazing final twist. Riveting stuff

This tense, unpredictable novel blends a thriller with an intimate family story to produce a most compelling read

One of the most richly satisfying psychological thrillers of 2016, a book that hooks the reader from the first page

One hot, humid night in London, Cara is caught up in a wave of terror and chaos - until a hand reaches out and pulls her to safety. 
Taking refuge with her unlikely rescuer, Cara shares more of herself with Amy than she ever has with anyone, including her husband. Secrets that were never meant to see the light of day. 
After they emerge, Cara attempts to put the incident behind her. But cracks begin to appear in her life and marriage, and she receives anonymous threats. 
As Cara's life starts to skid out of control, Amy reappears. 
Amy is the only person Cara can turn to, who knows her hidden side. Amy saved her life that night. 
But what if the biggest threat to Cara is the stranger she's invited into her home?

Can You Keep a Secret?

Surviving the weekend depends on whether you can keep a secret . . . 
 
Lindsey hasn't spoken to Rachel in twenty years, not since her brother's eighteenth birthday party at their parents' remote country house. 
 
A night that shattered so many friendships - and left Rachel's father dead. 
 
Now Thornbury Hall is up for sale, and the old gang are back there, together again. 
 
A weekend to say goodbye to the old place, to talk about the past. 
 
But twenty years of secrets aren't given up lightly. Some won't speak about what happened that night. 
 
While others want to ensure that no one ever does. 
 
*One of Red Magazine's Top Ten Crime Reads for Autumn* 
 
Praise for Karen Perry 
 
'Keeps us guessing until the very last page' Liz Nugent 
 
'Intense psychological thrillers that explore emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy' Tana French 
 
'Like Gone Girl . . . The most gripping thing I've read for ages' Evening Standard

Dramatic, when a group of friends reunite in a spooky Irish stately home, the secrets soon come tumbling out

Elegantly written and beautifully paced, Can You Keep A Secret? is a fluent, subtle and chilling novel

A truly remarkable novel . . . Written in a captivating, lyrical style and brilliantly structured, the story grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go

This is an intense and subtle story with some wonderfully poetic passages and a character driven plot which becomes more compelling as the sense of momentum gathers and the true version of events is slowly revealed. Gripping stuff

Girl Unknown is one of the most richly satisfying psychological thrillers of 2016, a book that hooks the reader from the first page

Full of intrigue and keeps us guessing until the very last tragic page

Karen Perry is the pen name of crime writing duo Paul Perry and Karen Gillece who both live in Ireland. Can You Keep A Secret? is their latest novel and follows Girl Unknown, Only We Know and The Boy That Never Was which was selected for the Simon Mayo Radio 2 book club. All three were Sunday Times bestsellers.

It's been twenty years since Lindsey has seen her old best friend Rachel 
Twenty years since she last set foot in Thornbury Hall - the crumbling family estate of the Bagenal family. Since Patrick Bagenal's 18th birthday party and everything that happened. 
It's time for a reunion 
Patrick has decided on one last hurrah before closing the doors of his family home for good. Himself, Lindsey and the old crowd, back together for a weekend. 
For the secrets to come out 
As the weekend draws on some of their old secrets begin to float to the surface. But some secrets should never be told. Sometimes they need to be taken to the grave. . .

Girl Unknown

The ADDICTIVE THRILLER perfect for fans of Fiona Barton's The Child and Lisa Jewell's Then She Was Gone. 
________ 
 
'I think you might be my father . . .' 
 
Zoe Barry walks into Professor David Connelly's office and tentatively says these words. 
 
The lives of his family - particularly his wife Caroline - are turned upside down by the arrival of this stranger. 
 
A cuckoo in their nest 
 
Zoe soon entangles herself in their world but her stories aren't quite adding up and Caroline isn't sure she can be trusted. 
 
Is Zoe who she claims she is, or someone with a far darker agenda? 
 
A daughter, a sister, a stranger . . . 
 
By letting Zoe in, David and Caroline aren't the only ones who are vulnerable. 
 
They're risking the lives of the most precious thing in the world - the lives of their children . . . 
 
. . . a killer? 
 
 
Praise for Girl Unknown 
 
'This story of psychological attrition builds to an incredibly tense finale - before delivering an amazing final twist. Riveting stuff' Sunday Mirror 
 
'Full of intrigue and incident and keeps us guessing until the very last tragic page' Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Lying in Wait 
 
'Karen Perry writes intense psychological thrillers that explore emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy, and this may be their best yet' Tana French, bestselling author of The Trespasser 
 
'One of the most richly satisfying psychological thrillers of 2016, a book that hooks the reader from the first page' Irish Independent 
 
'A taut, tense psycho-gripper' Sunday Sport

Praise for Girl Unknown

Full of intrigue and incident and keeps us guessing until the very last tragic page

Karen Perry writes intense psychological thrillers that explore emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy, and this may be their best yet

Girl Unknown is one of the most richly satisfying psychological thrillers of 2016, a book that hooks the reader from the first page

This story of psychological attrition builds to an incredibly tense finale - before delivering an amazing final twist. Riveting stuff

A profoundly disturbing, beautifully written story . . . An unputdownable novel that deftly examines the cost of misguided compassion, leading to a stunning conclusion you won't see coming. Karen Perry delivers again

I shot through this in one sitting. Like Gone Girl . . . It's the most gripping thing I've read for ages

Beautifully written, tense and twisty tale

When Zoe Barry walks into Professor David Connolly's office and announces that she is his daughter, he is left reeling. Suddenly his family - imperfect, flawed, but working - is trying to find space for someone new. 
 
 
But Zoe's stories don't quite add up and lies become indistinguishable from truths. The family struggle to make sense of whether she is a sister, a daughter, a friend, an enemy. But no one could have expected where it all might end. 
 
 
Because they have let into their home a girl that they do not know. And now everything they have built has begun to violently, determinedly, break apart.

Only We Know

From the bestselling author of The Boy That Never Was and Girl Unknown, Only We Know is a gripping novel that shows just how dangerous our childhood secrets can be. 
 
In 1982, on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday beneath the stifling heat of the midday sun, three children start a game that ends in tragedy. 
 
Now, thirty years later, Nick, Luke and Katie are estranged, yet still bound together by the dark truth of what happened at the river that day. 
 
Except some secrets won't stay buried. 
 
And when Luke suddenly vanishes and the threatening messages begin, it seems that the strings of the past are tightening around them all. Because someone else knows what they did and is intent on seeking justice, at any cost . . . 
 
 
Praise for Only We Know: 
 
'Only We Know builds handsomely on the promise of The Boy That Never Was, plausibly and hauntingly exploring the extent to which guilt, shame and secrecy can shape, define and eventually destroy lives' Declan Burke, The Irish Times 
 
'This is an intense and subtle story with some wonderfully poetic passages and a character driven plot which becomes more compelling as the sense of momentum gathers and the true version of events is slowly revealed. Gripping stuff' Sunday Mirror 
 
'The power of Only We Know lies in the slow illumination of how, under their flimsy cloaks of adulthood, Katie and Nick and Luke are still the traumatised children of a long-ago day by a river, frozen in time by one event. It raises fascinating questions about who we are at heart, about the degree to which damage and guilt can shape our natures, and about whether - and how - we can be redeemed' Tana French 
 
'Don't be surprised if you devour Only We Know in one sitting' Crime Fiction Lovers

The book is beautifully written, with just the right balance of teasing the reader with clues and hitting them with revelations

The power of Only We Know lies in the slow illumination of how, under their flimsy cloaks of adulthood, Katie and Nick and Luke are still the traumatised children of a long-ago day by a river, frozen in time by one event. It raises fascinating questions about who we are at heart, about the degree to which damage and guilt can shape our natures, and about whether - and how - we can be redeemed

Only We Know builds handsomely on the promise of The Boy That Never Was, plausibly and hauntingly exploring the extent to which guilt, shame and secrecy can shape, define and eventually destroy lives

Don't be surprised if you devour Only We Know in one sitting

Praise for The Boy That Never Was

A truly remarkable novel. The Boy That Never Was is a pitch-perfect balance of driving plot and honest, complex human emotion. Written in a captivating, lyrical style and brilliantly structured, the story grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go

Gripping from its dramatic opening chapter, this tense, unpredictable novel blends a thriller with an intimate family story to produce a most compelling read

In 1982, on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday beneath the stifling heat of the midday sun, three children start a game that ends in tragedy. 
 
Now, thirty years later, Nick, Luke and Katie are estranged, yet still bound together by the dark truth of what happened at the river that day. 
 
Except some secrets won't stay buried. 
 
And when Luke suddenly vanishes and the threatening messages begin, it seems that the strings of the past are tightening around them all. Because someone else knows what they did and is intent on seeking justice, at any cost . . .

The Gifts

From Karen Perry, the bestselling author of The Boy That Never Was, comes a short story about simple actions and terrible consequences. 
 
Harry has allowed guilt to destroy his marriage, but someone else close to him and Robin is harbouring a tragic secret that could have changed everything . . . 
 
Find out the truth in The Gifts, a compelling short story to be read alongside The Boy That Never Was. 
 
Also includes a sample of Only We Know - the next gripping novel by Karen Perry.

From Karen Perry, the bestselling author of The Boy That Never Was, comes a short story about simple actions and terrible consequences. 
 
 
Harry has allowed guilt to destroy his marriage, but someone else close to him and Robin is harbouring a tragic secret that could have changed everything . . . 
 
 
Find out the truth in THE GIFTS, a compelling short story to br read alongside THE BOY THAT NEVER WAS. Also includes a sample of ONLY WE KNOW - the gripping new novel from Karen Perry.

The Boy That Never Was

***SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES*** 
 
Read the deeply atmospheric and masterfully crafted tale of love and loss that will chill you to the bone. 
 
'Stunning' Simon Mayo Radio 2 Book Club 
 
'A twist-filled page-turner' Closer 
 
--- 
 
Three-year-old Dillon vanished in the middle of the night. His father Harry can't forgive himself for not protecting his only child. Yet Harry isn't blamed by his wife Robin: she bares her own secret guilt. 
Five years later, thousands of miles away, Harry spots an eight-year-old boy in a crowd - a boy he is convinced is Dillon. 
 
Desperate to find his missing son, Harry's obsession tears apart his marriage, exposing shameful secrets and shattering the one thing he and Robin had left - trust. 
 
Why won't Robin believe Harry? 
 
What is she hiding? 
 
Can the boy really be Dillon? 
 
And how far will Harry go to find their lost son? 
 
--- 
 
'The Boy That Never Was is that powerful thing, a beautifully written mystery driven by its exploration of the characters' innermost hearts' Tana French 
 
'A truly remarkable novel . . . Written in a captivating, lyrical style and brilliantly structured, the story grips your heart from the first pages and simply never lets go' Jeffery Deaver 
 
'This is a debut novel that will catch fire' Nelson DeMille 
 
'A beautifully written, tense and twisty tale' Sunday Mirror 
 
'Equal parts thriller, mystery and fascinating psychological study' Irish Times

I shot through this in one sitting. Like Gone Girl, it's told alternately by a husband and his wife. At the very beginning, something very shocking happens . . . It's the most gripping thing I've read for ages

The Boy That Never Was is that powerful thing, a beautifully written mystery driven by its exploration of the characters' innermost hearts - of the inexorable ripples that loss sends out, and the terrible damage people can do to those they love most. Both as a crime novel and as an emotional journey, it's gripping stuff

This assured debut is equal parts thriller, mystery and fascinating psychological study

Taut, smartly written, empathetic and at times unbearably tense . . . The Boy That Never Was hits the bullseye

A tense domestic thriller that is full of surprises

One of those unique books that grips you from the start . . . climaxing in an unexpected and explosive twist that we simply didn't see coming. This isn't a relaxed read, but it is dramatic and thrilling

The course of Harry and Robin's married life was set when their three-year-old son, Dillon, disappeared. Five years on, their lives are approaching a fragile normality. That is until the day Harry catches sight of his dead son in the midst of a Dublin crowd . . . 
 
Harry and Robin must embark on a journey that demands they reevaluate everything they believe to be true - the secrets each holds and the lies they have told - and one that will test their trust in each other to the limit.

Karen Perry

Michael and Faye loved each other once. When the Icelandic volcano erupted, they were together, unexpectedly stranded in Spain for a few fateful extra nights. That was when it happened. When it all went wrong. 
 
There's only one thing they knew for certain: they can never tell anyone. 
 
Ten years later, Faye has put her life back together. She's changed her name - Fiona. She's got married. She's built a successful career. She's never looked back. 
 
There's only one thing that "Fiona" has to fear. And then it happens. 
 
Michael is back. He wants to talk. And he won't take no for an answer...

Karen Perry

Books by Karen Perry

Articles featuring Karen Perry

11 top crime novels set in Ireland

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter