A Grief-Struck Mystery Splits Reality in Two
Louise Hegarty's ingenious mystery splits reality around a dead brother and a detective's arrival. Literary crime readers will enjoy the grief, structural daring and unsettling pleasure of a case that asks whether truth itself has fractured.
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Fair Play
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A Grief-Struck Mystery Splits Reality in Two
Louise Hegarty's ingenious mystery splits reality around a dead brother and a detective's arrival. Literary crime readers will enjoy the grief, structural daring and unsettling pleasure of a case that asks whether truth itself has fractured.
- Book Synopsis
-
A Book of the Year in THE TIMES, THE GUARDIAN, and ELLE 'A treat' - Paul Murray, author of The Bee Sting 'Dazzling' - Colin Walsh, author of Kala 'Brilliant' - The Times 'Ingenious' - The Telegraph 'Terrific' - The New York Times 'Heartbreaking' - The Guardian THE HEART IS A LOCKED ROOM Abigail's brother Benjamin is dead, and her world has literally been split in two. In one reality Abigail finds herself back at work, navigating the frustrations of well-wishers and busybodies, desperately wondering why her brother has gone. In the other an eminent detective arrives determined to find Benjamin's killer among his circle of close friends. Is this a murder mystery or something more? What secrets do Benjamin's friends hold? And can Abigail, immersed in her grief, find out the truth of her beloved brother's life?
Ideal for readers who:
- Enjoy literary mysteries that bend form instead of following a straight detective path.
- Want grief explored through split realities, locked rooms and unsettling questions.
- Like novels that ask whether a murder mystery can also be something stranger.
- Appreciate clever structures that still keep a dead brother's absence emotionally central.
- About The Author
- Louise Hegarty's stories have appeared in Banshee, The Tangerine, The Stinging Fly and The Dublin Review and have been featured on BBC Radio 4. She was the inaugural winner of the Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize. Her story 'Now, Voyager' was produced as part of A City and A Garden, a new state-of-the-art sonic experience commissioned by Sounds from a Safe Harbour in association with Body & Soul and presented as part of Brightening Air Coiscéim Coiligh. Her short story 'Getting the Electric', originally published in The Stinging Fly, has been optioned by Fìbìn Media. Fair Play is her debut novel.
- Product Details
-
- ISBN
- 9781035036158
- Format
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Picador, (30 April 2026)
- Number of Pages
- 278
- Weight
- 204 grams
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 197 x 132 x 18 mm
- Categories: