The Darkest Place

From the bestselling author of With Our Blessing and The Confession comes a gripping and chilling new mystery

'Horrifyingly dark . . . a deeply satisfying read' - Sunday Times

Christmas day, and DCI Tom Reynolds receives an alarming call. A mass grave has been discovered on Oileán na Caillte, the island which housed the controversial psychiatric institution St. Christina's. The hospital has been closed for decades and onsite graves were tragically common. Reynolds thinks his adversarial boss is handing him a cold case to sideline him.

But then it transpires another body has been discovered amongst the dead - one of the doctors who went missing from the hospital in mysterious circumstances forty years ago. He appears to have been brutally murdered.

As events take a sudden turn, nothing can prepare Reynolds and his team for what they are about to discover once they arrive on the island . . .

'Deft plotting and expert handling of tension make for an intelligent mystery' - The Guardian

‘Deft plotting and expert handling of tension make for an intelligent mystery’ The Guardian

‘Absolutely my comfort reading’ Ann Cleeves

‘Packed with fascinating details . . . this is a satisfying mystery’ Irish Independent

‘Atmospheric and compelling’ Sinéad Crowley

‘Jo Spain's vivid thriller explores the dark secrets from Ireland's past that continue to haunt Irish society today’ Martin Sixsmith, author of Philomena

‘Spain's vivid thriller explores the dark secrets of Ireland's past’ Irish Country Living

‘Brilliant! Fast paced, well researched and sensitive. Jo Spain is a sparkling new talent’ Irish Examiner

‘Fiendishly clever . . . and a big fat twist is lobbed into the ending like a hand grenade’ Irish Sunday Independent