The Empty Room

What do you do when your child disappears?

A hugely compelling story of loss, grief and vengeance, The Empty Room is probably the best novel yet by one of our finest mystery writers. Unmissable.John Connolly

The tension and heartbreak kept me turning the pagesPatricia Gibney

A searing, thrilling and heartbreaking look at life, loss and revenge, expertly handled by a hugely talented storytellerChris Whitaker

Pandora - Dora - Condron wakes one morning to discover her 17-year old daughter Ellie, has not come home after a party.

The day Ellie disappears, Dora is alone as her husband Eamon has already left for the day in his job as a long-distance lorry driver. So Dora does the usual things: rings around Ellies friends... but no one knows where she is. Her panic growing, Dora tries the local hospitals and art college where Ellie is a student - but then the police arrive on her doorstep with the news her daughters handbag has been discovered dumped in a layby.

So begins Doras ordeal of waiting and not knowing what has become of her girl. Eamons lack of empathy and concern, Dora realises, is indicative of the state of their marriage, and left on her own, Dora begins to reassess everything she thought she knew about her family and her life. Increasingly isolated and disillusioned with the police investigation, Dora feels her grip on reality slipping as she takes it upon herself to find her daughter - even if it means tearing apart everything and everybody she had ever loved, and taking justice into her own hands.

Praise for The Empty Room

Superb Natasha Cooper, Literary Review

A finely calibrated account of loss, grief and simmering rageIrish Times

A powerful portrayal of one mothers desperate ordeal... perceptiveSunday Independent

The Empty Room has all the elements of great drama - murder, revenge, sacrifice - along with complex moral questions that will keep you engaged long after the final thrilling page Martina Murphy

A compulsive, addictive, heart rending read, The Empty Room is a tale of grief and loss, and ultimately redemption, that puts Brian McGilloway at the very top of the game. I could not put it down Sam Blake

Masterful, humane, compelling, beautifully written, utterly convincing - and without a wasted word Catherine Kirwan

The Empty Room is a tense, and at times claustrophic, slow-burner which builds to a devastating conclusion Claire Allan

A tense thriller Irish Daily Mail

The Empty Room surely secures Brians place as one of the best writers out there. . . a thoughtful exploration of a mother struggling with a changed world. . . exceptional Chris MacDonald

High tension and high emotion make this story a page turner Roisin Meaney

An utterly gripping and propulsive read, as one would expect from one of Irelands finest thriller writersIrish Independent