Iona was just a standard teenager, thoughts occupied only with her latest crush. Until that fateful night.
The night she turned the key to her front door to discover her family had been killed and her father nowhere to be found. Her house, entirely submerged in water, and a strange girl found dead in her bed.
The police declare her father the main suspect. And Iona is forced to confront how much she really knew about the man who raised her. Could he have been capable of such a crime? And who is the mysterious girl left behind?
A gripping thriller that will have you hooked from the opening page.
Longlisted for the CWA Twisted Dagger 2026 - the most inventive and beguiling psychological thriller of the year.
PLACING THAT KEY IN THE LOCK WAS THE LAST ORDINARY MOMENT OF HER LIFE.
'Magnificent' Russell T Davies
'An unpredictable twist' Erin Kelly
'Exceptional' Suzy Aspley
'Unlike any other thriller you've read' Michelle McDonagh
Iona Griffri returns home one evening to find her family murdered and her father, Eurov, missing. Her family home is entirely submerged in water, and a strange, unnamed girl lies dead in her bed.
As the police declare her father the main suspect, Iona is forced to confront how much she really knew about the man who raised her. Could he have been capable of such a crime? And who is the mysterious girl left behind?
With the help of the morgue attendant looking after her family's bodies, Iona goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind those final weeks of her family's life. Hidden in the fragments of her father's final manuscript, recovered from the flood, an unimaginable secret slowly rises to the surface. A terrible sin finally revealed...
A haunting, boundary-pushing thriller told through the lens of a lyrical family drama, from a captivating literary talent. The House of Water will rush over you like a torrent from the opening page to the very last.
Readers love The House of Water
'Whodunnits are not typically my thing but this is so beautifully written I was entranced from the start'
'Gripping and twisty, a must-read'
'I'm not often left speechless, but The House Of Water has basically left me struggling to write a review that will give this book the praise it deserves'
'Atmospheric, haunting, emotional, raw and in my opinion simply stunning'
'One of my top ten books of the year'
