The Temple House Vanishing

(Paperback, Export/Airside)

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Description

Power.
Jealousy.
Desire.

Twenty-five years ago, a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl and her charismatic teacher disappeared without trace...

In an elite Catholic girls' boarding-school, the pupils live under the repressive, watchful gaze of the nuns. Seeking to break from the cloistered atmosphere, two of the students - Louisa and Victoria - quickly become infatuated with their young, bohemian art teacher, who encourages their flirtation. Then, he and Louisa vanish.

Years later, a journalist uncovers the troubled past of the school and determines to resolve the mystery of the missing pair.

'Exquisite... This is some debut' - Jo Spain

Reviews

An evocative and mysterious coming-of-age tale that successfully combines sublime writing with an engaging plot and superbly drawn characters. With strong literary overtones, it reads like a book that was penned by an
experienced hand, yet it is Rachel Donohue's debut... This is already one of my books of the year. The winner of the 2017 Hennessy New Irish Writing Award, Donohue is a talented and welcome addition to the literary scene.

* Sunday Independent *
Donohue is a master of clean, sharp prose, and has a hugely impressive ability to create layers of atmosphere or ratchet up tension in a couple of beguilingly simple sentences. * Irish Times *
Donohue looks to be the latest name to join the ranks of Ireland's proud female thriller-writing tradition. * Irish Independent *
With shades of everything from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Frost in May to Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Secret History, this is subtle, intriguing and very well written. * Guardian: 'The best recent crime and thrillers' *
This brooding tale of obsessive love, teenage jealousy and hidden desire has a dark charm... While the unsettling atmosphere is enough to keep the pages turning, Donohue also does a fine job of holding parts of her story back. When the shocking solution is finally revealed, it is in the sort of circumstances that all but force the reader to return to the beginning to marvel at how the trail was laid. * i *
Rachel Donohue is an enchanting writer. Her words seem, at first, innocuous and straightforward, but then it becomes apparent that they're doing mischievous things... And in the end, the ways in which everything makes a different kind of sense is ingenious - holy, even. * Sunday Business Post *
With clean prose, subtle characters and intrigue to keep the pages turning this is a hugely promising debut. * Mike McCormack, author of Solar Bones *
Atmospheric, creepy, tense and utterly absorbing - a great literary thriller set in a Catholic girls' boarding school. Loved this. * Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange *
Beautifully written in the same chilling vein as a Daphne du Maurier novel, The Temple House Vanishing promises to be the outstanding debut of 2020. * Christine Dwyer Hickey *
An exquisitely written novel. Absolutely beautiful. So evocative for me of all those school greats - The Secret History, Dead Poets Society, Picnic at Hanging Rock. It was such a slow build of tension but simmering with that sinister under-layer the whole time. This is some debut. * Jo Spain, author of The Confession *
The ending really spoke to me... Assured and compelling. * Liz Robinson, LoveReading *
This is an extremely fine novel. Donohue handles the action, the places, the people and the emotions so well. It is both absolutely believable and compelling, pulling the reader along at pace... Well worth reading. * New Books Magazine *
A beautifully atmospheric and involving novel, written in a lyrical literary style with a mysteriously compelling story... terrific... Intelligent, insightful and intriguing. * LizLovesBooks *
This eerie mystery thriller, which has also evoked comparisons with Picnic at Hanging Rock, has pitched Donohue as a rising star. Definitely worth a look. * RTE Guide *
A chilling, atmospheric tale of obsession and desire that will please fans of historical mysteries like Picnic at Hanging Rock. * Culturefly *
This languid tale of longing and obsessions casts a spell that keeps you captivated. * Heat *
Exceptional... She's clearly someone to watch * The Canberra Times *
A highly entertaining thriller * Coly Point Observer *
An atmospheric, gothic read * The List *
Sublime writing, thick with atmosphere * Irish Independent *
[A] steamy debut ... The action switches between past and present as the full story - even more tragic, febrile and emotionally fraught than anyone realized at the time - unfolds. * New York Times, The Best Thrillers of 2021 *

Author Bio

Rachel Donohue is a UCD graduate in Philosophy and Politics and has a highly successful career in communications and media relations. She lives in Dublin.