Her Last Words

(Paperback)

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'Opens with a terrific hook' IRISH TIMES

'Absolutely absorbing' SAM BLAKE

'A chilling, magical read' PATRICIA GIBNEY

'Breathtakingly paced' S. A. DUNPHY

'Truly gripping' SINEAD CROWLEY

THE DEAD WON'T STAY SILENT FOREVER...

It's a crisp spring morning when Cass drops her husband, a respected lecturer, to the beach for his medically prescribed swim. While waiting for him, something catches her eye. A young woman runs towards her husband and embraces him - until he holds his hand over her face and she falls down on the stones, dead.

In the backseat of the car, their seven-year-old son sits quietly. When her husband returns, he says nothing. Neither does Cass. Afraid to speak up in the immediate aftermath, Cass embarks on a solitary quest to unravel what has taken place.

Cass is quickly drawn into a web of lies that pulls her back to the previous autumn, when a beautiful Italian postgraduate student finds herself subsumed by an inescapable desire. It's visceral. It's destiny. But sometimes destiny can kill...

Atmospheric, twisty, and propulsive, Her Last Words is an edge-of-your-seat read about obsession and dark secrets coming to light.

Reviews

Her Last Words opens with a terrific hook . . . told as a hallucinatory fever-dream that seems to move forward with the fitful jerks of a nightmare's narrative . It's a tale of twin compulsions, or derangements . . . a compelling and challenging thriller. * Irish Times *
'A truly gripping plot . . . E. V. Kelly's work will be a welcome addition to the Irish crime scene' * Sinad Crowley *
The characters jump off the page in this tense, claustrophobic and absolutely absorbing thriller. An assured debut from an impressive new voice * Sam Blake *
The mystery is so well plotted that I was second guessing everything and every character. The book has a lyrical tone and it was like I was being carried along on the wave of a symphony . . . A chilling though magical read * Patricia Gibney *
Compelling, clever and chilling . . . A powerful debut which keeps you guessing right to the very end * Michle Forbes *
Breathtakingly paced . . . The plot is layered, complex and tense while remaining frighteningly plausible, leading to a final reveal that is deeply satisfying. E. V. Kelly is a writer to watch, and Her Last Words is a triumphant debut * S. A. Dunphy *
Kelly is a stunning writer . . . The twists and turns of this narrative will have you feeling as anxious, suspicious, and culpable as its characters * Elske Rahill *
Her Last Words is truly surprising. It starts one place and ends up somewhere else entirely, in a way that is original and demands reader attention. * Emily Hourican *

Author Bio

E. V. Kelly holds a PhD in sociology from UCD. Her short stories have been broadcast on RTE and published in Crannog, while her winning stories have appeared in The Irish Times, an anthology and online. She has been shortlisted for various awards including the Francis MacManus Short Story Award, the Hennessy Literary Awards and the SBP/Penguin Ireland Award. She was nominated for The Pushcart Prize 2021. Her Last Words is her first novel.