Caitlin, whose life is a mess, returns to Ireland, twenty years after her best friend, Roisin disappeared. Deedee, Roisin's sister, is trying to make the best of her life as a member of the Garda; she has always blamed Caitlin for her disappearance so when the two meet, sparks fly.
The tension between the two women is palpable however, they soon realise that any score they need to settle should be focused on others. As the two women circle around each other, they have to deal with their dark presents as well as their pasts as the novel

Dark by name and dark by nature would be a good way to describe this book by Rebecca Hannigan, as this novel is unsettling on a number of levels. Told from the points of view of the two women we are able to explore the impact of the scarring of past trauma whilst following them on their journey of discovery. It would have been easy for the author to give us us all a very happy ending - so glad the ending was appropriate! A fantastic read - thank you.

"She had come to understand the weight of secrets."

The plot involves a gritty crime mystery (a sister lost 20 years before in the evocatively named Hanging Woods, which reminded me of Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock), but often has the feel of literary fiction, a portrait of chaotic modern life, and in style reminded me a bit of Karen Campbell's recent novel 'This Bright Life'. I really liked the texture of the writing - the characters and places felt real. This is a strong debut and I look forward to reading more from this author. I loved the cover with the faded photographic negative - intriguing and beautiful. 💚

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Who can you trust when everything you thought you knew was a lie?

I judge a book by its cover. People who tell everyone they don't are little fibbers. 'Darkrooms' first caught my eye while scrolling through the feed and Instagram and I wanted to read it immediately. Following this I counted my lucky stars when Little, Brown Book Group accepted my request to read and review on NetGalley. An audible 'Ooh yay!' definitely left my lips upon receiving the acceptance email.

Twenty years ago Roisin and Caitlin went into The Hanging Woods and only Caitlin came back. Since leaving for England a couple of days after the disappearance she has been plagued with guilt and jumps from temporary job to temporary job unable to find her place in the world. Upon receiving a phone call informing her of the death of her mother she's has to return to Bannakilduff where she hoped she would never have to step foot again.

Deedee is a problematic Guard and has never gotten over the disappearance of her little sister twenty years prior. She's determined to find out what happened to her and with the return of Caitlin coinciding with the disappearance of another young girl it seems too much of a coincidence.

'Darkrooms' is the perfect thriller/mystery with characters that will grind your nerves, family secrets and a police coverup. With a dual narrative between Caitlin and Deedee it's a perfectly executed story that keeps you gripped until the very end. The plot has been forensically put together with subtle hints here and there throughout the novel to enable the reader to work out along with the protagonists what the truth really is. It feels like you’re solving the mystery with Caitlin and Deedee, not just observing.

Classic thriller and mystery fans will love this and despite the dark subject matter the drops of clues throughout make this a fun and exciting read.

I struggled a little with the start of this book but as I carried on reading it I enjoyed it all the more. The book is about two young women who have known each other since childhood but now lead very different lives. The two main characters are Deedee and Caitlin. A tragedy – Deedee’s sister disappears as a child and is never found. Caitlin is convinced that she had murdered her. In their childhood they were feral. Caitlin leaves home and heads for London while Deedee settles down into a relationship and joins the Garda. Life continues and Caitlin goes home. Deedee, in her way, is still looking for her sister Roisin. This is a very dark story and tells us that we cannot always trust the people closest to us. A good book to read, a little disturbing but interesting and well written

Dark rooms by Rebecca Hannigan is a well written psychological thriller and fans of thrillers will love.
But I found that the writing style of the blurb and the actual content quite different to what I was expecting, and I didn’t really gel with the characters. To be honest with you I struggled the whole way through this. 3 stars from me.

Deedee and Caitlin are two very different young women:

Deedee has a loving partner, and his parents have welcomed her into the family. She has become a police officer in her small Irish hometown.

Caitlin is estranged from her alcoholic mother, lurches from one rough sexual encounter to the next. She quit Ireland at eighteen and now pickpockets her way around London.

Yet they are also very similar:

Both are belittled at work.
Both tend to self-sabotage and struggle to control their tempers.
Both suffer from the trauma of nine-year-old Roisin’s disappearance twenty years ago.
Roisin was Deedee’s sister and Caitlin’s friend.
Both blame Caitlin.

When her mother dies, Caitlin is forced to return to Ireland. There to greet her is Deedee, determined to hound out an admission of guilt.

Seasoned crime thriller readers may anticipate some of the twists, but that’s not important. This is a slow-burn, character-led literary thriller that deploys visceral interiority to depict the two protagonists.
A strong debut.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Upon publication I will post this review on my blog, on GoodReads and on Amazon.

This is the story of two troubled young women spiralling round each other, bound by a small Irish town and the child who disappeared there twenty years ago. There’s the one who left, running wild and addicted to chaos, and the one who remained, turned inward and curdled. Neither of them are especially likeable, but by the end of the book we are at least approaching understanding. There’s a song I was reminded of when reading, with a lyric that goes “once you’ve touched the poison, you poison everything you touch”, which isn’t so far from the character work here. DeeDee and Caitlin are vividly drawn, and their interior lives are convincing. This characterisation is one of the key strengths of the novel. Part of me wishes we’d seen more of this with other character’s points of view bought in (there’s one character who maybe gets unfairly short shrift), but that would risk undermining the other pillar here, which is the intensity of the story. I tore through this, reading the whole thing in a day and a half, and that laser focus on the two leads is a big part of the reason. A very accomplished debut that deserves to do well.

This book haunted me. I hated the main characters at first, but I couldn't stop reading. In the end, I was willing to follow Deedee and Caitlin down whatever dark path they chose to take me on. Darkrooms is an atmospheric literary thriller that will stay with you long after you finish. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Honestly this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. At the start I hated the 2 main protagonists they were both terrible people and at the end they are still both terrible but you understand them so much that for me anyway I fucking loved them please buy this book it’s unbelievable

This is an elevated, literary crime novel that drew me in. The two strong female protagonists are both chaotic and complex as well as being deeply flawed and also relatable at times.

The plot and pace leans more towards a literary book but there were elements thst reminded me.of Tana French. The Irish setting is evocative and has none of the whimsy you sometimes see but instead showed the brutality and secrecy behind the doors of small town life.


I tore through this book in two days. Superb debut.

I really love the cover and the title, but for me the content didn't match. It wasn't as intriguing or thrilling as I expecting from the blurb. Thanks for the advanced copy.

Darkrooms is a decent psychological thriller, really well.written and will appeal to readers of this genre because it is decently twisty.

The characters are intriguing and the personal relationships intricate. For me personally it was a little predictable on the mystery elements but the absorbing writing was great.

Overall a good read.