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The Empty Room: The Sunday Times bestselling thriller Kindle Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 250 ratings

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 pages'
Patricia Gibney

'A searing, thrilling and heartbreaking look at life, loss and revenge, expertly handled by a hugely talented storyteller'
Chris 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 Ellie's 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 daughter's handbag has been discovered dumped in a layby.

So begins Dora's ordeal of waiting and not knowing what has become of her girl. Eamon's 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 rage'
Irish Times

'A powerful portrayal of one mother's desperate ordeal... perceptive'
Sunday 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 Brian's 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 Ireland's finest thriller writers' Irish Independent

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

What do you do when your child disappears?

Pandora - Dora - Condren 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 Ellie's 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 daughter's handbag has been discovered dumped in a layby.

So begins Dora's ordeal of waiting and not knowing what has become of her girl. Eamon's 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.

'The tension and heartbreak kept me turning the pages' Patricia Gibney

About the Author

Brian McGilloway is the author of eleven crime novels including the Ben Devlin mysteries and the Lucy Black series, the first of which, Little Girl Lost, became a New York Times and UK No.1 bestseller. In addition to being shortlisted for a CWA Dagger and the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, he is a past recipient of the Ulster University McCrea Literary Award and won the BBC Tony Doyle Award for his screenplay, Little Emperors. He currently teaches in Strabane, where he lives with his wife and four children.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0962WL5PN
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Constable (March 31, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3883 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 323 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 250 ratings

About the author

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Brian McGilloway
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Brian McGilloway was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. After studying English at Queen's University, Belfast, he taught in St Columb's College in Derry, where he was Head of English before taking up a post in Holy Cross College in Strabane.

His first novel, Borderlands, published by Macmillan New Writing, was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2007 and was hailed by The Times as 'one of (2007's) most impressive debuts.' The second novel in the series, Gallows Lane, was shortlisted for the 2009 Irish Book Awards/Ireland AM Crime Novel of the Year. The third Devlin, Bleed a River Deep, was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of their Best Books of 2010. The first DS Lucy Black novel, Little Girl Lost, became an Amazon Kindle No 1 Bestseller in 2013 and was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller in 2014. Two further novels featuring Lucy Black were published; Hurt in 2013 and Preserve the Dead in 2015. The fourth Lucy Black novel, Bad Blood, will be released in May 2017.

Brian's screenplay, Little Emperors, won the BBC Tony Doyle Award in 2013 and is currently in development with BBC Northern Ireland.

Brian lives near the Irish borderlands with his wife and their four children.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
250 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2023
    I have read all of Brian McGilloway's books .... and have loved them all. The Empty Room, however, has left me torn, sad, and emotionally conflicted. Maybe that was his intent I don't really know. It is a tragic story and one which was difficult to read. Very slow moving, almost agonizing .... maybe better as a short story. I did not think the characters were drawn out very well. We see their emotions, but, don't really know who they are, what they look like, etc. I would think that McGilloway might have struggled writing this story.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Eva
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - highly recommended!
    Reviewed in Germany on March 18, 2023
    This is again a book on the basic topics of guilt, forgiveness and redemption by Brian McGilloway, following the example of The last crossing. A great book, touching elementary feelings and fears, but leading through the hell of loss, uncertainty and hate to resilience and hope.
  • Maudy113
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fab read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2023
    Enjoyed every bit of this book
  • Janice Staines
    4.0 out of 5 stars A room that can never be filled…
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2022
    I thought at first this was going to be just another ‘lost child’ story - but it turned into so much more.
    As it unfolds, it soon became evident that many relationships we think we can rely on are, in fact, like sand in our hand. They quickly slip through our fingers and leave us yearning for something we have lost.
    The author examines, in some depth, the whole idea of loss, guilt, regret and, finally, hope that there is something left to make our lives worth living for.
  • annabel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2022
    Well written . A book you have to keep reading, sad story tho
  • maria cassin
    3.0 out of 5 stars It’s an ok read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2022
    Easy reading, quick to get through.

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