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Sarah Hilary

Sarah Hilary's debut, Someone Else's Skin, won Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year 2015 and was a World Book Night selection, and a Silver Falchion and Macavity Award finalist in the US.

Sarah’s short stories have won the Fish Criminally Short Histories Prize, the Cheshire Prize for Literature, and the SENSE Prize. She is Programme Director for St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend, and co-founder of Ledburied, a crime fiction festival in her home town.

Awards: Theakston (2015) see all

Genres: Mystery

New and upcoming books

April 2026

The Drowning Place
(DS Joseph Ashe, book 1)

April 2027

The Cutting Stone
(DS Joseph Ashe, book 2)

Series

Detective Inspector Marnie Rome
   1. Someone Else's Skin (2014)
   2. No Other Darkness (2015)
   3. Tastes Like Fear (2016)
   4. Quieter Than Killing (2017)
   5. Come and Find Me (2018)
   6. Never Be Broken (2019)

DS Joseph Ashe
1. The Drowning Place (2026)
2. The Cutting Stone (2027)

Novels

   Fragile (2021)
   Black Thorn (2023)
   Sharp Glass (2024)

Collections

Killer Women Crime Club Anthology 2 (2017) (with others)

Books containing stories by Sarah Hilary

What the World Needs Now (2026)
Mystery Stories Inspired by the Music of Burt Bacharach
edited by
Martin Edwards

Death Comes at Christmas (2024)
edited by
Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan

Exit Wounds (2019)
Nineteen Tales of Mystery from the Modern Masters of Crime
edited by
Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan

More books

Awards

2015 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year : Someone Else's Skin

Award nominations

	2020 CrimeFest: eDunnit Award (nominee) : Never Be Broken
	2017 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Tastes Like Fear
	2016 Barry Award for Best Paperback original (nominee) : No Other Darkness
	2015 Macavity Award for Best First Novel (nominee) : Someone Else's Skin

Sarah Hilary recommends

The Night Stairs (2026)
Erin Kelly
"Reading The Night Stairs is like falling into a fever dream - enchanting, embroiling, and addictive. An absolute classic from the peerless Erin Kelly."

It's Not What You Think (2026)
Clare Mackintosh
"An immensely readable thriller for these troubled times. I flew through it."

Based on a True Story (2026)
Sarah Vaughan
"Glorious Cornish clifftops, a glittering party and a swirling vortex of family secrets. . . . Sarah Vaughan lobs an explosive cocktail into Golden Age Crime to create something wholly new and deeply satisfying. I drank it up."

The Artful Anna Harris (2026)
Tracy Maton
"Rarely has a book delivered so spectacularly on the promise of an unlikeable lead character but Anna Harris is every bit as artful and awful as this reader could wish. Highsmith herself would raise a glass."

Her Many Faces (2025)
Nicci Cloke
"I can't remember the last time I read such a quietly sensational page-turner. Astute, compelling and beautifully written, HER MANY FACES shines a light into the dark corners of power, family and obsession."

A Schooling in Murder (2025)
Andrew Taylor
"Crime fiction has a new superstar: Annabel Warnock is simply the best narrator I have read in a long time. Acerbic, inquisitive, irrepressible ... It hardly matters that she's dead, although of course it matters very much in the plot. This is a splendidly lively and richly entertaining novel. I adored it."

Three Little Birds (2024)
Sam Blake
"Peopled by fantastic characters."

Geneva (2023)
Richard Armitage
"Immensely readable, pleasingly twisty and with a snowbound setting that glints like a knife."

All Of Us Are Broken (2023)
(DS Saul Anguish, book 2)
Fiona Cummins
"This book is brilliant, brutal and dark. It will shock and enthral, and it may break your heart."

Killing Jericho (2023)
(Killing Jericho, book 1)
William Hussey
"Crime fiction is crying out for more diversity, and in Scott Jericho we have been gifted a blisteringly new brand of hero."

The Close (2023)
(Maeve Kerrigan, book 10)
Jane Casey
"With each book in this series, Jane takes us deeper into the lives and minds of her characters. THE CLOSE thrums with the tension of a classic crime thriller but more than that it ties us tighter to the fates of Maeve, Derwent and the wider cast in new and unexpected ways. If this wasn't already one of my favourite crime series, THE CLOSE would have catapulted it up there. Brilliant."

The House of Whispers (2023)
Anna Mazzola
"Packed with political and emotional intrigue . . . historically rich and deeply unsettling."

In the Blink of an Eye (2023)
(Kat and Lock, book 1)
Jo Callaghan
"A standout debut with a unique and thrilling take on the detective novel. Engaging, exciting and superbly readable. I loved it."

The Blood Flower (2022)
(Leo Stanhope, book 4)
Alex Reeve
"Exceptional-you hear and smell and taste Victorian London-while the themes are thoughly up to date."

A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting (2022)
Sophie Irwin
"Very clever and hugely entertaining."

First Born (2022)
Will Dean
"Will Dean writes a mean thriller, with a keen ear for what scares us. The streets of New York shine off the page, and the action rarely lets up. Highly recommended."

The Interview (2022)
C M Ewan
"I can't stop thinking about The Interview. I loved it."

The Key in the Lock (2022)
Beth Underdown
"I was captivated by the characters, the story and the sinuous, seamless plotting."

The Origins of Iris (2021)
Beth Lewis
"Evocative and unexpected, tender and fierce, The Origins of Iris is unlike any other thriller I've read in years . . . Outstanding."

Emily Noble's Disgrace (2021)
Mary Paulson-Ellis
"This book is a swoon and slither of silk with the grit of salt underneath. Mary Paulson-Ellis is a genius at peeling away the layers and slowly, skilfully putting flesh on the bones of an extraordinary, sinuous story."

The Jigsaw Man (2021)
(Inspector Anjelica Henley, book 1)
Nadine Matheson
"Crime fiction has a significant new star."

The Push (2020)
Claire McGowan
"Smart, sassy, and satisfyingly twisty."

Body Language (2020)
(Cassie Raven, book 1)
A K Turner
"What a start to a new series, full of verve and acutely perceptive on grief and human relationships. Cassie Raven is a blast of fresh air, striding onto the crime scene like a punk superstar, ready to shake things up."

The Searcher (2020)
(Cal Hooper, book 1)
Tana French
"This is a tour de force of suspense and storytelling. Comes closer to perfection than anything I've read in the last decade."

The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
(Thursday Murder Club, book 1)
Richard Osman
"I knew The Thursday Murder Club would be funny, and suspected it would be whip-smart, but I didn't expect to fall so hard for the wonderful cast of characters. Bravo."

Imperfect Women (2020)
Araminta Hall
"It's been clear from the start that Araminta Hall has a talent for telling unpalatable truths and Imperfect Women is no exception. Expertly peels the layers from the everyday lies we tell each other, and ourselves."

The Shadow Friend (2020)
Alex North
"No one does 'Dark with a Heart like Alex North."

Our Little Cruelties (2020)
Liz Nugent
"A proper rollicking family saga EPIC of a story shot through with black humour, toxic truths and pathos. Brava."

The Man Who Didn't Burn (2019)
(Juge Lombard Mystery, book 1)
Ian Moore
"Crime fiction at a European pace, with a fabulous Loire Valley setting... reminiscent of Michael Dibdin."

The Cliff House (2018)
Amanda Jennings
"Hauntingly good."

This is How it Ends (2018)
Eva Dolan
"Stupendous. The thriller comes of age."

All the Wicked Girls (2017)
Chris Whitaker
"A very real, very rare talent."

Give Me the Child (2017)
Mel McGrath
"Hugely addictive and highly recommended."

The Night Visitor (2017)
Lucy Atkins
"It put me in mind of Misery and Rebecca. Splendidly tense, creepy and enjoyable."

The Roanoke Girls (2017)
Amy Engel
"Deeply, darkly twisted. I loved it."

Her Husband's Lover (2017)
Julia Crouch
"Taut and twisty, and full of surprises. I loved it."

I'm Travelling Alone (2015)
(Holger Munch & Mia Kruger, book 1)
Samuel Bjørk
"Icy landscapes, mysterious clues, a messed up heroine . . . Nordic noir at its delicious best."

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