Announcing Comp Title Book Club's First Guest Author
I’ve kept early adopters waiting in suspense for ten days...
…and they’ll wait no longer.
I’m thrilled to announce that Comp Title Book Club’s first ever guest is Tríona Walsh!
Per her author bio, Tríona loves reading and writing crime novels but is fairly law abiding in real life. A twice winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair competition, she lives in Dublin with her four kids, three cats, and one husband.
Why Tríona Walsh?
Just like their author, Tríona’s twisty thrillers are based in Ireland. The Snowstorm, was published by Bookouture this February, and was followed by The Party earlier this month.
From its opening pages, I found her debut, The Snowstorm, compulsively bingeable, and though I had my guesses, I couldn’t parse the specifics of the “whodunnit” until it was sprung upon me in the final chapters.
It’s difficult enough to plot a novel that doesn’t have a mystery as its main attraction, so this watertight quality appealed to me. I was so glad Tríona agreed to come on as my first ever guest in August 2023 because surely, to be such a talented thriller writer, she must have learned from the best.
(I don’t think she’ll disappoint on that front either.)
The comp title we’ll be reading and discussing with Tríona is Ruth Ware’s 2015 novel In a Dark, Dark Wood.
Here’s the jacket copy for this NYT bestseller:
What should be a cozy and fun-filled weekend deep in the English countryside takes a sinister turn in Ruth Ware’s suspenseful, compulsive, and darkly twisted psychological thriller.
Sometimes the only thing to fear… is yourself.
When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.
Excited? I know I am!
The full lineup of CTBC guest appearances and supporting links—including registration for a free ticket to my live chat with Tríona—will go live next weekend, but you can snag a copy of her comp title, Ruth Ware’s In a Dark, Dark Wood, here or at your local indie bookstore or library!