Fiction
The Grateful Water
A baby's body. The butcher who found it. His wife who won't talk to him. Her lady with a secret. The detective on their heels.
When a young butcher spots a strange shape on the banks of the River Liffey in the hot summer of 1866, the city of Dublin is gripped by a grimy case of infanticide. Detective Martin Peakin, an amateur entomologist and full of regret for his failed engagement, sets off in search of the murderer, eager to impress his superiors.
But, as Peakin draws closer, he begins to realise that not all is as it seems. Everyone related to the case is hiding something, while his own secrets threaten to bubble to the surface. The river binds these Dubliners together, but who will it divide in the end? And will Peakin actually solve this most shocking, ordinary and desperate of crimes?
The Grateful Water– sticky with blood and secrets and guilt – will suck you in until the last page.
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Praise for the book
“Twisty, thrilling and visceral, and one of the finest historical crime novels of recent years. The Grateful Water does for Dublin what Dickens did for London. Adelman is a superb story teller, and The Grateful Water is a clever, lively and gripping, page turner”
“Adelman’s eye for perfect detail creates a sense of place matched by characters that feel utterly real, their intertwined stories entirely compelling. A brilliant debut and a book to devour in one sitting - I adored it”
“The Grateful Water combines the pace and intrigue of a mystery with a beautifully rendered setting that gives life to the concerns, travails and tragedies of women often overlooked by history. Juliana Adelman brings 1860s Dublin expertly to life, not only through the Liffey and her waterways, but also through a rich cast of characters whose dreams, adversities and relationships make the past so vivid on the page. A hugely accomplished debut from a talented new writer”
“Adelman superbly evokes the squalor and grandeur of nineteenth century Dublin with a powerful story that is intricate, absorbing, and beautifully told. I was gripped from the very first page”
“Crisp and unsentimental yet rich in sensory details of the sights, smells and sounds of the thronged city”
“Adelman writes in a fluid style that carries the story along and makes this an easy read despite the subject matter.”
“[An] atmospherically charged novel, narrating crime, society and the trials of the human condition in 19th-century Dublin.”
