Showing Dark Water: A psychologically intense portrait of adolescent yearning and obsession by Sara Bailey

Friendship doesn't die, it waits...

“I couldn't help but be fascinated by this book. It uses the Orkney setting beautifully, and the islands are intertwined with the story of a woman facing the past she'd evaded for years: both in the clarity of the light and the roughness of the sea. It uses suspense and structure with skill ...The final scene was brilliantly described. Suspense, sex and selkie girls: irresistible!” – Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun, Winner of the Wainwright Prize 2016

A haunting and lyrical novel, 'Dark Water' is a psychologically intense portrait of adolescent yearning and obsession, set in the beautiful Orkney Islands.

When Helena returns to her childhood home in Orkney to care for her father after a heart attack, she is forced to face memories that she has spent half a lifetime running from.

Still haunted by the disappearance of her best friend, the charismatic Anastasia - who vanished during a daredevil swimming incident - Helena must navigate her way though the prisms of memory and encounter not only her ghosts but also her first love, Dylan, the only one who can help her unravel the past and find her way back to the truth of what really happened that night.

"Like a selkie through the cold North Sea, the story of Helena’s past ploughs inexorably towards its dark conclusion, every line haunted by the ghost of her enigmatic former best friend, Anastasia. With the island of Orkney as the most dynamic of backdrops, author Sara Bailey lures you into a story of intense teenage friendship, first love, and family ties, keeping you spellbound until the very last word." - S.E. Lynes, author of 'Valentina'

Sara Bailey's startling debut from Nightingale, an imprint of Blackbird Digital Books