Liza Costello
Liza has been writing as long as she can remember. Her short stories and poems have been published in various magazines, including The Stinging Fly, The Irish Independent, Mslexia, The Manchester Review and The Interpreter’s House, and have also been short-listed for a number of writing competitions.
The Estate is her debut novel. An earlier version of it was released as an audiobook for Audible; narrated by Denise Gough, it was selected as an Audible Crime and Thriller Pick of the Month and as an Editor’s Pick.
Liza lives in the Irish midlands with her husband and two children.
Crookedwood
Crookedwood, quiet Irish midlands town, place of secrets, past and present. Sarah left it behind years ago for life in the city, where she's now a rising star of the Dublin culinary scene.
She's home to help her mother sell the family farm. One evening, while out walking in the nearby woods, Sarah is chased by a man and his vicious dog, narrowly escaping injury. In the days to follow - as painful memories resurface of another dark night in the woods years before - further unsettling events unfold, and Sarah becomes convinced that she is under threat, despite the reassurances of those close to her.
What might she have stumbled upon on her walk? Who could be after her, and why? As Sarah closes in on hidden agendas at work in the town, dangerous forces close in on her.
It soon becomes clear that, in order to survive, Sarah must return to the dark place where it all began.
Crookedwood is a compulsive psychological thriller about buried trauma, small town vendettas and how, in the dark woods, the only person who can save you is yourself.
| Territory | Publisher/Agent |
|---|---|
| World | Darley Anderson Agency |
| UK & Commonwealth | Hachette Ireland |
The Estate
There’s no place like home...and Beth hopes there never will be again.
Beth never had a settled home as a child, but that’s all behind her now. She’s fine. Great. Settled in her single life. Until friends start peeling away, moving on to careers and family, leaving her feeling impatient and angry. When she bumps into Jason at a party, she spots the opportunity for her own fresh start - to turn her back on a reckless life of drinking and missed deadlines. She can build a new life, too...can’t she? When she discovers that Jason has the opportunity to house-sit a new build out of town, she glimpses her chance. There’s only one catch - Jason needs to stay in town for the sake of his new job. But Beth can keep their dreams alive on her own, can’t she?
As her drinking worsens, and new friends turn out to be prospective enemies, her sense of reality begins to unravel. As Beth comes to confront the mysteries of her own past, she moves closer to understanding the desperate crime at the heart of the estate. But first she must learn who is behind the strange attacks on her new home. And is Jason who she thought he was? Can she even trust him?
| Territory | Publisher/Agent |
|---|---|
| World | Darley Anderson Agency |
| UK & Commonwealth | Hachette Ireland |
| Audio | Audible |