Distress Signals

AN IRISH TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER

ONE OF AMAZON UK'S 'RISING STAR' BEST DEBUTS OF 2016

WINNER: BEST MYSTERY, INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARDS 2017 USA

SHORTLISTED FOR BOOKS ARE MY BAG IBA CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2016

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA JOHN CREASEY NEW BLOOD DAGGER 2017

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 BORD GAIS ENERGY IRISH BOOK AWARDS (CRIME)

Did she leave, or was she taken?

The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before. To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...

Distress Signals is a highly confident and accomplished debut novel, impeccably sustained, with not a false note. The exploration of the often murky backstage workings of the luxury liner world is fascinating, and there is a psychologically acute portrait of a killer that is genuinely moving. We will hear a great deal more of this author. - Irish Times



Catherine Ryan Howard's debut novel

Distress Signals was published by Corvus in 2016 while she was studying English literature at Trinity College Dublin. It went on to be shortlisted for both the Irish Crime Novel of the Year and the CWA John Creasey/New Blood Dagger. Her second novel,

The Liar's Girl, was published to critical acclaim in 2018 and was a finalist for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel 2019. That same year,

Rewind was shortlisted for the Irish Crime Novel of the Year and was an

Irish Times bestseller. She is currently based in Dublin.



Distress Signals is a highly confident and accomplished debut novel, impeccably sustained, with not a false note. The exploration of the often murky backstage workings of the luxury liner world is fascinating, and there is a psychologically acute portrait of a killer that is genuinely moving. We will hear a great deal more of this author.



A debut novel with a cracking plot and satisfyingly eerie writing throughout.



This is Catherine Ryan Howard's debut thriller, and what a tense, tight, original page turner she's delivered...Writing a thriller which doesn't leave readers with a sense of deja vu isn't easy these days, but Catherine Ryan Howard has managed it triumphantly. Definitely a new, exciting and original author to watch.



Catherine Ryan Howard is an astonishing new voice in thriller writing. Make sure the children are fed, the cat is out and the box set is finished before you pick up

Distress Signals because it will have to be wrenched from your hands before you will notice the world again. Pacy, suspenseful and intriguing, I highly recommend it for a top class page turning read.



I loved the voice and the Cork setting - an engaging, unusual and believable thriller.



An exhilarating debut thriller from a hugely talented author.

Distress Signals is fast-paced, twisty and an absolute joy to read.



Twisty and gripping.



An excellent debut thriller from Cork's Catherine Ryan Howard, which may give cruising executives some sleepless nights.