Dark Water: Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

It's seldom that a thoughtful, deeply-pondered novel makes you want to turn the pages so fast . . . Her eloquent, impressive sentences often end in a way you don't predict, and while her touch is witty, her manner almost buoyant, her themes are sinister beyond belief. She touches the frontiers of the human, and balances there on the crest of a stylish wave. - Hilary Mantel*Book of the Month* Superb . . . that rare find - a literary novel with a plot that unfolds with pace - The Times, Book of the MonthA compelling combination of gothic mystery, psychological thriller and study of the shifting nature of truth, Dark Water proves worth a ten-year wait - The TimesThis beautifully written, ambitious exploration of human motivation, lies, violence and the will to survive is terrific. Exciting, spiked with high gothic and clever characterisation, it chips away at our notions of insanity - Daily MailAn irresistible peek into the unknown . . . Lowry's elegant and considered prose depicts mid-19th century America as a world in which the rational and the inexplicable uneasily coexist, and where the monstrous might be found within anyone, as well as outside. - ObserverImmensely enjoyable . . . a psychologically complex and emotionally engaging story of misdirected love, and of a variety of hungers . . . Dark Water is historical fiction with high literary ambitions . . . It asks big questions - who can claim with certainty to be sane? - and it is lent satisfying substance - GuardianA superbly entertaining historical novel . . . A superior thriller, cleverly conceived and elegantly written - Saturday Paper, Melbourne