The Silent Ones

by Anna McPartlin

The murder of an innocent shakes Ireland to its core.

One cold January morning in 1980, on a beach in Kerry, the body of a newborn baby is found in its most sheltered sand dune. Local Garda Mary Shea is first on the scene.

Such a case calls for more than small town policing, and the Dublin major crimes team is brought in to take charge. But there's a way of doing things in Kerry, one which Mary understands well. And when she is able to get crucial female witnesses to cooperate, lead detective Matt Foley takes her under his wing. This is the biggest case of his career and he needs all the help he can get.

Mary finds more questions than answers and it becomes clear many locals conduct secret lives but who would do such a thing?

A dark and gripping Irish crime debut from an international bestseller. Perfect for fans of Olivia Kiernan, Tana French and John Banville.

332 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 4, 2025

About the author

Anna McPartlin is an international best selling author, currently published in 15 languages across 18 countries. Pack Up The Moon and The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes were nominated for Irish book awards. Rabbit Hayes also won a silver readers book award in Germany. In the UK it was a Simon Mayo and Richard and Judy book club pick and in the USA it was a Barnes & Nobel Book of the Month.
In the last few years Anna has been honing her TV scriptwriting skills working on medical drama ‘Holby City’ for the BBC (UK), legal drama ‘Striking Out,’ for RTE (IRE) and historical adaptation Jesus His Life for History Channel (USA).
Anna was nominated for an Irish Film & Television Academy award for her one off bi-lingual drama ‘School Run,’ and is currently in development with Hot Drop Films / Treasure Entertainment and funded by Screen Ireland for the film adaptation of ‘Rabbit Hayes.’ She is also in development for a crime series ‘Serious Crimes,’ with Blinder Productions (Virgin Media) in IRE. A historical crime drama with Noho Film & TV (UK) and ‘Richter,’ an RTE/NZ TV co-production crime drama with Blinder Productions.
Anna’s first children’s book the ‘Fearless Five’ came out May 2019. Her next fiction novel ‘Below The Big Blue Sky,’ is on shelves in UK and IRE in April 2020 and she is currently working on her ninth commercial fiction title.
Anna started out briefly as an actress and stand-up comedian but although her heart wasn’t in performance, she revels in storytelling and shining a light in dark places. Anna’s USP is in tackling difficult subjects with understanding, empathy and humour that spills onto every page.