What do you think?
Rate this book
Dark Wood Dark Water
Something is wrong with the town of Bailey. Something dark, something dangerous. Something evil.
Josh's brother has just drowned. He meets Kate and Gabe, who also have lost family to the river. When they seek the help of a local historian, Naylor, he tells them that there is a sinister longstanding pattern to such tragedies.
But some unknown force is trying to help Josh rid the town of its curse. Why is he dreaming of a ship's captain, a hooded monk, a dark familiar with a knife? What is being demanded of him?
Soon greater horrors than ever before are set loose. They are fighting against time, as evil has turned its baleful eye upon them.
Josh's brother has just drowned. He meets Kate and Gabe, who also have lost family to the river. When they seek the help of a local historian, Naylor, he tells them that there is a sinister longstanding pattern to such tragedies.
But some unknown force is trying to help Josh rid the town of its curse. Why is he dreaming of a ship's captain, a hooded monk, a dark familiar with a knife? What is being demanded of him?
Soon greater horrors than ever before are set loose. They are fighting against time, as evil has turned its baleful eye upon them.
- GenresHorrorYoung Adult
304 pages, Paperback
Published July 11, 2018
5 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 2, 2018
DNF at around 100 pages. It was an interesting premise but I lost interest in it almost instantly. This is definitely a YA book, I like some of them but this is what I dread whenever I pick one up. Very shallow characterisation, a love triangle, instant bonds among people who have barely met. I found the flashbacks to the origin of the town and story somewhat interesting but not enough to continue. I know this is a debut but I just don't think I am the target market for this book, I'm sure others will like it, it moves fast and as I said the premise was interesting, especially being set in Ireland.
September 15, 2018
No spoilers...Fantastic début novel, full of supernatural suspense. Your senses will reel. Well rounded characters reside in the fictional town of Bailey which is based on New Ross, County Wexford. Indeed, Bailey itself is a character in the book. The novel is marketed as YA but it's suitable for grown ups too. The story propels along at a rapid pace leaving the reader breathless and on edge. With plenty of plot twists this book will hook you in and take you for a ride through the uncanny. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to book 2!
October 13, 2024
if the author was nine years old, then i would have been like “yeah, okay! good job!”. the author is not nine years old.
November 11, 2018
We’re always on the lookout for new talent in the YA horror world and Tina Callaghan’s fine debut novel “Dark Wood Dark Water” really caught our attention. Kids who enjoy dark fiction, aged 12+, will find much to enjoy in this unsettling tale which I sped through happily over a couple of evenings. The plot has a convincing balance of the supernatural, family/teen drama with an excellent sense of time and place. The brooding small town where the novel is set dominates proceedings and is an atmospheric backdrop for a skilfully told yarn of the uncanny perfect for enticing bored kids away from their mobile devices.
The town of Bailey is a place to avoid (thankfully it only exists in the imagination of the author!) and is almost portrayed as a character in itself. However, this Irish town has problems, big problems. Something evil has a weird long-standing hold over the town, people die (often drowning) and nobody seems to truly notice or care and they are quickly forgotten until the next death. This evil presence is skilfully and believably portrayed, and the uncanny fog which has a stranglehold over the town is a key component in the success of the novel.
One of the opening sequences illustrates perfectly how the weird phenomena operates; a young man stands at the river edge and is initially thinking of how much he is looking forward to returning to university and escaping Bailey once again. But out of the blue a powerful compulsion to move closer to the river edge, thinking that the water just looks so perfect, comes over him. Before you know it, he jumps and Bailey has another unexplained death on its hands. Every family in this town has its tragedies.
The three main characters are older teens old teenagers whom have all lost someone close to them. Kate and Gabe have been best friends for years, with Josh joining the trio after he saves Kate when she is pushed into river and almost drowns. Josh is instantly attracted to Kate and together the three begin to look more closely into the mystery and its possible origins. But the deeper they dig, the more likely it is that the evil will turn its force in their direction.
There is also a strong historical element to the novel which introduces the origins of the evil which shrouds the town, much of which is effectively told through dream sequences. However, put yourself in the head of a young teen, and I did wonder how engaged they would be with these ‘Old Ireland’ sequences. They meandered somewhat and I am also not sure how impressed they will be by the origins of the curse which controls Bailey. It’s no Pennywise and as a ‘Big Bad’ I have seen a lot scarier, even in children’s books. If the projected sequel does materialise then I think the evil needs to be more defined and, well, eviler, if that makes any sense. It’s all relatively ‘PG’ level and lots of twelve-year-old kids will have read a lot nastier, but on the other hand it is a safe read and suitably for any kid in secondary school.
“Dark Wood Dark Water” is greatly enhanced by a full range of support characters who either enable the evil or are influenced by it, and drift in and out of the novel. This helps develop a fuller picture of the town of Bailey and takes the heat from the three main characters. It also gives the author to build effective supernatural set-pieces with smaller characters, such as a boy who strangles to death a girl he walks home with after a party without ever realising why he did it, or another who pushes Kate in the river and has no clue why they did it.
Tina Callaghan has a superb quote on the title page from Peadar Ó Guilín, author of “The Call” whom we have featured on Ginger Nuts several times: “’Dark Wood Dark Water’ is the sort of story
Stephen King would have written if he'd grown up in Ireland -- a read-in-one-sitting, sleep-with-the-lights-on sort of book”. This is a good and accurate headline from Peader, however, perhaps he is also eluding to the fact there are a number of similarities to Stephen King’s “It”. Of course, your average young teen is not likely to notice, but the Big Bad in this novel is not a million miles away from Pennywise, and the Irish town of Bailey is controlled in a similar way to how Pennywise influences Derry. King uses the sewers in Derry, Callaghan uses the river in Bailey. These are merely observations through adult eyes and has no bearing on how a child will enjoy it. Callaghan is probably a Stephen King fan and wears her influences on her sleeve and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Like Peadar Ó Guilín “The Call” Callaghan convincingly blends in elements of Irish folklore, for instance, ‘fetches’ are doppelgänger shape-changer creatures which make several note-worthy appearances. Interestingly chilling occurrences can happen in the middle of the day, when lots of people are around, this only adds to the atmosphere and the danger the central characters find themselves in. After all, the river snakes its way around the town and so the threat is never way away.
This was a convincing debut from an author who is one to watch. If you have a child around 11-14 who likes creepy books or are looking to buy a present for a friend’s child, or you dream of reducing the hours your child plays on online guff like “Fortnite” then “Dark Wood, Dark Water” may do the trick. An impressive, ambitious and entertaining debut.
The town of Bailey is a place to avoid (thankfully it only exists in the imagination of the author!) and is almost portrayed as a character in itself. However, this Irish town has problems, big problems. Something evil has a weird long-standing hold over the town, people die (often drowning) and nobody seems to truly notice or care and they are quickly forgotten until the next death. This evil presence is skilfully and believably portrayed, and the uncanny fog which has a stranglehold over the town is a key component in the success of the novel.
One of the opening sequences illustrates perfectly how the weird phenomena operates; a young man stands at the river edge and is initially thinking of how much he is looking forward to returning to university and escaping Bailey once again. But out of the blue a powerful compulsion to move closer to the river edge, thinking that the water just looks so perfect, comes over him. Before you know it, he jumps and Bailey has another unexplained death on its hands. Every family in this town has its tragedies.
The three main characters are older teens old teenagers whom have all lost someone close to them. Kate and Gabe have been best friends for years, with Josh joining the trio after he saves Kate when she is pushed into river and almost drowns. Josh is instantly attracted to Kate and together the three begin to look more closely into the mystery and its possible origins. But the deeper they dig, the more likely it is that the evil will turn its force in their direction.
There is also a strong historical element to the novel which introduces the origins of the evil which shrouds the town, much of which is effectively told through dream sequences. However, put yourself in the head of a young teen, and I did wonder how engaged they would be with these ‘Old Ireland’ sequences. They meandered somewhat and I am also not sure how impressed they will be by the origins of the curse which controls Bailey. It’s no Pennywise and as a ‘Big Bad’ I have seen a lot scarier, even in children’s books. If the projected sequel does materialise then I think the evil needs to be more defined and, well, eviler, if that makes any sense. It’s all relatively ‘PG’ level and lots of twelve-year-old kids will have read a lot nastier, but on the other hand it is a safe read and suitably for any kid in secondary school.
“Dark Wood Dark Water” is greatly enhanced by a full range of support characters who either enable the evil or are influenced by it, and drift in and out of the novel. This helps develop a fuller picture of the town of Bailey and takes the heat from the three main characters. It also gives the author to build effective supernatural set-pieces with smaller characters, such as a boy who strangles to death a girl he walks home with after a party without ever realising why he did it, or another who pushes Kate in the river and has no clue why they did it.
Tina Callaghan has a superb quote on the title page from Peadar Ó Guilín, author of “The Call” whom we have featured on Ginger Nuts several times: “’Dark Wood Dark Water’ is the sort of story
Stephen King would have written if he'd grown up in Ireland -- a read-in-one-sitting, sleep-with-the-lights-on sort of book”. This is a good and accurate headline from Peader, however, perhaps he is also eluding to the fact there are a number of similarities to Stephen King’s “It”. Of course, your average young teen is not likely to notice, but the Big Bad in this novel is not a million miles away from Pennywise, and the Irish town of Bailey is controlled in a similar way to how Pennywise influences Derry. King uses the sewers in Derry, Callaghan uses the river in Bailey. These are merely observations through adult eyes and has no bearing on how a child will enjoy it. Callaghan is probably a Stephen King fan and wears her influences on her sleeve and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Like Peadar Ó Guilín “The Call” Callaghan convincingly blends in elements of Irish folklore, for instance, ‘fetches’ are doppelgänger shape-changer creatures which make several note-worthy appearances. Interestingly chilling occurrences can happen in the middle of the day, when lots of people are around, this only adds to the atmosphere and the danger the central characters find themselves in. After all, the river snakes its way around the town and so the threat is never way away.
This was a convincing debut from an author who is one to watch. If you have a child around 11-14 who likes creepy books or are looking to buy a present for a friend’s child, or you dream of reducing the hours your child plays on online guff like “Fortnite” then “Dark Wood, Dark Water” may do the trick. An impressive, ambitious and entertaining debut.
November 17, 2018
I read YA all the time (it’s a genre, not an age recommendation!) but this is definitely one for younger readers not adults... maybe I would’ve liked this at 12, but I just didn’t buy it at all and it really annoyed me how much the two boys wanted to ‘protect’ Kate all the time... then the end was just bedlam.
November 16, 2018
YA read . Did a lot of skipping as book is hard to follow and those creatures that appeared frequently were losing my interest. Historical concept was interesting but it became embroiled in the present and just did not connect with me.
June 15, 2023
Shallow characterisation and a really bizarre fixation on a forced love triangle. Poor Alma didn’t need to be described by her weight in every sentence. Story was difficult to follow and often had me wondering how we had got there.
November 25, 2018
I met Tina at Wexford Literary Festival and hearing her read from it made this book all the more special.
Best Read
When you want to be transported to an Irish town where a dark and ancient evil lurks.
My Thoughts on the Book
Dark Wood Dark Water is the debut novel from Tina O’Callaghan and it has been shortlisted for an Irish book award, which is well deserved. Though I’m no longer a teenager I live young adult horror, maybe I’ve just never grown up in in my mind 😉
The book opens with dark, atmospheric scenes introducing the reader to the town of Bailey and its river. The imagery increases the sense of foreboding and leaves the reader under no illusion that Bailey is a place of pure evil.
Teenager Josh has lived in Bailey his whole life and his brother has just drowned, not the first life the river has claimed. Josh saves Kate from the river in a chance meeting – Kate’s life has been tainted by the river as well as her best friend’s Gabe. The three teenagers become friends and try to unravel the mystery of Bailey and its ancient terror.
The evil behind Bailey is linked to the town’s tormented past which Josh begins to see via dreams. As well as facing unspeakable dangers, Josh, Kate and Gabe are also dealing with loss and the struggles of their feelings and growing up. Their isolation from their families makes them more vulnerable and aware of Bailey as they try to defeat the twisting, mind-altering enemy.
I didn’t realise this was the first in a series until after I’d read this and I am so glad because I couldn’t get enough of the story, the writing and the characters. The Irish folklore and history was woven into this story beautifully. Those scenes were also filled with ghastly horror adding to the building terror.
I devoured this book in all it’s delicious darkness. Dark Wood Dark Water is a brilliant debut Irish teen horror novel and I’m so excited to see what comes from Tina next.
Best Read
When you want to be transported to an Irish town where a dark and ancient evil lurks.
My Thoughts on the Book
Dark Wood Dark Water is the debut novel from Tina O’Callaghan and it has been shortlisted for an Irish book award, which is well deserved. Though I’m no longer a teenager I live young adult horror, maybe I’ve just never grown up in in my mind 😉
The book opens with dark, atmospheric scenes introducing the reader to the town of Bailey and its river. The imagery increases the sense of foreboding and leaves the reader under no illusion that Bailey is a place of pure evil.
Teenager Josh has lived in Bailey his whole life and his brother has just drowned, not the first life the river has claimed. Josh saves Kate from the river in a chance meeting – Kate’s life has been tainted by the river as well as her best friend’s Gabe. The three teenagers become friends and try to unravel the mystery of Bailey and its ancient terror.
The evil behind Bailey is linked to the town’s tormented past which Josh begins to see via dreams. As well as facing unspeakable dangers, Josh, Kate and Gabe are also dealing with loss and the struggles of their feelings and growing up. Their isolation from their families makes them more vulnerable and aware of Bailey as they try to defeat the twisting, mind-altering enemy.
I didn’t realise this was the first in a series until after I’d read this and I am so glad because I couldn’t get enough of the story, the writing and the characters. The Irish folklore and history was woven into this story beautifully. Those scenes were also filled with ghastly horror adding to the building terror.
I devoured this book in all it’s delicious darkness. Dark Wood Dark Water is a brilliant debut Irish teen horror novel and I’m so excited to see what comes from Tina next.
June 6, 2019
Something is wrong in the town of Bailey, something lurks in the river that seems to take its toll on the town in a longstanding pattern. After Josh loses his older brother, Callum to the river, he finds Kate and Gabe. Kate and Gabe have also lost their fathers to the water. Since each of the deaths, the teens have seen strange things surface in the water, images of their loved ones, hallucinations and dreams that seem more like memories. With the help of the town historian, they try to solve and stop the plague that haunts Bailey.
Dark Wood Dark Water presented and intriguing mystery and a multi-layered horror story. It did take me a while to get into and to sort out all of the characters. There were quite a few characters introduced at the beginning and the chapters switched between their points of view. This made it difficult for me to place how everyone fit together. Once the three main characters were together,this was a bit easier. I enjoyed the connection to the past and the uniqueness of the curse, however I was left confused with some of the characters that played a part in the curse. I am still unsure as to what role Alma and Richard played and I'm not sure they were even necessary to the plot. Josh, Gabe and Kate were well thought out and were characters that I cared about. I would have loved a little more information as to how the curse began in the past, it seemed like the originator of the curse was dabbling in some dark arts that may have been rooted in Bailey even before the curse began. The horror elements kept me reading as they ranged from haunting to gruesome to psychological. Overall, a unique young adult horror that could use a bit more polishing up.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Dark Wood Dark Water presented and intriguing mystery and a multi-layered horror story. It did take me a while to get into and to sort out all of the characters. There were quite a few characters introduced at the beginning and the chapters switched between their points of view. This made it difficult for me to place how everyone fit together. Once the three main characters were together,this was a bit easier. I enjoyed the connection to the past and the uniqueness of the curse, however I was left confused with some of the characters that played a part in the curse. I am still unsure as to what role Alma and Richard played and I'm not sure they were even necessary to the plot. Josh, Gabe and Kate were well thought out and were characters that I cared about. I would have loved a little more information as to how the curse began in the past, it seemed like the originator of the curse was dabbling in some dark arts that may have been rooted in Bailey even before the curse began. The horror elements kept me reading as they ranged from haunting to gruesome to psychological. Overall, a unique young adult horror that could use a bit more polishing up.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
October 10, 2018
Something, indeed, is wrong in the town of Bailey – people are dying – and three teenagers will have to face a dark and evil nemesis emerging from the town’s past. Our three reluctant heroes know the agony of loss:
Kate – her father drowned in the river; her mother hospitalized.
Gabe – his father drowned in an old well.
Josh – his older brother also killed by the river.
These three young people must come together and put aside their teen angst and jealousies to fight an evil that they will find is deeply rooted in the town and its river.
Tina Callaghan’s dark portrait of the town of Bailey is a riveting read. The characters are fully fleshed and identifiable and, therefore, easy to invest in. The dark and dreadful history of the town is well documented as Callaghan weaves together the past and the present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was fast-paced and hard to put down. An excellent read for young adults and adults who enjoy dark fiction and fantasy.
I received a free copy of this book as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.
Kate – her father drowned in the river; her mother hospitalized.
Gabe – his father drowned in an old well.
Josh – his older brother also killed by the river.
These three young people must come together and put aside their teen angst and jealousies to fight an evil that they will find is deeply rooted in the town and its river.
Tina Callaghan’s dark portrait of the town of Bailey is a riveting read. The characters are fully fleshed and identifiable and, therefore, easy to invest in. The dark and dreadful history of the town is well documented as Callaghan weaves together the past and the present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was fast-paced and hard to put down. An excellent read for young adults and adults who enjoy dark fiction and fantasy.
I received a free copy of this book as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.
March 16, 2019
You will never be able to view rivers the same after reading this book.
The author interweaves past and present in a very intriguing way keeping you on your mental toes throughout the book. The characters are developed to fit their roles perfectly in the events that unfold though their emotional/mental development could have been enhanced. Strong emotional reactions occur but the reader doesn't really feel it having not had the build up of the emotional character along the way.
There are times when the reader has to make some connections in time/events that aren't expressly written which can make the storyline hard to follow. You are left wondering how exactly did we get from there to here? There were a couple high intensity moments that were suddenly interrupted by calm and what seemed to be unnecessary events which reduced the impact of the scene.
The book is an easy read, not too long, not too short. It was well written and kept your attention from beginning to end. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves the unexpected and out of the ordinary stories.
The author interweaves past and present in a very intriguing way keeping you on your mental toes throughout the book. The characters are developed to fit their roles perfectly in the events that unfold though their emotional/mental development could have been enhanced. Strong emotional reactions occur but the reader doesn't really feel it having not had the build up of the emotional character along the way.
There are times when the reader has to make some connections in time/events that aren't expressly written which can make the storyline hard to follow. You are left wondering how exactly did we get from there to here? There were a couple high intensity moments that were suddenly interrupted by calm and what seemed to be unnecessary events which reduced the impact of the scene.
The book is an easy read, not too long, not too short. It was well written and kept your attention from beginning to end. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves the unexpected and out of the ordinary stories.
October 30, 2018
I received and ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.
This book had a lot of potential, but it ended up being kind of a mess in my opinion. I loved the premise of a cursed town with a haunted history, but the deeper I got into the book, the more confusing it became. It jumped around randomly, with characters and events that were disjointed and disconnected. It continually left me wondering “what just happened there, and how was it relevant to the plot?” While I liked the characters, the author treated them somewhat superficially, and could have made them all a lot deeper. It was a little intense at time to be considered a young adult novel, but I admit I’ve read worse in the genre.
Overall, I really wanted to like the book, and while I did enjoy the read, it could have been more coherent. I look forward to more from this author as she matures as a writer.
This book had a lot of potential, but it ended up being kind of a mess in my opinion. I loved the premise of a cursed town with a haunted history, but the deeper I got into the book, the more confusing it became. It jumped around randomly, with characters and events that were disjointed and disconnected. It continually left me wondering “what just happened there, and how was it relevant to the plot?” While I liked the characters, the author treated them somewhat superficially, and could have made them all a lot deeper. It was a little intense at time to be considered a young adult novel, but I admit I’ve read worse in the genre.
Overall, I really wanted to like the book, and while I did enjoy the read, it could have been more coherent. I look forward to more from this author as she matures as a writer.
November 7, 2018
A great YA Horror read. You have everything you want here - a mysterious town, a cloying and uncomfortable atmosphere, a tense teenage love triangle, and a ghost monk!
October 30, 2018
I received and ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.
This book had a lot of potential, but it ended up being kind of a mess in my opinion. I loved the premise of a cursed town with a haunted history, but the deeper I got into the book, the more confusing it became. It jumped around randomly, with characters and events that were disjointed and disconnected. It continually left me wondering “what just happened there, and how was it relevant to the plot?” While I liked the characters, the author treated them somewhat superficially, and could have made them all a lot deeper. It was a little intense at time to be considered a young adult novel, but I admit I’ve read worse in the genre.
Overall, I really wanted to like the book, and while I did enjoy the read, it could have been more coherent. I look forward to more from this author as she matures as a writer.
This book had a lot of potential, but it ended up being kind of a mess in my opinion. I loved the premise of a cursed town with a haunted history, but the deeper I got into the book, the more confusing it became. It jumped around randomly, with characters and events that were disjointed and disconnected. It continually left me wondering “what just happened there, and how was it relevant to the plot?” While I liked the characters, the author treated them somewhat superficially, and could have made them all a lot deeper. It was a little intense at time to be considered a young adult novel, but I admit I’ve read worse in the genre.
Overall, I really wanted to like the book, and while I did enjoy the read, it could have been more coherent. I look forward to more from this author as she matures as a writer.
January 27, 2019
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Library Thing in return for an hones review.
Josh's brother has just drowned in the local river in Bailey. But he isn't the only one in town that has lost family members to the river. Some say the town of Bailey is cursed. Josh has been having strange dreams about a ship's captain and a monk. When he meets Kate and Gabe they discover they are all contact somehow, to each other and the town's past. With the help of local historian Naylor can they put an end to the curse or will they become the curse's next victims.
Overall I enjoyed the overall plot of this book however I felt like there where a lot of questions left unanswered. At times I had to re-read sections because I felt like I missed something. That being said I found myself invested in the characters and their struggle.
Josh's brother has just drowned in the local river in Bailey. But he isn't the only one in town that has lost family members to the river. Some say the town of Bailey is cursed. Josh has been having strange dreams about a ship's captain and a monk. When he meets Kate and Gabe they discover they are all contact somehow, to each other and the town's past. With the help of local historian Naylor can they put an end to the curse or will they become the curse's next victims.
Overall I enjoyed the overall plot of this book however I felt like there where a lot of questions left unanswered. At times I had to re-read sections because I felt like I missed something. That being said I found myself invested in the characters and their struggle.
October 7, 2018
A haunting YA debut that taps into the fear of what lies beneath and what came before. Set in the fictional Irish village of Bailey it centres on three young teenagers touched by the loss of a family member. Aware that something sinister lurks beneath the surface of the village and the river that runs through it, the three begin to investigate. But as they are drawn to each other to unravel the mystery, the darkness within the village turns its attention back on them.
With a large cast of characters and a strong sense of place, this book moves at fast pace. It quickly creeps into your consciousness and leaves you chilled, looking for the darkness in the everyday. I found it a compelling read and would recommend for 12+ or any who like gothic literature.
With a large cast of characters and a strong sense of place, this book moves at fast pace. It quickly creeps into your consciousness and leaves you chilled, looking for the darkness in the everyday. I found it a compelling read and would recommend for 12+ or any who like gothic literature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2018
"Dark Wood Dark Water" by Tina Callaghan, is a story about a town with a violent past and a cursed river, which comes to life to take the lives of local villagers. When Josh, Kate and Gabe lose relatives and friends to the creepy river, they become embroiled in the history of the curse, and must work together to stop the evil before it takes their souls.
"Dark Wood Dark Water" is an entertaining and easy read, for those who like YA stories with elements of romance, combining the past and present, and with a bit of "spooky" thrown in. Great fun and a good Halloween read.
"Dark Wood Dark Water" is an entertaining and easy read, for those who like YA stories with elements of romance, combining the past and present, and with a bit of "spooky" thrown in. Great fun and a good Halloween read.
October 23, 2018
Way way way too many characters for such a short story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews