Chloe Michelle Howarth in conversation - Glasgow Sauchiehall St

January 1965. The orphaned O'Leary siblings - Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy - arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start.

After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they're taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship and an opportunity to fit in.

But for one of the O'Learys, this new friendship sparks an intense attachment that makes the dynamic dangerous for all. It's difficult to bury secrets, but almost impossible to bury feelings..

Heap Earth Upon It is a beautifully-written, haunting story of longing and grief told by characters that draw you into themselves and the dark secrets threaded through each of them. It's also a slow-burn mystery revealed chapter by chapter as we find out exactly how far each person will go to justify the stories they tell themselves

I lost myself in Chloe Michelle Howarth's strange and startling second novel. It's a deeply affecting tapestry of gothic landscapes and virtuosic, character driven prose. As it haunted me, Heap Earth Upon It will haunt you too - Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb

A tense and claustrophobic novel with gothic atmosphere that seeps into your bones like fog. It's a fascinating look at mid-century rural Irish life, and a brutal exploration of the corrosive impact of shame and secrecy. Chloe Michelle Howarth knows her sapphic yearning! - Rachel Dawson, author of Neon Roses

Heap Earth Upon It is the perfect slow burn, an absorbing, multifaceted and uneasy novel, with inscrutable characters who shed layers until their fierce, flawed centres are revealed. Set in a 1960s rural Ireland that feels almost timeless, Howarth takes the 'a stranger comes to town' trope and weaves a mesmerising, shimmering web with it, deftly building and breaking tensions with a glance across a room, or a knock on a door. I was drawn in by the characters' quiet watchfulness and insularity, and the strong sense of place, but I was held captive by their rich interiorities, in particular Anna's simmering, swooning obsession that I felt must surely, soon, boil over... A triumph of a second novel - Emma van Straaten, author of This Immaculate Body

Dark, passionate and poised. A remarkable story of the way rural Ireland haunts and is haunted. Intense and thrilling - Soula Emmanuel, author of Wild Geese

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Waterstones, 153-157 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, United Kingdom