Heap Earth Upon It: A creeping story of sibling rivalry and sapphic obsession from the author of Sunburn

** A creeping story of sibling rivalry and dangerous obsession from the multi-award nominated author of Sunburn **

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...

Crackling with suspense, Heap Earth Upon It revisits the rural Ireland of Howarth's critically acclaimed debut and delves into claustrophobic relationships and tangled identities, leaving you wondering who to trust until the very last page. It combines the emotional intensity and slow-burn sapphic obsession of Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea and Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep with the unsettling gothic undertones of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Shirley Jackson's fiction.

'A slow-burn rural Gothic perfect for chilly autumn nights' DAILY MAIL

'Airless and gripping... A devastating mix of hope and heartbreak, from one of Ireland's most exciting queer voices' NIAMH NÍ MHAOILEOIN, author of Ordinary Saints

'A tense and claustrophobic novel with gothic atmosphere which seeps into your bones like fog... A brutal exploration of the corrosive impact of shame and secrecy. Howarth knows her sapphic yearning!' RACHEL DAWSON, author of Neon Roses

'I lost myself in 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

‘The perfect slow burn; an absorbing, multifaceted and uneasy novel, with inscrutable characters who shed layers until their fierce, flawed centres are revealed. 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

'If you love Claire Keegan's stories, this is definitely one to get the juices flowing' MUDDY STILETTOS

‘A beautifully-written, haunting story of longing and grief… 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’ FIONA McPHILLIPS, author of When We Were Silent

'A tense, breathless novel with a twist that I haven't been able to stop thinking about' SETH INSUA, author of Human, Animal

‘Haunting, elegant and quietly explosive. Howarth draws atmosphere from both emotional and physical landscapes, crafting a suspenseful and unforgettable story that unsettles in all the right ways’ OVA CEREN (@excusemyreading)

‘A masterclass in suspense... I could not put this down… A compulsive mystery that’s threaded together so expertly, with language that sings from the page’ ROSS KELLY (@readsbyross)

'Assured, poignant and beautiful' TOM TIVNAN, The Bookseller

‘I read this novel in mostly one sitting and I wish I could read it again for the first time. I love Howarth’s writing and she’s a must-read author for me’ AMOY DALEY (@amoylikestoread)

‘No one writes complex, obsessive characters like Howarth!’ JESSICA LEES, Bookseller

© 2025 Verve Books (Ebook): 9780857309068

Release date

Ebook: 9 October 2025