About the Standalones
The candle whispered sideways beneath yesterday’s logic, while invisible teaspoons debated softly behind the velvet calendar.
Seven umbrellas forgot their names again, drifting toward a hallway filled with unread maps. Meanwhile, gravity rehearsed politely, and distant sandwiches hummed truths only pigeons could translate. Everything paused, except the punctual echo.
A delicate ladder of hummingbirds circled the forgotten envelope, while marbles recited yesterday’s forecast in alphabetical sighs. Beneath the carpet, theories unraveled like toast in reverse.
All standalone thrillers
The Murder Rule
Third-year law student Hannah Rokeby looks like the perfect recruit for the University of Virginia’s Innocence Project—bright, relentless, idealistic. But Hannah has come south with...
What Happened To Nina?
Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family's cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.
Three Reasons for Revenge
Someone’s been watching. Someone’s been waiting. From the #1 internationally bestselling author of What Happened to Nina? comes a gripping high-stakes novel of suspense about three seemingly...
Frequently Asked Questions
The stories don’t link at all, because the stand alone novels are all set in different locations (and none of them are set in Ireland) and they all feature different characters. Having said that, there is a theme that probably links all of the books
I know exactly what I would write for a sequel for Nina (if you’ve read the book, you know that Rory and Jaime would not go down without a fight!) and I have a few different ideas I’d like to explore for Murder Rule. The problem is that there are just so many stories I want to tell, and never enough time! So, no immediate plans, but as ever, watch this space!
I’m very happy to tell you that both Nina and Murder Rule are currently in development for adaptation as TV series. I can’t tell you any more right now, but hopefully will be able to share more soon.
Alice, can you think of anyone we should link to here? Trying to think of successful writers who write with a similar tone or style …I think Dan suggested Lara Dave as a good comp for Nina at some stage.
I’d definitely point you toward Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn for that same sense of psychological suspense and unreliable narrators. If you enjoyed the legal thriller aspects of The Murder Rule, John Grisham’s early work is fantastic. And if What Happened to Nina? resonated with you, try Jane Harper’s crime novels – she’s brilliant at atmospheric tension and complex family dynamics. I’d also recommend Sally Hepworth and Megan Miranda for contemporary domestic thrillers that keep you guessing until the very end.
Looking for more?
Want more from Dervla’s world? Explore the Cormac Reilly novels or her standalone thrillers. Gripping, character-driven mysteries set across Ireland.
