The Stranger's Companion

Author: Mary Horlock

True crime | Crime & mystery | Historical fiction

Published on 20^th June 2024 by John Murray Press (Baskerville) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 352 pages, 1 B&W map in the prelims
222mm x 138mm | 0g

October 1933With a population of five hundred souls, isolated Sark has a reputation for being 'the island where nothing ever happens'. Until, one day, the neatly folded clothes of an unknown man and woman are discovered abandoned at a coastal beauty spot. As the search for the missing couple catches the attention of, first, the local and then national newspapers, Sark finds itself front-page news.

When young islander Phyllis Carey returns to Sark from England she throws herself into solving the mystery. As Phyll digs through swirls of gossip, ghost stories and dark rumours in search of the truth, she crosses paths with Everard Hyde, a surprise visitor from her past. As press coverage builds to fever pitch, long-suppressed secrets from Phyll's and Everard's shared, shadowy history begin to surface.

The Stranger's Companion is a beguiling historical mystery inspired by a real-life crime, which remains unsolved to this day.