Distress Signals

Shortlisted 2017 CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger award

Did she leave, or was she taken?

The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her.

Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before. To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...

Short-listed for CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger award 2017 (UK)

Distress Signals is a highly confident and accomplished debut novel, impeccably sustained, with not a false note. The exploration of the often murky backstage workings of the luxury liner world is fascinating, and there is a psychologically acute portrait of a killer that is genuinely moving. We will hear a great deal more of this author. Irish Times
A debut novel with a cracking plot and satisfyingly eerie writing throughout. Woman's Way magazine
This is Catherine Ryan Howard's debut thriller, and what a tense, tight, original page turner she's delivered...Writing a thriller which doesn't leave readers with a sense of deja vu isn't easy these days, but Catherine Ryan Howard has managed it triumphantly. Definitely a new, exciting and original author to watch. Sunday Independent
Catherine Ryan Howard is an astonishing new voice in thriller writing. Make sure the children are fed, the cat is out and the box set is finished before you pick up Distress Signals because it will have to be wrenched from your hands before you will notice the world again. Pacy, suspenseful and intriguing, I highly recommend it for a top class page turning read. Liz Nugent, author of 2014 IBA Crime Novel of the Year for Unravelling Oliver
I loved the voice and the Cork setting - an engaging, unusual and believable thriller. Sinead Crowley, bestselling author of Are You Watching Me?
An exhilarating debut thriller from a hugely talented author. Distress Signals is fast-paced, twisty and an absolute joy to read. Mark Edwards, #1 bestselling author of The Magpies and Follow You Home
Twisty and gripping. Claire McGowan, author of The Silent Dead
An excellent debut thriller from Cork's Catherine Ryan Howard, which may give cruising executives some sleepless nights. Irish Independent

Catherine Ryan Howard was born in Cork, Ireland. Prior to writing full-time, Catherine worked as a front desk agent in Walt Disney World, Florida, and most recently was a social media marketer for a major publisher. She is currently studying for a BA in English at Trinity College Dublin.

When Adam's girlfriend fails to return from a business trip, he sets out to find her - putting him on a collision course with a deadly predator. A deeply compelling, cleverly plotted thriller in the vein of The Girl on the Train and I Let You Go. Shortlisted 2017 CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger award Did she leave, or was she taken? The day Adam Dunne's girlfriend, Sarah, fails to return from a Barcelona business trip, his perfect life begins to fall apart. Days later, the arrival of her passport and a note that reads 'I'm sorry - S' sets off real alarm bells. He vows to do whatever it takes to find her. Adam is puzzled when he connects Sarah to a cruise ship called the Celebrate - and to a woman, Estelle, who disappeared from the same ship in eerily similar circumstances almost exactly a year before. To get the answers, Adam must confront some difficult truths about his relationship with Sarah. He must do things of which he never thought himself capable. And he must try to outwit a predator who seems to have found the perfect hunting ground...

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