Treacherous Strand

The majestic Inishowen Peninsula shore—home to dangerous and unpredictable currents

A woman's body washes up on a remote beach on the Inishowen Peninsula. Partially clothed, with a strange tattoo on her thigh, she is identified as Marguerite Etienne, a French woman who has been living in the area. Solicitor Ben (Benedicta) O'Keeffe is consumed by guilt: for the second time in her life Ben has failed someone who needed her, with tragic consequences.


When local sergeant Tom Molloy dismisses Marguerite's death as the suicide of a disturbed and lonely woman, Ben cannot let it lie. Ben uncovers Marguerite's strange past as a member of a French doomsday cult, which she escaped twenty years previously, but not without leaving her baby daughter behind. Disturbed by what appears to be chilling local indifference to Marguerite's death, Ben pieces together the last few weeks of the French woman's life in Inishowen.


What she discovers causes her to question the fragile nature of her own position in the area, and she finds herself crossing boundaries—both personal and professional—to unearth local secrets long buried.

Treacherous Strand is the second in a series of mysteries set in the fictional town of Glendara on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal with amateur sleuth, solicitor Ben O'Keeffe. These atmospheric and immersive mysteries are being adapted as a television series to be filmed in Inishowen.

Perfect for mystery readers who enjoy character driven mysteries, with a strong female protagonist and a powerful sense of place

While all of the novels in the Inishowen Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Death at Whitewater Church
Treacherous Strand
The Well of Ice
Murder at Greysbridge
The Body Falls