The House of Water: Longlisted for the CWA Twisted Dagger 2026

Longlisted for the CWA Twisted Dagger 2026 - the most inventive and beguiling psychological thriller of the year.

PLACING THAT KEY IN THE LOCK WAS THE LAST ORDINARY MOMENT OF HER LIFE.

'Magnificent' Russell T Davies
'An unpredictable twist' Erin Kelly
'Exceptional' Suzy Aspley
'Unlike any other thriller you've read' Michelle McDonagh

Iona Griffri returns home one evening to find her family murdered and her father, Eurov, missing. Her family home is entirely submerged in water, and a strange, unnamed girl lies dead in her bed.

As the police declare her father the main suspect, Iona is forced to confront how much she really knew about the man who raised her. Could he have been capable of such a crime? And who is the mysterious girl left behind?

With the help of the morgue attendant looking after her family's bodies, Iona goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind those final weeks of her family's life. Hidden in the fragments of her father's final manuscript, recovered from the flood, an unimaginable secret slowly rises to the surface. A terrible sin finally revealed...

A haunting, boundary-pushing thriller told through the lens of a lyrical family drama, from a captivating literary talent. The House of Water will rush over you like a torrent from the opening page to the very last.

Readers love The House of Water

'Whodunnits are not typically my thing but this is so beautifully written I was entranced from the start'

'Gripping and twisty, a must-read'

'I'm not often left speechless, but The House Of Water has basically left me struggling to write a review that will give this book the praise it deserves'

'Atmospheric, haunting, emotional, raw and in my opinion simply stunning'

'One of my top ten books of the year'

Fflur Dafydd is an award-winning novelist, musician and screenwriter who works in Welsh and English. She is a graduate of UEA's Creative
Writing MA, a former Hay Festival International Fellow and an alumna of Iowa University's prestigious International Writing Program. She has also been nominated for several BAFTA Cymru awards for her screenwriting work. She lives in West Wales with her husband and two daughters.