The Surfacing (Paperback or Softback)

The secrets you bury don’t disappear. They rot…

“A beautifully written and captivating mystery.”―Claire McGowan

It’s twelve years since teenager Peter Ferguson drowned in Loch Ness―on the same night that Stephanie, her mother and her sister, Aurelie, were camping on its shores. In the shocking aftermath, their family and life as they knew it fell apart, and the sisters no longer speak. But now Aurelie is getting married, and Stephanie realises that a reunion might finally bring the truth about that fateful night to the surface…

As the wedding celebrations get underway, tongues loosen, and dangerous whispers circulate among the guests. Yet the real danger―the rot that threatens to break them all―might come from within the family itself. As she confronts the suspicions swirling around her, Stephanie is about to uncover secrets that will change all their lives forever.

She never planned to get blood on her hands in her pursuit of the truth. But as the clock ticks down on the family reunion, that may be her only option…

Born in Washington DC and raised in Derbyshire and Oxfordshire in the UK, Claire studied at Cambridge University and LSE before working for many years as an economist. The quiet of lockdown provided an opportunity to rekindle her passion for creative writing.

When not cold-water swimming or planning her next overseas adventure, Claire is partial to lots of coffee and a good cryptic crossword. She lives in Bedfordshire with her husband and two children.