Hear No Evil: Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger 2023
About this ebook
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BLOODY SCOTLAND DEBUT PRIZE 2022
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS' ASSOCIATION DEBUT CROWN 2022
Glasgow, 1817: Jean Campbell - a young, Deaf woman - is witnessed throwing a child into the River Clyde from the Old Bridge.
If found guilty she faces one of two fates; death by hanging or incarceration in an asylum. But Jean's deafness leaves her isolated and unable to defend herself, until the authorities call in Robert Kinniburgh, a talented teacher from the Deaf & Dumb Institution.
Through a difficult process of trial and error, Robert and Jean manage to find a rudimentary way of communicating with each other. As Jean grows to trust Robert, she reveals what really happened on that bridge over the river Clyde. And Robert, now embroiled in this dark case, must act quickly to ensure justice is served, before it is too late.
'Based on a case from Scottish legal history, Smith's novel skilfully combines crime fiction with a woman's struggle to speak the truth' The Times
'Fascinating' Sally Magnusson
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Sarah Smith is a writer from Glasgow. She has worked as a creative writing tutor, family history researcher and project worker with a number of charities including Deaf Connections where she first came across the story that would go on to inspire Hear No Evil.
In 2019, she was awarded a New Writers Award for Fiction from the Scottish Book Trust and graduated with an MLitt (Distinction) in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow in 2018.
