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Beneath the Shadows

How do you begin to move on, if the past won’t let you go?

When Grace’s husband, Adam, inherits a cottage on the isolated North Yorkshire moors, they leave London behind to try a new life. However, a week later, Adam vanishes, leaving their baby daughter on the doorstep.

The following year, Grace returns to the tiny village of Roseby. She is desperate for answers, but it seems the slumbering village is unwilling to give up its secrets. As Grace learns more about the locals and the area’s superstitions and folklore, strange dreams begin to trouble her. Are the villagers hiding something, or is she becoming increasingly paranoid? Only as snowfall threatens to cut them off from the rest of the world does Grace begin to understand how close the threat lies, and that she and her daughter may be in terrible danger if she cannot get them away in time.

Foster’s second page-turning tale of suspense set on the snow-covered moors has something for everyone: mystery, romance, paranormal activity and mortal danger.

Kirkus Reviews

Sara Foster overtly appropriates the tone, atmosphere and themes of classics from Wuthering Heights to Rebecca, delivering a modern gothic that has the charm and suspense of Susan Hill’s ghost stories.

The Saturday Age

…a stunning thriller.

Western Advocate

Praise for Beneath the Shadows

‘The absorbing plot of “Beneath the Shadows” shows that a quiet, non-violent mystery can pack a lot of punch.’

OLINE COGDILL
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Foster’s captivating story is steeped in secrets locked in attics and hidden in cellars, good sisters, bad sisters, a ghost, a couple of brooding handsome men and almost as many characters with mother issues as a Sophocles play.

CAROLE BARROWMAN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This is an intricately woven tale inspired by classic stories such as Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. The suspense and unexpected twists will leave you guessing all the way through.

The West Australian

Beneath the Shadows draws together an intriguing mystery, an atmospheric and gloomy setting that steals over you as you read it and an interesting and varied cast of supporting characters to create a psychological thriller that will definitely leave you wanting more from this author!

1girl2manybooks

This is the second Sara Foster book that I have read (it is also her second release – so I now have a bit of a wait to get my Sara Foster fix again), and once again I was mesmerised by Sara’s writing, and completely pulled in by the story.

The Hungry Bookshelf

…a mystery-suspense novel so thrilling it forces you to burn the midnight oil

Flourish magazine

Beneath the Shadows is full of intrigue and wonderfully dark descriptions of ghosts that haunt the moors.

Good Reading magazine

…merges classicism and contemporary to winning effect.

a book a day till i can stay, #190

This is an intricately woven tale inspired by classic stories such as Wuthering Heights and Rebecca. The suspense and unexpected twists will leave you guessing all the way through.

Chicklit Club

Beneath the Shadows is a tense, suspenseful story of loss, secrets and ghostly presences.

The West Australian

When Adam inherits a lonely cottage, he and Grace and their baby move in. Then Adam vanishes. No trace, no clues… A year later, Grace still seeks answers but knows she must move on. The locals are reluctant to offer help, but it comes from an unexpected quarter. As winter snows start to cut them off from the world, Grace finds the answers lie in unsuspected places. Heart stopping moments are ahead for her… and us.

Woman’s Day

A year after her husband’s disappearance, Grace returns to their home looking for closure. Set in England’s desolate moors, this page-turner has just the right amount of mystery.

In Style Magazine

With spooky clocks, snowstorms, cursed chairs, family secrets, ominous portents, greasy letters written on glass, taciturn locals and a few ghosts, there’s something here for everyone who enjoys a good shiver up the spine. The moors, bleak, beautiful and unforgiving, provide the perfect backdrop.

M/C reviews

If you love a novel with a twist, then Perth writer Sara Foster’s latest novel Beneath the Shadows is the perfect port in a winter storm.

ishoperth

Beneath the Shadows is a great read by a talented Australian author. (5/5 stars)

The Australian Bookshelf

For Bookclubs

Book Club Questions (downloadable PDF)


If you’d like to read Beneath the Shadows for your book club, this downloadable PDF reading guide includes discussion questions for your group.

Do you have a burning question that you want to ask Sara about the book, or would you like a personalised video for your book club? Use the contact form to get in touch.

You can find downloadable PDFs for all Sara’s books on the Book Club page.


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Beneath the Shadows


A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

Born and raised in the UK, I worked for a time in the HarperCollins fiction department in London, before freelancing as an editor. During my editing career I built up relationships with publishers in the UK and Australia, working with bestselling authors, celebrities and emerging novelists, across a broad range of genres, both fiction and non-fiction.

In 2007, I took time out from editing to finish my first book, Come Back to Me. It was published in Australia in 2010 and made the Sydney Morning Herald top ten Australian bestseller list. In 2011, Beneath the Shadows reached No. 4 on the Australian Sunday Telegraph bestsellers list, and rights were sold in the USA and Germany.  Shallow Breath was a ‘Book of the Week’ pick for the Sydney Morning Herald, while All That is Lost Between Us was described by Hannah Richell in the Australian Women’s Weekly as ‘classic suspense, but with a wonderful modern edge’. The Hidden Hours was shortlisted for a Davitt Award in 2018 and has been optioned by TV production company CJZ, while You Don’t Know Me has been adapted into a chart-topping six-part podcast drama series by Listnr in Australia, and was shortlisted for Podcast of the Year in the 2023 Commercial Radio Awards (Australia) and in the Drama Podcast category of the 2024 New York Festivals Radio Awards. The Hidden Hours, You Don’t Know Me and The Hush were all voted into Better Reading’s Top 100 books of the year by Australian readers.

My latest books are published by HarperCollins in Australia and Blackstone in the US. All my novels are available as ebooks and in audiobook format.

I live with my husband Matt, my two daughters and an assortment of animals in Perth, Western Australia. I completed my PhD at Curtin University in 2023, receiving a Chancellor’s Commendation for my research on the representation of mother figures in fiction with young adult heroines. The Hush forms part of my doctoral thesis.

I  write two substacks, taking readers behind the scenes at Story Matters, and supporting writers at The Resilient Author, exploring themes around storytelling, publishing, culture and creativity. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.