A dark love story, and a disturbing tale of a divided soul. In the days leading to the fall of the Soviet empire, a young woman with a deadly secret slips unnoticed into the West. And when Alina Petrovna first appears in Three Oaks Bay it’s clear that her frail, luminous beauty is likely to cause some ripples in the surface calm of the peaceful resort town. For Pete McCarthy, the boatyard worker who gives her shelter, she’s an enigma. A complex, well-meaning young woman with a difficult past. Someone whose mystery deepens as the season gets under way, and the deaths by drowning begin

Gallagher handles the balance between mundane reality and stomach-turning horror with reassurance and offers a nicely twisted ending to boot. Highly recommended

Nigel Kendall, Time Out

A master of pace and suspense, Gallagher has the dark, neon-splashed imagination of a true original

Glasgow Evening Times

Stephen Gallagher has carved a highly individual niche with his distinctly psychological approach to the genre… The Boat House is a richly layered and absorbing story

Yorkshire Evening Post