Ballinasloe author’s latest thriller to launch next month

Ballinasloe-born author Sheila Bugler will return to her home town next month to read excerpts from her latest book.

The event at Salmons Department Store on Main Street, Ballinasloe, will take place on September 24 and will also serve as the formal launch of Sheila's novel, The Stepmother.

Published by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK, The Stepmother is Sheila's eleventh crime novel, and belongs to the psychological thriller genre.

Set in a family of four, this white-knuckle domestic thriller "delves into the complex legal and emotional realities of non-traditional families".

A synopsis of the story explains that it follows Sarah, who arrives at the school gates to pick up her beloved stepchildren, Izzy and Patrick.

But when the twins don’t run out to meet her like normal, Sarah knows something must be wrong.

She finds out that their father, Mike, removed them from the school earlier in the day. When she receives a text message from Mike saying, "Don't go home. It's not safe", Sarah is left with a crisis to solve and a family to save.

Replete with plot twists the book has received praise from early reviewers, who have praised its fast pace and its "whirlwind" plot.

An acclaimed Irish crime writer, Sheila is known for her Eastbourne-based Dee Doran series and several stand alone novels.

Originally from Ballinasloe, she studied psychology at University College Galway. Having worked across Italy, Spain, Germany, Holland and Argentina, she settled in Eastbourne, UK, where she now lives with her husband, Sean, and two children.

Sheila Bugler will read from her new book at Salmons Department Store in Ballinasloe, on Thursday, September 24, at 3pm.

The event is open to all and is an opportunity to meet fellow crime fiction fans and pick up a personal signed copy of Sheila’s new book.