The Drowned Parish

The Drowned Parish returns Clara Hart to a village already marked for disappearance.

In Hartwell, Somerset, the county is preparing to flood the valley for a new reservoir. Cottages are being emptied, graves are being moved, and the old parish records are being packed away before the water comes. But when an exhumation reveals a body buried under the wrong name, Clara is called west to look into a matter the authorities would rather treat as an administrative error.

What she finds is not only a false grave, but a village built on silence. Wartime grief, missing records, disputed accounts, and old loyalties all converge in Hartwell, where the past has been carefully arranged to survive inspection. As pressure mounts to continue the removals, Clara must uncover the truth before the valley is drowned and the evidence disappears beneath the water.

Atmospheric, precise, and steeped in the moral aftermath of the Great War, The Drowned Parish is a mystery about memory, records, and the cost of letting a community decide which truths deserve to live.