THE GHOSTS OF ROME, the second literary thriller in the Rome Escape Line Trilogy by bestselling author Joseph O’Connor, has jumped straight to Number One on the Irish bestseller chart after three days on sale and is in the Top 20 in the UK hardback chart as well.

The novel is published by Harvill Secker in the United Kingdom and Ireland and has just been published in the US and Canada by Europa Editions. In the UK, THE GHOSTS OF ROME was launched at Daunt Books in Marylebone and at the Irish Embassy in London where Joe was in conversation with Emma Madigan, Irish Diplomat and Former Ambassador of Republic of Ireland to the Holy See. A sold-out event at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, launched the bestselling Irish edition.

February 1944. Six months since Nazi forces occupied Rome. Inside the beleaguered city, the Contessa Giovanna Landini is a member of the band of Escape Line activists known as ‘The Choir’. Their mission is to smuggle refugees to safety and help Allied soldiers, all under the nose of Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann.

During a ferocious morning air raid a mysterious parachutist lands in Rome and disappears into the backstreets. Is he an ally or an imposter? His fate will come to put the whole Escape Line at risk.

Meanwhile, Hauptmann’s attention has landed on the Contessa. As his fascination grows, she is pulled into a dangerous game with him – one where the consequences could be lethal.

Like MY FATHER’S HOUSE before it, THE GHOSTS OF ROME has been published to widespread acclaim. In The Guardian, Laura Wilson called the novel ‘nail-bitingly tense… vivid and moving’ in her round up of the ‘Best Recent Crime and Thrillers’ while the Sunday Times named it as one of their ‘Books to Look out for in 2025. The Sunday Independent commented that ‘The version of the war created here rings so emotionally true and clear… The writing has the energy and tension of a thriller yet the language is rich, visual and beautiful. The narration swoops in close to each character then the lens widens, almost cinematically. It becomes a bird flying over the city, strong and free, observing the tragedy and chaos below. Fans will love this return to the Choir.’

Reviewers in the US also have high praise for THE GHOSTS OF ROME. In a rave review in The New York Times, Alex Preston said ‘O’Connor has often been likened to the great Irish modernists for the lyricism of his voice-driven novels. But THE GHOSTS OF ROME also situates him within a broader European tradition of memory and moral reckoning, one that returns again and again to World War II. O’Connor embraces this legacy while transcending its cliches… What emerges is not just a wartime thriller, though it is that, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures.’ Kirkus Reviews said ‘the story is exciting and rich with prose that’s a joy to read… Top-notch storytelling filled with emotion and drama’ while Publishers Weekly called the novel ‘pulse-pounding’ in a starred review. More praise can be found below.

The first novel in the trilogy, MY FATHER’s HOUSE, was published by Harvill Secker and Europa Editions in 2023, when it flew straight to Number One on the Irish bestseller charts, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It has now sold more than 100,000 copies in the English language. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the Eason An Post Irish Novel of the year 2023, and also longlisted for the 2024 Dublin Literary Award.

Praise for THE GHOSTS OF ROME

‘O’Connor has done his research with care, drawing on O’Flaherty’s unpublished letters, diaries and journalism. With his real people in place, the author spins a new tale of derring-do, recounted with the help of imagined interviews conducted many years later… O’Connor paints a lively picture of a city filled with Fascist police and German soldiers, some on furlough from the North, everyone watchful and hungry, the streets filthy, the black-market prices rising every day… THE GHOSTS OF ROME is both a tribute to the imagination and courage of his remarkable team and a riveting thriller.’ – Caroline Moorehead, The Times Literary Supplement

‘A mesmerising, tragic, horrifying, utterly unputdownable story… A deeply affecting read with an ending that’s sad yet life affirming, this is an outstanding choice for fans of WWII fiction and of writers like Anthony Doerr.’ – Emily Melton, Booklist, starred review

‘O’Connor is a novelist capable of real poetry who also gives thriller fans a reason to turn the pages… Meticulously researched… This tremendous piece of work captures everything from the Ardeatine massacre to the musicality of the eternal city, which the roar of war cannot quell… There’s also a satisfying ending before the touching coda, setting things up nicely for the trilogy’s final entry. If it’s even half as good as this, it will be a very good book indeed.’ – Pat Carty, The Business Post

‘From the opening tour de force sequence of the Allied air-raid on Rome to the brilliantly done (and unexpected) coda, I found it utterly gripping and, if anything, even more enjoyable, atmospheric and informative than MY FATHER’S HOUSE was (a high bar to clear)… a tremendous read.’ – Peter Kemp

‘There is no finer writer of historical fiction than Joseph O’Connor. Nazi occupied Rome springs to life under his skilful pen. In THE GHOSTS OF ROME, the tension builds almost unbearably as the Contessa faces down Commander Hauptmann. Beautifully written, warm and witty, this story of a terrorised city is a must-read. Thrilling, terrifying and entertaining in equal measure. Bravo!’ – Liz Nugent

‘It was hard to turn pages fast enough to keep up with the rapid-fire pace of THE GHOSTS OF ROME. Joseph O’Connor lures readers into a little known, but important, facet of World War II history and keeps them hooked until the very last page.’ – Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE and THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM

‘The lyricism of his writing is sublime.’ – Ryan Tubridy

‘Joseph O’Connor’s THE GHOSTS OF ROME is as thrilling, beautiful and sensational a novel as you’ll read this year or any year.’ – Donal Ryan, What Our Top Authors Are Reading Now, Irish Sunday Times

‘O’Connor’s characters, historical and fictional, resonate with all the villainy, heroics, indecisiveness, kindness and headstrong daredevilry that make up any group of humans from kindergarten on – but here, uniqueness can prove lethal.’ – E. B. Boatner, Lavendar

‘Lovers of suspenseful stories, students of WWII history and those who are looking for a novel with relatable characters and a worthy moral framework will surely find this one to their pleasure.’ – Reading the West

‘Eternal Rome is always in the background as bombings scatter ancient artifacts and the city’s great age brings old shadows to the streets... Superb storytelling.’ – Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

‘O’Connor continues to stun with this follow-up to MY FATHER’S HOUSE ...Chilling, engrossing, inspiring!’ – Kelly Justice, Fountain Books

‘NOT just another WWII story, this one is filled with such memorable characters and the suspense is truly thrilling and I am exceedingly anxious for the third and final book in this wonderful series. I need to know what happens… the suspense is killing me!’ – Mollie Mitchell, Heathfire Books

‘Intense and riveting... I’ve become attached to the characters, and it is easy to get lost in the time and place of events. O’Connor is a master storyteller and not to be missed! A must read!!’ – Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette

About Joseph O’Connor

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin, where he still lives. THE GHOSTS OF ROME is his eleventh novel: he is also the author of film scripts, radio and stage plays, two collections of short stories, and several bestselling works of non-fiction.

2022 was the 20th anniversary of Joseph O’Connor’s novel STAR OF THE SEA which was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies in the UK alone and being published in 38 languages. It won France’s Prix Millepages, Italy’s Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Nielsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year.

His novel GHOST LIGHT was chosen as Dublin’s One City Book novel for 2011. Published in 2019, SHADOWPLAY, has won him extraordinary praise, was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, The Dalkey Novel Prize, the Costa Novel Prize, among others, and won him Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. The French edition was shortlisted for the Jean Monnet Prize and the Vintage paperback was a Richard and Judy Winter 2020 pick.

He holds an honorary Doctorate in Literature from University College Dublin and received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2012. He is the Inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

Visit Joseph O’Connor’s website.