A twisting, richly atmospheric crime novel set within the gothic splendour of St Paul's Cathedral in Dunedin.

When organist Sybil Marsden plunges from the cathedral's loft to the stone floor below, her death is ruled a tragic accident. Only Ivo Hart - a lowly police administrator more comfortable with filing systems than people - senses something amiss. Armed with a single, tenuous piece of evidence, Ivo turns to the last person the city trusts: Halia Knox, the infamous former investigative journalist whose career imploded as spectacularly as her reputation.

Together, they begin a covert inquiry that draws them deep into the cathedral's inner workings and they learn that nothing - and no one - is as they seem. They uncover rivalries, tensions, and secrets buried as carefully as the dead, but the deeper they dig, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

Someone is watching. Someone who has already proven they can turn a fall into an 'accident.' And soon Ivo finds himself edging towards a deadly precipice of his own...


‘It’s rare to encounter a debut as assured and accomplished as this. The Body and the Blood is a darkly glittering gem of Southern Gothic, a gripping read from a big new talent. Molly Crighton is the business’

Liam McIlvanney

‘Molly Crighton has created the most intriguing and unique protagonists that I’ve come across in a crime novel in a long time. Ivo Hart and Halia Knox pull the reader into a world of secrets, making for a gripping read, and a brilliantly executed ending that will leave you breathless’

Zoë Rankin