The Secret in Belfast

Richard Pierce knows when you’re lying. He’s known it his whole life, the weight of every hidden emotion, every unspoken deception pressing against him like a tide he cannot escape. It’s a power that made him dangerous, then made him guilty, and finally drove him to the fringes of society where no one could get close enough to be hurt. But the secrets festering inside the great steel walls of the Belfast shipyards are too vast to ignore, and when Richard is drawn back into the shadows, he comes face to face with the one person his gift cannot touch. Isabel Lahy is brilliant, infuriating, and utterly unreadable, a woman who challenges his every instinct even as she becomes the one thing he cannot walk away from.

Beneath the clamor of rivets and the smell of iron, a far older world is stirring. Richard has long known that enchanters and sorcerers move unseen among ordinary men, but what they are protecting (and what Azrael, a master of death himself, is hunting) is something that predates the grandest ship ever built. Azrael will sacrifice anything and anyone to seize immortality, and he has chosen the perfect vessel for his endgame: the RMS Titanic, the ship the world has declared unsinkable. The arrogance of that word has never felt so lethal.

Now Richard, Isabel, and their battered circle of allies find themselves aboard a doomed ship carrying secrets older than civilization itself. The clock is counting down to a fate the world will record in hushed and mournful tones, but history does not know the half of what happened that night. To stop Azrael, Richard must finally confront the darkness he has spent years running from, and trust the one woman whose heart he cannot read. But some secrets, once unleashed, cannot be called back. And some depths are cold enough to swallow everything.

Download the List of Characters.

Included Tropes: 

Gifted Protagonist, Secret Society/Conclave, Mysterious Antagonist, The MacGuffin, Psychic Empath, Unresolved Trauma/Dark Past, The Mentor, The Innocent Child with Power, World-Weary/Brooding Hero, Plucky Girl/Ingenue, Emotional Shield, Meet Cute (with tension), Heroic Intervention, Haunted House, Exorcist/Demon Hunter, Possession, The Matriarch/Hidden Power, Redemption Arc, Found Family, The Doomed Voyage, The True Villain Revealed, The Power of Love/Sacrifice, Death as a Character, The Ultimate Showdown, Forbidden Love / Star-Crossed Lovers, The Oracle/Seer.

Similar Novels:

The Secret in Belfast is Historical Fantasy with strong elements of Urban Fantasy and Supernatural Thriller, focusing on secret societies, individuals with extraordinary abilities, and moral dilemmas.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke: A complex historical fantasy set in Napoleonic England, where magic returns to the world, featuring rival magicians, a secret society, and profound magical consequences.

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy) by Deborah Harkness: Features a secret world of witches, vampires, and daemons, an ancient text (a powerful grimoire), forbidden love, and a strong historical atmosphere.

Rivers of London (Peter Grant series) by Ben Aaronovitch: While more contemporary urban fantasy, it has a deep sense of London’s history, a “gifted” police constable learning magic, a secret magical society, and investigations into supernatural crimes. Richard’s past in Scotland Yard resonates here.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: Deals with a hidden community of children with unique supernatural abilities, dark forces, time travel, and a distinct historical/gothic aesthetic.

The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman: Features a secret organization that collects books from alternate realities, with agents possessing unique skills, dealing with powerful magical artifacts, and navigating dangerous supernatural politics.

Prominent Themes:

The Nature of Good and Evil, Free Will vs. Predestination, Redemption and Forgiveness, The Burden of Power, Love and Sacrifice, The Importance of Humanity/Emotion, Trust and Betrayal, Family (Biological vs. Chosen), Concealment and Revelation, Justice vs. Vengeance, The Human Condition (Vulnerability, Pain, Hope), The Role of Faith and God.