**WINNER OF IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 ** THE NUMBER ONE IRISH BESTSELLER**
'As thrilling, beautiful and sensational a novel as you'll read this year or any year' Sunday Times
February 1944. Six months since Nazi forces occupied Rome.
Inside the war-torn city, the Contessa Giovanna Landini works for the band of Escape Line activists known as 'the Choir'. Her mission is to smuggle Allied soldiers to safety, 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.
'A superb testament to humankind's bravery and resilience...moving and immersive' Guardian, Books of the Year
'Tremendous and terrifying' Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times Books of the Year
'A stellar piece of storytelling' Daily Mail
'Not just a wartime thriller, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures' New York Times
| ISBN: | 9781529967029 |
| Publication date: | 29th January 2026 |
| Author: | Joseph OConnor |
| Publisher: | Vintage an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 367 pages |
| Series: | Rome Escape Line |
| Genres: |
Second World War fiction Historical Fiction Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction Thriller and Suspense |
**WINNER OF IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 ** THE NUMBER ONE IRISH BESTSELLER**
'As thrilling, beautiful and sensational a novel as you'll read this year or any year' Sunday Times
February 1944. Six months since Nazi forces occupied Rome.
Inside the war-torn city, the Contessa Giovanna Landini works for the band of Escape Line activists known as 'the Choir'. Her mission is to smuggle Allied soldiers to safety, 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.
'A superb testament to humankind's bravery and resilience...moving and immersive' Guardian, Books of the Year
'Tremendous and terrifying' Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times Books of the Year
'A stellar piece of storytelling' Daily Mail
'Not just a wartime thriller, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures' New York Times
The Ghosts of Rome features in the following genres: Second World War fiction, Historical Fiction, Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction, Thriller and Suspense
The Ghosts of Rome is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Ghosts of Rome was written by Joseph OConnor and published by Vintage an imprint of Random House
The Ghosts of Rome has 367 pages
Yes it is part of Rome Escape Line series
£8.99