The Counting Game by Sinead Nolan

416 pages
 

Disclaimer: This review is based on publicly available bibliographic data and the softcover advanced reader edition provided by the publisher. All opinions herein are my own.

 

Overview

The Counting Game is a haunting debut thriller set in the rural Irish countryside of 1995, where folklore, family secrets, and forensic investigation converge in a race against time. When thirteen-year-old Saoirse Kellough vanishes into a forest steeped in local legend, psychotherapist Freya Hemmings is called in to reach the only witness—Saoirse’s younger brother Jack, who refuses to speak. Told against an atmospheric backdrop of community silence, ancient ritual, and inherited grief, the novel blends psychological drama with procedural tension to deliver a debut that invites comparison to Tana French and Liz Moore. Nolan demonstrates strong command of place, character, and suspense structure, grounding her narrative in the emotional toll of disappearance on individuals, families, and the communities left behind to bear the weight of unanswered questions.

 

Objective Criteria and Scores (1 = poor, 5 = excellent)

1. Clarity of Core Premise: 4.5/5

• Evidence: The central narrative engine—a missing girl, a silent witness, and a therapist racing to bridge the gap between them—is immediately compelling and clearly established. The folklore element of the Counting Game adds atmospheric depth without obscuring the investigative drive, giving the novel a dual identity as both psychological thriller and literary mystery.

2. Organization / Structure: 4/5

• Evidence: The novel balances procedural momentum with introspective character work, weaving between Freya’s professional and personal recovery and the mounting pressure of the investigation. The structure sustains tension effectively, though some readers may find the pacing uneven in the mid-section where the psychological sessions expand at the expense of forward investigative movement.

3. Depth of Characterization: 4/5

• Evidence: Freya and Jack are rendered with genuine emotional complexity—Freya as a healer navigating her own unresolved grief and Jack as a child carrying secrets far too heavy for his age. Saoirse, though largely absent from the page, is given enough presence through memory and testimony to feel like a living character rather than a plot device. Supporting characters, including community members and investigators, are serviceable but occasionally underwritten.

4. Pacing & Narrative Drive: 3.5/5

• Evidence: The novel opens with strong momentum and builds effectively through its final third, but the mid-narrative—dominated by therapy sessions and backstory exposition—can feel slower relative to the urgency implied by the central premise. Readers who prioritize plot-driven thrillers may notice the deliberate pace in these sections, while those drawn to psychological depth will likely find it rewarding.

5. Prose Style & Readability: 4.5/5

• Evidence: Nolan’s prose is atmospheric and precise, evoking the damp, enclosed quality of rural Ireland with sensory clarity. The language carries an elegiac quality that elevates the thriller framework, lending emotional weight to scenes that might otherwise read as conventional procedural exchanges. The dialogue is naturalistic and the internal monologue restrained and effective.

6. Originality & Thematic Depth: 4/5

• Evidence: The novel engages with themes of silence, communal memory, childhood trauma, and the ethics of disclosure in a therapeutic context. The Counting Game itself—a folkloric ritual repurposed as both plot mechanism and thematic metaphor—is a genuinely original device that adds cultural specificity and symbolic resonance to a narrative framework familiar from the literary crime genre.

7. Inclusivity & Cultural Representation: 4/5

• Evidence: The novel is deeply rooted in Irish rural identity, community dynamics, and the social fabric of a 1990s southwestern Irish town. The setting and period detail are handled with evident care and specificity, giving the narrative strong cultural grounding. A broader range of community perspectives beyond the central family and investigation might have added additional depth.

8. Standalone Cohesion & Series Prospects: 4/5

• Evidence: The Counting Game functions as a self-contained narrative with a complete emotional and investigative arc. Given the richness of both the setting and the central character of Freya Hemmings—whose personal wounds are addressed but not fully resolved—there is clear potential for further installments, should the author choose to revisit the character or milieu.

Aggregate and Overall Rating

• Mean score across objective criteria (eight categories): 4.1/5
• Rounded overall rating: 4.1 out of 5

Assessment Summary

The Counting Game announces Sinéad Nolan as a distinctive new voice in crime fiction—one with a measured, literary sensibility and a clear understanding of how place, silence, and grief can function as narrative forces in their own right. The novel’s greatest strengths are its atmospheric prose, its emotionally grounded central relationship between Freya and Jack, and the originality of its folkloric framework. Where it could sharpen its impact is in sustaining procedural momentum through the middle act and expanding community characterization beyond the investigation’s immediate circle. For readers who prize psychological depth and a strong sense of place alongside their suspense, The Counting Game is a highly accomplished debut.

 

How I would describe this book:

• “Into the woods. Count to ten. Only one comes home. Sinéad Nolan’s stunning debut will haunt you long after the last page.”
• “A missing girl. A silent witness. A therapist who must choose between uncovering the truth and protecting what remains. The Counting Game is unputdownable.”
• “Folklore meets forensic tension in a debut that sings with atmosphere. Perfect for fans of Tana French.”
• “Silence has never been so terrifying.”
• “The woods know the truth. Getting there might cost everything.”

• “Sinéad Nolan’s The Counting Game is a remarkable debut—a novel that understands grief, community, and the particular weight of childhood secrets with rare emotional precision. Steeped in the fog and folklore of rural Ireland, this is literary crime fiction at its most atmospheric and affecting.”
• “Part psychological study, part procedural race against time, The Counting Game weaves folklore and forensics into a debut that is both haunting and deeply human. Nolan writes with the controlled intensity of a seasoned voice—and the authenticity of someone who knows these woods intimately.”
• “For readers who believe the best crime fiction is also the best literary fiction, The Counting Game is essential. Nolan joins the tradition of Irish crime writing at its finest, alongside French and Moore, with a debut that announces a major new talent.”

For book clubs and classroom use

• “A richly layered debut ideal for discussing the ethics of therapeutic intervention, the power of childhood testimony, and the role of community silence in shaping the outcomes of tragedy.”
• “The Counting Game invites readers to explore how folklore and collective memory shape justice—and what happens when the pursuit of truth threatens to cause as much harm as the silence it breaks.”

Bibliographic Note

The Counting Game. Sinéad Nolan. Gallery/Scout Press, 2026 (Hardcover edition). 416 pages. Language: English. ISBN: 9781668099407.

 

Rating: ★★★★ 4.1 / 5

 - Prairie Fox 🦊📖