Book cover reveal for 'Never Ask the Dead' by Gary Donnelly featuring a digital tablet displaying the cover alongside a physical book. The cover depicts a graveyard scene with dark tones and purple accents, indicating a Belfast crime thriller.

COVER REVEAL: Never Ask The Dead by Gary Donnelly

We are incredibly proud to reveal the cover of Never Ask The Dead by Gary Donnelly, the third book in the D.I. Owen Sheen series, publishing with Acorn & Ink Publishing.

Today’s reveal is being hosted by Love Books Tours, bringing together our Acorn & Ink publishing family and the wonderful LBT book community to celebrate Gary’s forthcoming release.

And what a cover to introduce.

Never Ask The Dead publishes on 12th November.

Never Ask The Dead

Author: Gary Donnelly
Series: D.I. Owen Sheen – Book 3
Publisher: Acorn & Ink Publishing
Genre: Irish Crime Fiction | Crime | Thriller
Publication Day: 12th November

The Blurb

The dead keep secrets.

The living kill to protect them.

Retired PSNI detective Tom ‘Tucker’ Rodgers has only one chance to expose the truth before time runs out.

His final message reaches DI Owen Sheen: four dates, a cryptic warning, and a terrifying claim that someone murdered his friend, and now they’re coming for him.

As Sheen and DC Aoife McCusker investigate, they uncover a conspiracy reaching back to the darkest days of the Troubles.

With powerful figures determined to keep the past buried and old enemies settling forgotten scores, every answer places them in greater danger.

Some secrets survive for decades.

Some should never be uncovered.

About Gary Donnelly

Gary Donnelly attended a state comprehensive school in west Belfast before reading History at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

He has lived and worked in London since the late 1990s and, over the years, has been a Belfast cemetery manager, a business conference organiser in the City and a council gardener in Neasden.

Gary also gained a further degree in Psychology, which he teaches in north London.

He is married to the lovely Sacha, has two non-returnable children, can cook up a storm and plays a mean guitar — particularly after a few drinks.

The D.I. Owen Sheen Series Continues

Never Ask The Dead marks the third instalment in Gary Donnelly’s D.I. Owen Sheen series.

This time, Sheen and DC Aoife McCusker are drawn into an investigation rooted in the past, where old secrets, political history and powerful people collide.

A dying detective.

Four mysterious dates.

A warning that somebody has already killed once — and may be preparing to do so again.

As the investigation reaches back into the darkest days of the Troubles, every discovery brings Sheen and McCusker closer to danger.

For readers who enjoy atmospheric crime fiction, police procedurals, historical secrets and thrillers where the past refuses to stay buried, Never Ask The Dead should be firmly on the reading list.

The Cover Reveal

We are thrilled to finally share the official cover for Never Ask The Dead.

Seeing a book move from manuscript to finished cover is always a special moment, but this one feels particularly exciting as we prepare to welcome another Acorn & Ink title into the world.

The cover reveal is being celebrated across Bookstagram with the support of the Love Books Tours community.

A huge thank you to every reader, blogger and Bookstagrammer helping us share Gary’s cover today.

Your posts, Reels and stories help introduce the book to new readers long before publication day arrives.