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A New York Times Editors’ Choice・Book Riot Best Book of 2025・Guardian Best Book of 2025・Irish Book of the Year 2025
★ “Mesmerising, tragic, horrifying, utterly unputdownable... An outstanding read for fans of WWII fiction and of writers like Anthony Doerr.”—Emily Melton, Booklist (Starred Review)
In the final months of World War II, a clandestine group known as The Choir successfully smuggles thousands of escapees out of Nazi-occupied Rome via a secret route known as the Escape Line. When an unidentified airman falls wounded from the sky, The Choir is plunged into danger and the survival of the Escape Line itself is threatened.
The Escape Line’s collapse would leave thousands stranded. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, its architect and the acknowledged leader of The Choir, broods inside the Vatican, paralyzed by the perils of keeping his Roman underground railroad functioning. Meanwhile, SS Commander Paul Hauptmann has been tasked with destroying the entire operation, and the price of failure is high—his wife and children are under Gestapo lock-and-key in Berlin. Into this deliriously thrilling melee steps Contessa Giovanna Landini, a reckless, audacious, and magnetic member of the Italian Resistance who has the nerve to challenge Hauptmann’s authority.
Beautifully written and expertly crafted, The Ghosts of Rome is a historical suspense novel bursting with action, atmosphere, and unforgettable characters by one of contemporary fiction’s most acclaimed and beloved writers.
“The power of The Ghosts of Rome comes from the dazzling variety of voices employed, the sense of a world constructed in multiple dimensions... What emerges is not just a wartime thriller, though it is that, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures.”—Alex Preston, The New York Times Book Review
Praise for The Ghosts of Rome
“The power of The Ghosts of Rome comes from the dazzling variety of voices employed, the sense of a world constructed in multiple dimensions... What emerges is not just a wartime thriller, though it is that, but a meditation on how we remember, how we resist and how, even in the darkest times, humanity endures.”—Alex Preston, The New York Times Book Review
“Gorgeous prose, unforgettable characters and flawless storytelling combine to produce this triumphant tale about the rare wonder of humans lucky enough to connect and thrive under adversity.”—Toronto Star
“Richly atmospheric and pulsing with excitement, this novel breaks the second-in-a-trilogy ‘curse.’ O’Connor’s final act can’t come soon enough.”—Star Tribune
“A captivating study of human morality and courage under inhuman levels of stress... O’Connor has crafted a historical suspense novel brimming with unforgettable personalities, illuminating human character and relationships forged in the horrors of war.”—Winnipeg Free Press
★ “The Ghosts of Rome is a deeply affecting read with an ending that’s sad yet life affirming… Mesmerising, tragic, horrifying, utterly unputdownable... An outstanding read for fans of WWII fiction and of writers like Anthony Doerr.”—Emily Melton, Booklist (Starred Review)
★ “Pulse-pounding... O’Connor captivates with his vigorous portrayal of wartime Rome.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
★ “The story is exciting and rich with prose that’s a joy to read... Top-notch storytelling filled with emotion and drama.”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“The Ghosts of Rome, Joseph O’Connor’s second novel in his projected trilogy about Rome under Nazi occupation, blazes with the imaginative flair and narrative energy that won its predecessor, My Father’s House (2023), high acclaim... The ugly stratum of Nazi oppression O’Connor’s novel graphically resurrects is packed with sensuously evoked reminders of Rome’s rich past in this haunted and haunting novel.”—The Sunday Times (UK)
“A stellar piece of storytelling... O’Connor brilliantly captures the sense of the city and its inhabitants in peril.”—The Daily Mail (UK)
“Nail-bitingly tense... A vidid and moving story.”—The Guardian (UK)
“It was hard to turn pages fast enough to keep up with the rapid-fire pace of The Ghosts of Rome. O'Connor lures readers into a little known, but important, facet of World War II history and keeps them hooked until the very last page.”—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Personal Librarian
“Thrilling, terrifying and entertaining in equal measure, The Ghosts of Rome is beautifully written, warm and witty. A must-read!”—Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond
“A continuation and elaboration upon O’Connor’s My Father’s House set in Rome during the Nazi occupation close to the end of World War II, this gripping story recounts actual occurrences fictionalized for dramatic effect but resonating with truth... Lovers of suspenseful stories, students of WWII history and those who are looking for a novel with relatable characters and a worthy moral framework will surely find this one to their pleasure.”—Reading the West
“Humane, terrifying, raw, and beautiful, The Ghosts of Rome haunts and inspires the reader. That it feels even more immersive and gripping than My Father's House is the highest of praise.”—Church Times
"Words are sounds before they are anything else. Our first experiences of language are memorable because of what we hear, not because of what they mean. So, it’s important to listen out for musicality when people are speaking."—Joseph O'Connor on writing The Ghosts of Rome, Irish Echo