The Higher Realm is an intense psychological drama and a suspenseful murder mystery that deftly draws the reader along. Sidney Chisholm discovers the five bodies of his neighbours, the Gilhooley sisters. They have been dead for some weeks. In a complex series of twists and turns, their mystery becomes the catalyst for unravelling the truth behind the unexplained disappearance of Sidney's young daughter, Tina, some fifteen years before. The Higher Realm is both uplifting and terrifying, and at times deeply claustrophobic in its portrayal of betrayal, compassion, trust, and sexual and emotional abuse.