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Shane Dunphy is an Irish child protection specialist, journalist, musician, broadcaster, teacher and author of thriller, crime fiction and non-fiction novels.

He writes mostly non-fiction under his real name, and crime fiction novels under the pseudonym S.A. Dunphy.

Born in Ireland, Shane holds a Diploma in applied social studies, a Bachelor’s degree in social care, a Master’s Degree in Sociology, and additional qualifications attained at Waterford Institute of Technology and National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

A happily married husband, dad, and granddad, Shane worked as a child and social care worker all over Ireland for a-decade-and-a-half.

In fact, his non-fiction books are inspired from his years of service as a child protection worker.

Shane, who is currently Head of the Social Care Department at Waterford College of Further Education, still practices social work--albeit on a consultancy basis.

More about Shane Dunphy

Genres: Crime Suspense, Non-fiction, Thriller

Born: 1973

Ireland

Pseudonym: S.A. Dunphy

Website: https://shanedunphyauthor.org

Non-fiction

  1. Running From the Shadows: A true story of how one woman faced her past and ran towards her future (2020)

Stories From the Margins (Non-fiction)

  1. Bleak Alley (2020)
  2. The Bad Place (2021)
  3. No Ceremony for the Dead (2021)

The Boyle and Keneally Series

  1. Bring Her Home (2021)
  2. Lost Graves (2022)
  3. Her Child's Cry (2022)

The Dunnigan Series

  1. After She Vanished (2017)
  2. When She Was Gone (2018)
  3. If She Returned (2019)
  4. Why She Ran (2020)

The Wednesday’s Child Series (Non-fiction)

  1. Wednesday's Child (2006)
  2. Crying in the Dark (2007)
  3. Hush, Little Baby (2008)
  4. The Boy in the Cupboard (2008)
  5. Will Mummy Be Coming Back for Me? (2009)
  6. Little Boy Lost (2009)
  7. The Girl Who Couldn't Smile (2011)
  8. The Girl From Yesterday (2014)
  9. The Boy They Tried to Hide: The true story of a son, forgotten by society (2016)
Stories From the Margins (Non-fiction)

Detailed book overview

Non-fiction

Running From the Shadows: A true story of how one woman faced her past and ran towards her future

In Running from the Shadows Stephanie Hickey tells, in her own words, how she survived abuse at the hands of a trusted family member and of how running, a simple physical activity helped her achieve mindfulness, but also to rediscover love and faith in her body - to reclaim it.

Charting her life growing up in the rolling countryside of Waterford in the safety of her beloved family to the moment her childhood was shattered, to the court case where she waived her anonymity, to how she was able to reclaim a sense of herself through the sport which became like a therapy, Running from the Shadows is told with humor, strength and incredible courage -- a book that reveals how, even when things seem at their bleakest, a run through the Irish countryside, can bring you back into the light.

NB: Co-authored with Stephanie Hickey.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2020
ISBN: 978-1529327175
Publisher: Hachette Ireland

Stories From the Margins (Non-fiction)

Bleak Alley

True crime within the dark heart of Irish gangs. Featuring original Irish folksongs written and performed by the author, Shane Dunphy.

He seems like a typical 16-year-old boy except that Mikey is walking the knife edge of crime. He's tough and good with his fists, but when journalist Shane Dunphy is offered the chance to write his story, he discovers a lost, vulnerable child, in danger and desperate for help.

Shane descends into the perilous underworld of organised crime and discovers that the glamour of gangland life is riven with brutality and murder. Far from providing a means of survival for boys from broken families, the price they pay is often with their life.

With skill and empathy, and no little courage, Shane attempts to rescue Mikey from the clutches of warring gangland leaders and to restore the love and harmony of Mikey's family which has been shattered by poverty and bad blood.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2020
Ebook: B082J2NQYB
Publisher: Audible Originals
The Bad Place

The house was like something out of a Jane Austen novel, but the truth of what lay in the shadows was more terrifying than any fictional imagining.

Shane Dunphy recalls the experience of his darkest nightmares: a young girl describing missing children as playthings at house parties, but no one was listening; a malevolent, threatening presence looming in the residence they called the Bad Place, and Shane was forced to flee.

And now, 20 years later, a mother pleads with him to find her son who vanished at age five.  

Determined to redress his mistakes, Shane doggedly investigates and begins to uncover a vast international child-trafficking ring that goes to the very top of the establishment.  

And behind it all there’s the Dark Man, a hideous exile from humanity who has decided Shane needs to be taught a final lesson. Recounting cases of historical child disappearances, unsolved abductions, collusion with the Catholic church and its culture of secrets, lies and cover up, Shane Dunphy builds a picture of a complex web of organized criminality.

And, in a powerful story of personal redemption, Shane attempts to confront his demons and bring the notorious ringleader to justice.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2021
Ebook: B08DRRWFX2
Publisher: Audible Originals
No Ceremony for the Dead

‘I know I has special needs. So does Stanley and Francis and Billy and Josh. People don’t listen to us, ’cause they thinks we’re thick in our heads.’

Charlie works at St Patrick’s residential home, where the walls are so thick no one can hear you cry. He’s asking child protection expert Shane Dunphy for help, before someone gets murdered.

Charlie tells him of mistreatment, brutality and random cruelty, and now Maisie, his girlfriend, a resident at the home, has gone missing. When Shane finds out what has happened to Maisie, he knows he’s uncovered a world of trouble.

Shane works his connections and, together with the ingenuity of the care home residents, attempts to subvert and infiltrate the system and bring the guilty to justice.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2021
Ebook: B08QJSC8NR
Publisher: Audible Originals

The Boyle and Keneally Series

Bring Her Home

Blonde hair so bright it almost glows. Eyes wide – green, like her father’s. She thought she had her whole life ahead of her. Will she ever see her family again?

When bright, beautiful Penny O’Dwyer disappears from Cahirsiveen, a small town in the west of Ireland, the local police scour the narrow streets and muddy hills, but find no leads.

Jessie Boyle swore she’d never return to Ireland. But grieving the death of her partner, and the premature end of her London Met career, she can’t say no to the case that holds her homeland in its grip. And it’s not long before Jessie uncovers something everyone else has missed: Penny isn’t the first girl to go missing.

Going back decades, women have been taken from Cahirsiveen, their bodies found on ancient burial mounds. A reference to a little-known Celtic myth buried in her messages convinces Jessie that Penny is the latest victim of the same killer. Folklore can do funny things to a small community in the misty mountains, and Jessie suspects she’s dealing with the most twisted mind of her career.

The eyes of Ireland are on Jessie and her new team, and as the boss turns up the heat, they learn to live and breathe the case. But Jessie is haunted by her own demons, and the cracks are beginning to show.

Time is running out. And just when Jessie thinks she’s found a vital clue linking the victims to a remote farm, she realizes she could be next. Can she piece together the face of evil and save Penny’s life, or will he get to Jessie first?

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2021
ISBN: 978-1800196452
Publisher: Bookouture
Lost Graves

The only sound in the forest was the wind through the branches; the only light came from the campfire. Jessie stood up, suddenly gripped by a powerful sense of dread. There was something – someone – beyond the darkness, through the trees…

When single father Joe Keenan and his young son Finbar make camp for the night in the ancient forest of Leitrim, little do they imagine their rural escape is about to turn into a nightmare. For deep in the woods they find a corpse… As the remains of dozens more victims are uncovered by police, it becomes clear this is the burial site of a serial killer who has obviously been active, unnoticed, for years.

Arrested for the murders, while his beloved son is sent into care, Joe pleads his innocence to no avail. But criminal behaviorist Jessie Boyle is convinced the killer is still out there. Determined to reunite Joe and his son, Jessie’s investigation turns towards the local community. Who knows the shadowy depths of the forest well enough to hide not just one, but many bodies?

Then someone else goes missing, and the situation takes a terrifying turn: it’s clear the killer is escalating their gruesome spree. Forced to enter the woods alone to save a life, Jessie runs from a killer so skilled at hiding and so clever at hunting, it will take every ounce of her strength to make it out alive…

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2022
ISBN: 978-1803140612
Publisher: Bookouture
Her Child's Cry

‘I just want my little girl back. She’s so little, she needs her mummy. And she doesn’t even have her panda bear with her. Find her, please find her, before it’s too late.’

Little Rosie Blake has been taken. Since going missing from the hospital where she was being treated for cancer, Rosie’s distraught parents haven’t heard a word. And time is swiftly running out. They have to find her, and right away, because Rosie can only survive for ten days without her medication.

With the police unable to find any leads at all, criminal behaviorist Jessie Boyle and her team are brought in to help. Who would be so evil as to steal a sick child? Narrowing down on a suspect, Jessie quickly moves to arrest them, only to discover the suspect’s dead body instead...And with no Rosie in sight, the case becomes even more desperate.

Who killed their chief suspect, and where is Rosie now? And is Rosie’s disappearance linked to the sudden revival of Dublin’s Hellfire Club, an ancient and terrifying cult obsessed with death and human sacrifice?

As the race to find Rosie intensifies, her heartbroken parents know their little girl’s time is running out. The clock is ticking, but Jessie clings on to the hope of finding her safe. Then her search leads her to Ireland’s remote mountains...Will Jessie be able to survive the deadly threat that awaits her, rescue Rosie, and get her back to safety, before it’s too late?

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2022
Ebook: B09RGGCJJT
Publisher: Bookouture

The Dunnigan Series

After She Vanished

He turned away for a split second. And she was gone.

Eighteen years ago David Dunnigan took his beloved six-year-old niece Beth on a shopping trip. They stopped on a crowded street to hear some buskers. She took her hand from his for a split second. And when he turned around, she was gone.

Now Dunnigan, his life shattered, is a criminology lecturer and also works as a consultant for the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Harcourt Street, specializing in cases involving missing persons. That's how he crosses paths with Harry, a young boy living on the streets whose parents have disappeared.

As Dunnigan finds himself drawn into the world of The Warrens, a transient place where the dark underbelly of society lives, will he be able to help Harry? And what of Beth will he find there?

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2017
ISBN: 978-1473655218
Publisher: Hachette Ireland
When She Was Gone

When criminologist David Dunnigan receives the shocking delivery of one of his niece Beth's shoes, it reignites the eighteen-year-old investigation into her disappearance - which Dunnigan has always blamed himself for. But is he ready for what he might find?

New evidence links Beth's abduction to an antiquated psychiatric hospital, and on to an Inuit village in the frozen north of Greenland where the parents of Harry, a homeless boy Dunnigan and his friend Miley rescued from the streets, may have been trafficked.

Can Dunnigan survive the hunt, and will he find Beth after all this time?

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2018
ISBN: 978-1473655744
Publisher: Hachette Ireland
If She Returned

David Dunnigan just received the phone call he has spent eighteen years waiting for.

A young woman has been found -- and she's claiming to be his niece Beth, who disappeared as a child. Is she telling the truth? And, if she is, will Dunnigan finally rid himself of his demons, and help her to rebuild her life?

Meanwhile, an investigation into a gruesome murder leads the criminologist to five prominent men, seemingly unlinked, who say they are being stalked by a shadowy figure. But 'Mother Joan' seems to merely be an urban legend, a ghostly avenger who punishes the wicked. So, if these men fear her wrath, what sins have they committed?

As Dunnigan pursues this strange mystery, enemies from his past are closing in. And when the case leads him to the crowded streets of London and then to the dark forest of Kielder, myth and reality become terrifyingly linked.

But is Dunnigan prepared for what, and who, he will face?

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2019
ISBN: 978-1473699205
Publisher: Hachette Ireland
Why She Ran

Criminologist David Dunnigan and his troubled niece Beth are on the run.

Beth has been accused of killing a high-profile detective and everyone thinks she's guilty. Even Beth, who has no memory of what happened, wonders if she is capable of murder.

As Dunnigan and Beth set out to prove her innocence, they are hunted by the same forces responsible for Beth's abduction nearly twenty years ago.

In a chase that takes them from Hamburg to Prague, to a compound in the bleak expanse of the Nevada desert, Dunnigan eventually comes face-to-face with their enemies.

But did Beth really kill the man she had come to think of as a friend, and what secret will Dunnigan discover that could end Frobisher's After Dark Campaign once and for all?

The time has come for Dunnigan to make a decision: will he be brave enough to make it, knowing that everyone he loves can't possibly make it out of this alive?

NB: Shane Dunphy writing as S.A. Dunphy (pseudonym).

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2020
ISBN: 978-1473699236
Publisher: Hachette Ireland

The Wednesday’s Child Series (Non-fiction)

Wednesday's Child

In three amazing stories childcare worker Shane Dunphy reveals a world of hidden heartbreak and survival against the odds.

When Shane meets her, Gillian is starving herself to death and in thrall to a mother more interested in abusing and manipulating her daughter than cherishing and protecting her. Though he tries to help, it seems Shane is just another adult destined to fail Gillian...

For the daughter of disturbed violent parents, Connie is an amazingly well-adjusted A-grade student. But when Shane finally gets behind the façade, he unearths a shattering truth behind her apparent normality...

Cordelia, Victor and Ibar are three loving siblings left with a hopelessly alcoholic neglectful father. It’s a race against time to see if their father can ever become the kind of Dad he wants to be, or if they are destined to be split up and sucked into the childcare merry-go-round…

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2006
ISBN: 978-0241956571
Publisher: Penguin Books
Crying in the Dark

Four extraordinary true stories...

Bobby and Micky, six and four, controlled from beyond the grave by their evil father...

Mina, seventeen, who has Downs Syndrome, desperate to be like everyone else, falling into the hands of men who abuse her trust...

Sylvie, a fourteen-year-old mother being pimped by her father...

Twins Larry and Francey, ten, scarcely human after an upbringing of savage and unimaginable cruelty...

One inspiring account of how one man got to know these wounded children and tried to give them hope - and a future.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2007
ISBN: 978-1405910033
Hush, Little Baby

Five heart-stopping true stories of terror and triumph, told by the man who tried to make life better for these troubled children...

Clive, a thirteen-year-old victim of terrifying demonic visions, tells frightening stories of abuse and imprisonment. Could they be genuine?

Patrick, twelve, bravely setting out to find the truth about his birth family - however painful it may be...

Six-year-old Johnny, tiny and undernourished, desperately tries to recover from a brain-injury inflicted by his drunken and violent father...

At fourteen, Katie is so aggressive that the authorities have put her in special care, away from other children. What could be the cause of such fury?

And in a grim island prison, a lumbering bully ponders his crimes against his twin children, Larry and Francey - while his sadistic and conniving wife, the real monster behind his actions, tries to fool the state into returning the traumatized boy and girl to her care.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2008
ISBN: 978-0717144624
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan
The Boy in the Cupboard

Three heart-stopping stories of children trapped by their parents' pasts...

Craig, the little boy who can't speak English, isn't allowed to use his real name and hides food around his playschool, afraid he'll be hungry again. His parents are trying to make a fresh start, but their gangland bosses are about to catch up with the family and Craig will pay a terrible price...

Edgar is a twelve-year-old boy who nobody wants, not even the staff at the residential unit where he lives. Just when it seems that there might be a way of getting through to Edgar, his mother reveals a secret that changes everything...

Vinnie is a teenage boy who knows exactly what his gangster father is capable of, of how he makes problems disappear. He also knows that he had become a very big problem for his father...

...One man's fight to give these children the future they deserve.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2008
ISBN: 978-0717146512
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan
Will Mummy Be Coming Back for Me?

When childcare worker Shane Dunphy meets Jason in 1991, he is a tiny, frightened five-year-old who has stopped speaking and terrorizes even the older children in the care home with his angry, violent behavior.

Eleven years later, Shane is shocked to find Jason's file on his desk again. Jason has committed some horrendous crimes and is facing a life of incarceration. Can Shane rebuild what had been a delicate friendship, and help Jason to face up to who he is, where he has come from, and what he has done?

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2009
ISBN: 978-1844882113
Publisher: Penguin UK
Little Boy Lost

Courage is sometimes found in the unlikeliest places...

Dominic is a sixteen year-old man-child: while he has the body of a prize-fighter, as a result of a terrible seizure when he was a small child he has been left with the mind of a child.

In the center where he spends his days, Dominic is a challenge and an inspiration: someone who struggles against the odds and whose every victory over his limitations is a cause for celebration. But when a new member of staff at the center breaks a sacred trust, the fall-out is horrific and Dominic becomes a pawn in a dangerous game.

Little Boy Lost is the story of Dominic's brave battle to face up to betrayal and show - one more time - that he is a survivor.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2009
Ebook: B004LLIH8G
Publisher: Penguin UK
The Girl Who Couldn't Smile

When Shane Dunphy starts work at Little Scamps crèche, he has no idea what he has let himself in for. He had not worked in an early years setting for many years and on arriving for his first day he found that two members of staff, Susan and Tush, are at the end of their tether and on the verge of resigning. The children themselves are completely out of control. At the center of this chaos Shane finds Tammy, a pretty, doll-like five-year-old who is a mystery to everyone: she does not talk, or even smile, yet shows signs of remarkable intelligence.

Through the course of the year, Shane attempts to bring order to this motley group and we learn the stories of some of the other children in the crèche: Milandra, an angry, violent four year old, the daughter of a Nigerian father and Irish mother; Rufus, a gypsy child who is direly neglected; Julie, a tiny, painfully shy little girl with Down's Syndrome.

How is Shane ever to find a way to communicate with and ultimately befriend such diverse and challenging personalities? Then one afternoon, Gus, the class tear away, receives the gift of a blue crayon - a crayon he claims is magic. And Shane begins to wonder if this magic could be the answer to all his problems...

Shane Dunphy's moving portrait of a year at Little Scamps is a testament to the redemptive power of love and nurturing, of finding oneself through the care of others, as well as finding the secret of a girl who couldn't smile.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2011
ISBN: 978-1780331942
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
The Girl From Yesterday

After the death of his best friend, Shane Dunphy runs away from his life working at a special needs crèche, and attempts to avoid his child protection instincts. However, when a part time journalism job in rural Ireland leads him to a family in desperate need of intervention, and a young girl crying out for protection, Shane cannot stand idly by and watch...

Little Emma Blaney lives with her three siblings in an ancient farmhouse, with a life that is like something from another time - no running water, no electricity, and no contact with the outside world. Whilst covering a land dispute between Emma's father Tom and his powerful brother Gerry, Shane discovers that there is a lot more wrong with the family than just a feud. The children are filthy, nervous and and undernourished.

In order to protect Emma and her siblings, Shane finds himself at loggerheads with the church, local government, big business, property developers and industrial farmers. But Shane must discover the truth about the Girl from Yesterday, before it is too late, even if it will cost him his new life...

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2014
ISBN: 978-1472107480
Publisher: Constable & Robinson
The Boy They Tried to Hide: The true story of a son, forgotten by society

A true account of how truth is sometimes stranger than fiction...

Shane Dunphy was working as a resource teacher in a rural town when he was approached by the mother of one of his pupils, seeking help. She is worried for her troubled young son, who has been found leaving the house late at night to go deep into the woods near their home. He has spoken of meetings with a friend, Thomas, but no one else has seen him or knows who he is.

As Shane tries to discover what's going on, a sexual predator he helped bring to justice years before reappears. The man is looking to settle a score, and has picked someone close to Shane as his next victim.

In The Boy They Tried to Hide, Shane Dunphy revisits cases he encountered during his time as a child protection worker and journalist and, in doing so, once again discovers that leaving the past behind is harder than it seems.

Author: Shane Dunphy
First Release: 2016
ISBN: 978-1473632462
Publisher: Hachette Ireland