Sophie: The Final Verdict

'This is the book that puts all the evidence before the people' Jean-Pierre Gazeau, uncle of Sophie Toscan du Plantier

'Arriving in West Cork to cover the murder of Frenchwoman Sophie Toscan du Plantier, our man on the ground was local journalist Ian Bailey. His level of insight into the killing was extraordinary . . .'

So began the journey of journalist Senan Molony, first national crime correspondent on the scene of Sophie's brutal murder in December 1996, in a saga that would shock the nation.

The 2024 death of prime suspect Ian Bailey reopens the case for Molony, who goes behind the scenes to tell the full chilling story, as never before - from first seeing the Englishman as someone with impressive inside sources, to his moment of awakening at Bailey's arrest for a murder the suspect freely wrote about in the national press.

The book charts the astonishing early days of a doomed investigation and times thereafter, as Bailey - a violent misogynist and pathological liar - escaped charge or trial in Ireland despite compelling evidence.

Including interviews with Sophie's family, key garda investigators, local witnesses and Bailey himself, with shocking excerpts from his 'black diaries', it unpacks the truth and categorically dismantles Bailey's mainstay defence that he did not know Sophie. It also explodes commonly held myths - often seeded by the suspect himself - bringing to light astounding new information, along with fresh and disturbing proof of guilt.

This is the book that lets all the evidence speak.

A comprehensive and compelling collection of circumstantial evidence Irish Times
One of the most newsworthy and discussed books of the autumn, and contains many intriguing new pieces of information Sunday Independent
A bleak but fascinating read Business Post
Sophie is a punchy read. Senan Molony makes a very strong case as to why he believes that Ian Bailey committed the murder Irish Examiner

Senan Molony is an award-winning journalist based in Dublin who works as a political correspondent for the Irish Independent. As crime correspondent with The Star, he was the first national specialist to arrive on the scene of the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder in 1996, where he was met by local journalist Ian Bailey, the newspaper's 'stringer', who later became the prime suspect in the case.

Molony was at the forefront of crime journalism in Ireland for many years, from covering the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin to giving evidence against the Gilligan gang in the Special Criminal Court. He has reported variously for the Evening Herald, Irish Daily Mail and Irish Independent on tribunals, trials and murder investigations in Ireland and Britain.

A 'Scoop of the Year' winner at the inaugural National Newspapers of Ireland Awards, he is author of bestselling book The Phoenix Park Murders about the infamous political assassinations of 1882. Senan has also written books about the Titanic, Lusitania and other ships, and devised and presented a number of television documentaries in Ireland, England and the United States.

A student of James Joyce and author of a book about Ulysses, he has long earned a living writing about politics at Leinster House.

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