First published 2024
Nealon comes back to western Ireland after serving time for alleged political crimes. His accusers believe he orchestrated financial schemes to remake the world. Nealon cares about different things. He walks into his house to find it empty and cold. His wife and young son are gone without explanation. The heat is off, the lights are out, and no one answers when he calls their names. A stranger phones with information about his missing family. The man knows where they went and what happened to them. He will share everything Nealon needs to hear, but only through a face to face meeting. Nealon agrees to the encounter as a terrorist attack unfolds nearby. The two men sit down for a conversation loaded with hidden threats and buried secrets. The truth about his family emerges as the story builds toward a crushing emotional reckoning.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ireland, Western Ireland
Period: Contemporary
192 pages · Paperback · Canongate Books
Content warnings: violence