by Jon McGregor
First published 2017
Danny returns from an awkward family Christmas to find Robert's body in a derelict flat. Robert was the only alcoholic among their group of heroin addicts, and now he's dead. Danny searches desperately for their other friends to share the terrible news, but they're dying too. A contaminated batch of heroin is killing them one by one across the city. The dead watch as investigators examine Robert's body, as officials process his death, as he moves toward cremation. Laura, Robert's estranged daughter, had recently moved in with her father after years apart. Heather finally has her own place. Mike carries memories from the Falklands War. All of them live in the cracks of society, invisible to the wider world, struggling for basic needs like food and shelter. Their stories emerge in fragments as their bodies are discovered in squats, sheds, and alleyways. In death, they receive more dignity than they ever knew while alive.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, addiction, crime, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, gritty, intimate
Setting: Falklands, United Kingdom
Period: Contemporary
209 pages · Kindle Edition · Fourth Estate
Content warnings: addiction, death, drug-use