First published 1991
Freddie Montgomery travels back to Ireland at thirty-eight with one goal: to retrieve a painting that belongs to his family. The artwork represents more than money or sentiment. It connects him to a heritage he abandoned years before. But when Freddie attempts to take what he believes is rightfully his, something goes catastrophically wrong. He kills a woman. The murder serves no purpose. It gains him nothing. It makes no sense, even to himself. Now confined and facing judgment, Freddie sets down his confession in meticulous detail. He examines each step that led to the killing. He searches for meaning in the meaningless act. His narrative becomes both testimony and interrogation, as he tries to understand how a man seeking to reclaim his past destroyed his future instead.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ireland
Period: 20th-century
220 pages · Paperback · Grand Central Pub
Content warnings: murder, violence