A rainy night in south London. A gun is fired into a car which swerves on to the pavement, killing the person standing at a bus stop. It seems that a chilling gang initiation has cost an innocent victim their life. But the reality is far more sinister…
One life is wiped out and three more are changed forever: the young man whose finger was on the trigger; an ageing gangster planning a deadly revenge, and the pregnant woman who struggles desperately to uncover the truth. Two weeks away from giving birth, how will she deal with a world where death is an occupational hazard?
In a city where violence can be random or meticulously planned, where teenage gangs clash with career criminals and where loyalty is paid for in blood, anything is possible. Secrets are uncovered as fast as bodies, and the story’s final twist is as breathtakingly surprising as they come.
Mark Billingham’s first standalone thriller is his most powerful novel yet. Gritty, fierce and moving, it is a must-read for anyone who likes their crime fiction unflinching…and unforgettable.
- 'Right up there with this country's dark masters such as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid' Time Out
- '[A] brisk, racy read' The Times
- 'Assured and shocking thriller' The Guardian
- 'A cunning variation on the serial-murder theme' Sunday Telegraph
- 'Scary, pell-mell, cliff-hanging thriller' Literary Review
Audiobook (CD)
Available 07/08/2008