I’ll be honest - I requested this one when I wasn’t reading very often and subject just wasn’t for me. But now that I’m reading more I am reading to jump back into ARCs. The cover on this one is gorgeous though!

An insightful and empathetic exploration of one man’s psychological disintegration. Benjamin Williams once assaulted Andrew Harrison’s teenage sister and was put away for 11 years. He has now been released, and Andrew, known as H, becomes increasingly and dangerously obsessed with the man, not least after his uncle hands him a gun and puts the idea of revenge into his head. H’s life is already in disarray after his ice hockey career seems to be coming to an end, and his relationship with his partner after the birth of their child is also crumbling. It’s a harsh, bleak and disturbing novel and the trajectory of H’s obsession convincingly portrayed. I found it a real page-turner, excellently written, well-paced and with authentic dialogue and characterisation. A great read.

This wasn’t the type of book I was expecting. I went into this expecting an interesting crime drama but it was too bland. I gave up on it at 30%. I’m sure others will love it but it just wasn’t the book for me.

As we follow H through his city and his life, the physical setting takes root around us. Amenta has a captivating way of create the physical space of the novel's world through the use of objects with which H comes into contact. The gun, ever-present in his pocket, becomes a weight the reader carries too. As H struggles down a street, trying to contain the dogs he is walking and manage to take a phone call in one scene, the sense of being weighed down, flustered and overwhelmed is tangible. In many ways as H feels his expectations of his life disintegrating, the city around him becomes more solid: it seems that he is, in some ways, just another object the setting is acting upon. Menial jobs, money, dreams and characters all go in and out of his orbit. Billy, Christine, Sarah, all use dialogue that is slippery and runs away from H just as much as the reader. It feels as though they refuse to define terms or offer H clarification, like a radio is on low and you can't quite catch all of it.

Technically, this is an ambitious debut, one which displays great potential.

This book was sent to me electronically for review by Netgalley. This is a book of mystery, murder, and intrigue. The characters are not really likable...however, the story is intriguing. Enjoy.