Review
'Ingenious conclusion which mingles murder, nostalgia, a massive cocaine deal and ultimate salvation served up in style with verve, confidence and a relish for all things louche.' -- Literary Review 'It more than fulfils the promise shown in Anthony McGowan's first Matthew Moriarty novel, STAG HUNT ... Littered with memorable characters, a nice line in dialogue and a string of ultra-violent set-pieces, MORTAL COIL eventually works its way towards a fabulous and completely unforeseen twist ... sharp and contemporary, slick, literate, multi-layered and thoroughly recommended.' -- Shots 'MORTAL COILis dirty realism without posing, utterly contemporary, and with excellent musical taste.' -- Sunday Age, Melbourne 'Moriarty is a complex and intriguing anti-hero and McGowan's crisp and witty style delivers us a London steeped in corruption in this new version of the mean streets.' -- Hobart Mercury, Australia 'It combines elements of noir detective story and Elizabethan revenge tragedy with a scary treatise on modern machismo and morality...MORTAL COIL is an intriguing and disturbing book' -- West Australian 'McGowan constructs a suspenseful plot and writes barbed, forceful dialogue, and his account of the mean streets of London and Leeds ... is powerfully grim. Best of all is his portrayal of Moriarty, a man both thoughtful and vengeful, cunning and naive, cynical and guilt-ridden ... A shady and literate thriller that oozes down-and-out ambience' -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review 'His narrative rarely relaxes its grip, clutching the reader all the way to the well-thought-out ending' -- Sunday Morning Post, Hong Kong 'Ingenious conclusion which mingles murder, nostalgia, a massive cocaine deal and ultimate salvation served up in style with verve, confidence and a relish for all things louche.' -- Literary Review 'Articulate on the friction of class, the bonds of friendship and the power of hatred. The suspense is tantalising and the situation marries the gothic quality of a haunted house story with revenge tragedy and the peculiar ambience of British boarding-schooled males at play. An accomplished and thoughtful debut' -- Manchester Evening News on Stag Hunt 'This explosively impressive first novel carries echoes of Agatha Christie, William Golding, PG Wodehouse and MR James - among others. All of it is wrapped up in a thoroughly modern, irresistably readable narrative, propelled by a central character who is considerably more likeable that he himself believes. I loved it' -- Birmingham Morning Star on Stag Hunt 'A cleverly constructed tingler that will make readers want to keep the light on when they go to bed' -- Scotsman on Stag Hunt 'McGowan's debut packs a vicious punch, turning his characters inside out en route to a finely crafted finale.' -- Good Book Guide on Stag Hunt
Product Description
There is a London you might not know. A London of dingy, faceless pubs and brutal alleyway encounters; a seedy, seething metropolis populated by weasel-faced burglars, tattooed doormen, and dead-eyed hatchet-men with cold hearts and cruel intentions. It's a place Matthew Moriarty knows only too well. Soon to be jobless, hopeless, and half-crippled following a beating that teaches him not to insult local gangsters and then screw their wives, Moriarty is at rock bottom, left with only an ever-dwindling supply of prescription painkillers for company. And when he takes up a lucrative offer to track down a missing friend, things start to get a whole lot worse. As the search leads Moriarty into mortal danger, to the corrupt heart of the music business, one thing becomes clear: mess with this city, and it messes with you.
