A disenchanted man struggles to get beyond the first chapter of the books he’s writing, and to separate fact from fiction in his own life. His friend’s suicide changes everything … The mind-blowing, heart-rending new thriller from cult bestselling author Will Carver.

‘Ambitious, dark and funny … a compelling and thought-provoking book from a highly talented writer. Bravo!’ Mike Gayle

‘One of the most exciting authors in Britain’ Daily Express

'Unflinching, blunt and brutal, Carver's originality knows no bounds. Simply brilliant' Sam Holland

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Eli Hagin can’t finish anything.

He hates his job, but can’t seem to quit. He doesn’t want to be with his girlfriend, but doesn’t know how end things with her, either. Eli wants to write a novel, but he’s never taken a story beyond the first chapter.

Eli also has trouble separating reality from fiction.

When his best friend kills himself, Eli is motivated, for the first time in his life, to finally end something himself, just as Mike did…

Except sessions with his therapist suggest that Eli’s most recent ‘first chapters’ are not as fictitious as he had intended … and a series of text messages that Mike received before his death point to something much, much darker…

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‘Gave me nightmares … I loved it’ S J Watson

‘Brutal and brilliant' Lisa Hall

'Challenging, perceptive and unexpectedly enlightening' Sarah Sultoon

'Will Carver is a unique writer. I loved Suicide Thursday' Greg Mosse

‘A smart, stylish writer’ Daily Mail

'Carver's trademarked cynicism and contemptuousness run rampant here … [a] dark, dangerous novel' Jack Heath

‘One of the most compelling and original voices in crime fiction’ Alex North 

Praise for Will Carver

‘Deliciously fresh and malevolent story-telling’ Craig Sisterson

‘Weirdly page-turning’ Sunday Times

‘Laying bare our 21st-century weaknesses and dilemmas, Carver has created a highly original state-of-the-nation novel’ Literary Review

‘Arguably the most original crime novel published this year’ Independent

‘This mesmeric novel paints a thought-provoking if depressing picture of modern life’ Guardian

‘Most memorable for its unrepentant darkness…’ Telegraph

‘Unlike anything else you’ll read this year’ Heat

‘Incredibly dark and very funny’ Harriet Tyce

‘Wickedly fun’ Crime Monthly

‘Will Carver’s most exciting, original, hilarious and freaky outing yet’ Helen FitzGerald

‘Vivid and engaging and completely unexpected’ Lia Middleton

‘Dark in the way only Will Carver can be … oozes malevolence from every page’ Victoria Selman

‘Move the hell over Brett Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk … Will Carver is the new lit prince of 21st-century disenfranchised, pop darkness’ Stephen J. Golds

‘Carver truly at his best’ Sarah Pinborough