Author:Joseph O'Connor
From the bestselling author of Star of the Sea and Shadowplay, a thrilling novel about a father who takes the law into his own hands.
'Gripping and moving...a taut, expertly crafted plot' Guardian
Dublin, June 1995: the hottest summer since records began. But Billy Sweeney, a middle-aged salesman with a failed marriage, a faltering career and a tumbledown house, has more than weather on his mind.
His youngest daughter lies in a coma in hospital following a mysterious attack on the petrol station where she worked. Devastated by the unfolding consequences of that violent night and frustrated by the system, Billy finally decides to take the law into his own hands.
'A game of psychological cat and mouse is at the core of The Salesman... Gripping' Harper's Bazaar
[A] gripping and moving thriller
—— GuardianLike other young Irish writers, O'Connor brings into view a sharp and harsh image of contemporary Ireland. But this carries with it a feeling of emotional credibility not found in more traditional and stereotypical images of Irish life. It also brings a deeply ironic black humour of which the novel is full
—— ScotsmanVery near perfection. You’ll be on the edge of your seat.
—— The Literary Review'Heyer's characters and dialogue are an abiding delight to me ... I have seldom met people to whom I have taken so violent a fancy from the word "Go"'
—— Dorothy L. Sayers'The wittiest of detective writers'
—— Daily MailPatterson's Boxers are not pants.
—— Bournemouth EchoChristophe Dufossé fuses the suspense of Stephen King with the irony and ambition of Houellebecq. A truly successful debut
—— Les InrockuptiblesDufosse's first novel is a well-paced, gripping thriller...not for the faint-hearted
—— Big IssueA writer of wit and style
—— Scotland on SundayA powerful debut
—— ArenaBruen's tightly coiled prose strikes like a piss-soaked rattler.
—— CapitalSharp, punch and unsettling, Priest is a masterpiece.
—— Peterborough Evening Telegraph... An intensely dark maelstrom ... excellent.
—— www.marymartin.com.auBruen should be valued as one of the most challenging and memorable writers in the genre at the moment.
—— www.reviewingtheevidence.com