“He was beautiful. There was no denying it. Nothing would change that. To see past it felt impossible. Hating something beautiful must make your insides shrivel. It made me ugly. It made me see that I’ve always been ugly.”
After he killed a rival gang member, Tony fled his home in Dublin and went to England. He longed for home, but needed to be sure the fury died down before it was safe to return. And when he returned five years later, he discovered one of his closest friends and mentors had been murdered and his other friend has abandoned the gangster life they lived.
Tony gets a job working as an enforcer for a local thug. He mostly picks up drugs and goes after people who owe money. He wants to be more powerful, but even though time has passed since he killed, he’s always looking over his shoulder. And having a very short fuse doesn’t help.
His job is to assist Flute, his boss’ right-hand man. Tony knew of Flute when they were growing up, but he is mystified by this quiet yet brutal giant. And when the two find themselves drawn together, it sets them on a dangerous path, as past and present crimes take their toll.
This is definitely not a book for everyone, and the Irish slang the characters use was tough to follow at first. But this story has so much heart, and even though you know tragedy is impending, I still found myself a bit hopeful. A surprising, beautiful read.
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