Alun Brady was a bit of a Mummy's Boy, stuck at home at 30 in the suburbs. When grandfather Paddy makes his deathbed in their spare room, he brings fresh air into Al's cushy number and makes Al face the hardest decision of his life. Later, just out of prison, Al's world seems almost empty. Haunted by his brother Will's perfect new family, Al seeks in dangerous new friends what he needs from his lost kin. Drawn into Cardiff's underbelly, events take a turn towards the tragic as he discovers he cannot break free of his own blood ties. This is an authentic urban thriller with a strong colloquial voice, stepping between social classes to say important things about memory and identity.
Llwyd Owen is a superlative plot-master; he is a messenger from the underworld whose narrative leads us through the mist.
Fflur Dafydd
Another striking novel from Wales most exciting author.
Dewi Prysor
Second only to the authors of the Mabinogi stories.
Dafydd Elis-Thomas
Not unlike the Mike Leigh of Secrets and Lies, who points out the black holes of family life. An outright talent and natural storyteller.
Martin Davies, Taliesin
Well paced, tightly plotted ... holds a magnifying glass to the middle classes to highlight their dark underbelly ... an unconventional thriller that will linger long in the memory.
Lloyd Jones
Llwyd Owen is the author of four Welsh-language novels: Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau; Ffydd Gobaith Cariad, which won the Welsh Book of the Year Award in 2007, Yr Ergyd Olaf and Mr Blaidd (Christmas 09), all published by Y Lolfa. Born and bred in Cardiff, he studied at Glantaf comprehensive school and Bangor University before working briefly in Cardiff's TV industry, escaping to Asia, Egypt and Australasia, and settling down again in the capital to write fiction and work part time as a translator.
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