The Benefactors

'What a joy it is to read' Michael Magee, author of Close to Home 'I couldn't put this book down' Sheena Patel, author of I'm A Fan 'Powerful, moving, compelling, utterly enthralling' Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13 'A prodigiously talented author: funny and brutal by turns' Guardian 'The style of Woolf but the heart of Dickens' Sunday Times 'I miss it already . . . What a beautiful, hilarious blast of brilliance' Donal Ryan, author of Heart, Be at Peace 'A cast of characters so vividly drawn it feels like you've known them all your life' Colin Walsh, author of Kala Misty thought of them as friends, the three local boys from wealthy homes. Until upstairs at a house party an act of violence takes place, with lines drawn and repercussions for them all. On her side, Misty has her devoted father Boogie, and the formidable matriarch Nan D. On theirs, the boys have their mothers - Frankie, Bronagh and Miriam will use the considerable power at their disposal to protect their own children. And all the while, anonymous voices across the city confide in us, sometimes offering us another perspective on what has happened, but more often telling their own stories - inviting us briefly into lives shaped by money and class, by family and love. ⭐ Waterstones Irish Book of the Year ⭐ ⭐ Shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize ⭐ ⭐ Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction ⭐ ⭐ An Observer Best Debut Novel ⭐ ⭐ A book of the year for: the Observer, the Guardian, the Daily Mail and The Irish Times⭐

Wendy Erskine is the author of two short story collections, Sweet Home and Dance Move. She was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize, longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. She edited the art anthology well I just kind of like it. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, she is a frequent broadcaster and interviewer, and works as a secondary school teacher in Belfast. The Benefactors is her debut novel.