First Novel

Nicholas Royle is the author of six previous novels, including The Director's Cut and Antwerp, as well as two novellas and a short story collection, Mortality. Born in Manchester in 1963, he runs Nightjar Press, reviews fiction for the Independent, and is a senior lecturer in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. He divides his time between Manchester and London.

"Ingeniously twisted... expertly draws us into the unpredictable labyrinth of the protagonist's mind, and is seldom less than grimly compelling... Exerts a pleasingly icy grip" -- Trevor Lewis Sunday Times "Hugely impressive and entertaining" -- Anthony Cummins Sunday Telegraph "This is a finely honed work of sophisticated gaming that flirts with truth; yet it never forgets that it's also a plot-driven fiction" -- Philip Womack Daily Telegraph "If writing about creative writing is to risk a novel eating itself, we can be thankful that a writer of Royle's skills put himself in charge of the banquet" -- Gerard Woodward Guardian "An intricate story with an unsettlingly noirish effect" -- Lucy Scholes Observer