Destroyers

The Destroyersis asmart, sophisticated literary thriller; for all its originality, it invokes the shades of Lawrence Durrell and Graham GreeneJay McInerney, author ofBright, Precious DaysWhen Charlie and I were young, we played a game called Destroyers . . .We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival ... Ian Bledsoe is on the run, broke and humiliated,fleeing the emotional and financial fallout of his fathers death. His childhood friend Charlie rich, exuberant and basking in life on the Greek island of Patmos is his last hope. At first, Patmos is like a dream sun-soaked days on Charlie's yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian's past and Charlie readily offers the lifeline he desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath. When he vanishes leaving behind hismurky business affairs, Ian finds himself caught in a terrifying labyrinth of deceits. As boys, the pair played a game called Destroyers a game, he now realizes, they may never have stopped playing.Expansive, vivid and suspenseful, in the vein of Donna Tartts The Goldfinch, The Destroyers is a mesmerizing dramaof power and fate, fathers and sons, self-invention and self-deception. Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith and F. Scott Fitzgerald,The Destroyersis at once lyrical and suspenseful, thoughtful and rivetingGarth Greenwell, author ofWhat Belongs to You ';The Destroyers manages to be both fast-paced and contemplative, an excellent entertainment and also something more lasting, ahaunting meditation on friendship and desperation' Guardian, Best Holiday Reads of 2017