Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2015
368 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
For two brothers, a debt of violence will be paid over a lifetime
Ciaran Devine, who made Belfast headlines seven years ago as the "schoolboy killer," is about to walk free. At the age of twelve, he confessed to the brutal murder of his foster father; his testimony mitigated the sentence of his older brother, Thomas, who was also found at the crime scene, covered in blood. But DCI Serena Flanagan, the only officer who could convince a young, frightened Ciaran to speak, has silently harbored doubts about his confession all this time.
Ciaran's release means several things: a long-anticipated reunion with Thomas, who still wields a dangerous influence over his younger brother; the call-to-action of a man bent on revenge for his father's death; and major trouble for Ciaran's assigned probation officer. Meanwhile, Serena Flanagan has just returned to the force from her battle with breast cancer, only to endure the pitying looks of her coworkers and a mountain of open case files. She will soon discover that even closed cases can unleash terror on the streets of Belfast.
"Starred Review. [A] searing, deeply affecting psychological thriller... Neville demonstrates once again that he's a literary force to be reckoned with." - Publishers Weekly
"A grim tale of dependence and obsession." - Kirkus
"Psychologically astute." - Booklist
"Deeply chilling but full of tenderness, this multi-stranded story is utterly compelling. The best book yet from a hugely talented writer." - Sunday Mirror
"If crime connoisseurs take only one book to the beach this summer they should make sure it is Those We Left Behind by Stuart Neville, in which the absolute master of Belfast Noir delivers a sustained crescendo of creeping menace." - Irish Independent
"His best novel since his debut, [The Ghosts of Belfast]... Flanagan is a compelling character, professionally capable and hard nosed but emotionally vulnerable in her private life, although it's young Ciaran Devine who is the most haunting character." - Declan Burke, The Irish Times
"[A] gripping tale of two brothers and one policewoman in Northern Ireland fighting to come to terms with peacefully living in a land still torn by the divisions of religious intolerance, and the deep scars it has left on its people." - Herald Scotland, Pick of the Week
"Those We Left Behind is a great, brawling ache of a novel. Filled with both prickling suspense and fiercely wrought emotion, it's a tale of the burdens of family and the weight of the past. And at its center, holding it all together, is DCI Serena Flanagan, the bruised and compassionate hero for whom we've all been waiting."
- Megan Abbott, author of The Fever
"In the world of modern crime fiction, Stuart Neville is a supernova. I buy his books the day they're released because I can't wait to see where he takes me next. And I'm never disappointed." - Dennis Lehane
This information about Those We Left Behind was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Stuart Neville's debut novel, The Ghosts of Belfast (published in the UK as The Twelve), won the Mystery/Thriller category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and was picked as one of the top crime novels of 2009 by both the New York Times and the LA Times. He has been shortlisted for various awards, including the MWA Edgar, CWA Dagger, Theakstons Old Peculier Novel of the Year, Barry, Macavity, Dilys awards, as well as the Irish Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year.
He has since published nine more critically acclaimed books, two of which were under the pen name Haylen Beck. In 2020, Soho Press will publish his first short story collection, The Traveller and Other Stories.
Stuart's novels have been translated into various languages, including German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, ...
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