Holloway Falls

The paths of a cult leader, a precognitive man with a secret, and a detective with a troubled past intersect in this dark and absorbing mystery from the creator of Luther Andrew Taylor was a typical, pleasant lower-middle-class Bristol boy, content with his dependable life and loving family . . . until the dreams started coming. He has violent, visceral, powerful visions at night, whispering about darkness, death, murdered women, nationwide grief. Even worse, the dreams appear to be coming true, and soon Taylor finds himself living in a nightmare. William Holloway is the investigator called on to examine Taylor's unexpected disappearance. It looks like an open-and-shut case of suicide: Family man has mental breakdown, walks into sea to end pain. But strange clues nag at Holloway, especially after an old adversary rises from the grave to torment the detective. How, if at all, is this spirit connected to Taylor's disappearance? "Distinctive, original . . . powerfully atmospheric and hypnotically rendered. You may not be able to say precisely where you've been, but you'll know you've taken a hell of a ride." -The Literary Review "Neil Cross's excellent third novel is an ingenious revenge thriller which draws you in with its spare, snappy prose, and then messes with your head." -Time Out "A compulsive tale of disappearance, abduction, coincidence, psychotic jealousy, and imaginative daring . . . The plot is Vertigo on ketamine. . . . This story is a controlled skid between the shockingly private and all the big issues-death, meaning and belief. . . . Cross holds it together with tough prose, skill and nerve. The blackness and metaphysical rage recall the late, great Derek Raymond." -The Guardian "Neil Cross's story is carefully told, finely spun, and while it does have the sex, violence and brutality of its peers, these men also feel. And cry. And care about their daughters. Which makes them way more interesting to read." -Stella Duffy "In the pantheon of screwed-up detectives, there are several low-lifes for us to admire-Rebus, Robincheaux, some might say Columbo-but even in such exalted company, William Holloway is a name to watch." -Arena "Sparkles with genuinely absorbing situations and characters." -Maxim "Cross's precision keeps tight reign of this page-turning plot." -The Observer "Clever, continually surprising." -The Big Issue Neil Cross (b. 1969) is a British novelist and screenwriter best known as the creator of the multiple-award-winning international hit BBC crime series Luther, starring Idris Elba, and the international hit horror movie Mama. His highly acclaimed memoir, Heartland, was shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize in 2006. Cross has also written several thrillers, including Captured, Holloway Falls, and Always the Sun, which was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Cross continues to write for TV and film in the United Kingdom and the United States. He lives with his wife and two sons in Wellington, New Zealand.