All Them Dogs

White debuts with a riveting and tender literary thriller about a young man exploring his sexuality while trying to find his footing in the crime world. Tony Ward has returned to his native Dublin from England, where he fled after fatally stabbing the man he believed to have killed his mentor. A friend connects him with enforcer Darren “Flute” Walsh, who collects money for his drug kingpin stepfather, Aengus Lavelle. After Tony partners with Flute to shake down a series of Aengus’s debtors, he is unsettled by the violent work and by the attraction he feels toward Flute. The pair share a kiss while high on cocaine during a party, and then embark on a secret relationship. Meanwhile, Tony navigates tension with his family and the creeping sense that his past is catching up with him. After he learns a hard truth, the story lurches toward a wrenching conclusion. In between taut action sequences, Tony reflects with piercing insight on the violence he commits (“it leaves a layer of grime on you like a charred bit of toast, and when you scrape it all away into the sink some of you goes with it”). It’s a memorable story of a man’s ill-fated attempt to transcend his hopelessness. Agent: Duvall Osteen, UTA. (May)