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The Boy

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The Boy

By: Mark Gyves
Narrated by: Conor Dunne
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By turns terrifying, taut, humane and tender it tells the origin story of Ireland’s organised-crime epidemic with a skill and grace which belies a debut novel, and is the calling-card of a ringing new voice in Irish fiction.

When the Guards knock on the door the Boy already knows his mother is dead. His father flees to the pub, leaving him to wait alone. Soon his brother Fallon, half-protector and half-outlaw, draws him into a world where grief and crime are rarely separated. At the same time, a wealthy landowner harbours grotesque secrets in the countryside - a hidden “family” of abducted boys, a nightmare lurking beneath respectability.

As the Boy moves through these fractured worlds - his father’s guilt, his uncle’s paramilitary past, his brother’s violent death - he becomes both witness and inheritor of a brutal legacy.

Think of a space where the layered complexity of Tana French meets the whip-smart dialogue and brutal beauty of Colin Barrett and the sharp tenderness and humour of Graeme Armstrong’s The Young Team – and you’re somewhere near where this novel will take you.©2026 Mark Gyves (P)2026 W.F. Howes Ltd Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Exciting Scary Crime
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I listened to this in only 3 sittings, a rarity for me. Absolutely loved this story of the titular character navigating his way through the criminal underworld, not really having a clue what he's doing but getting by on guile and instinct. All of the characters in the book are so well written, the author had me in stitches at times with the dark comedy and colourful language. One character in particular is written in such a way that he seems almost harmless and dare I say likeable, until you are routinely reminded just how truly despicable he is! The narration by Conor Dunne was excellent, really nailing all of he various accents and making this book a joy to listen to. Loved this book, raced to the end and now I'll definitely be on the lookout for this writer's next offering.

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I listened to this over the weekend and kept finding excuses to get back to it. It holds you from the first minute to the last, and the rhythm and pace of the writing come across even better when you hear it read aloud. The imagery is vivid, and Mark writes his characters with real warmth and empathy, even the ones you'd cross the street to avoid. Cork's underworld has never felt so alive. A fresh, brilliant debut.

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