Seeing the Wires – Patrick Thompson

Blackly humorous first novel in Magnus Mills mode. Even in Dudley, ritual murder is frowned upon.Sam Haynes is 30, but he’s lived a lot of life. Though you wouldn’t think so to look at him now. He works for the local council leading a team which doesn’t want to be led. And he only has one close friend – Jack, a man obsessed with body piercing. They drink the evenings by, discuss failed relationships, watch the puddles fill in the gutters outside. The usual existence in dynamic Dudley, West Midlands.He and Jack have a shared history. Problem is, they don’t quite agree on what it is. One night, after a particularly drunken party, Jack tells Sam that ten years ago they murdered five people in some bizarre teenage ritual attempt to turn back time. Naturally Sam doesn’t believe him. He doesn’t remember any of this. How could he, if it never happened? He couldn’t even squash an ant without deep feelings of guilt, let alone cold-bloodedly kill someone. Let alone cold-bloodedly kill five!He knows this as well as he knows the numbers of fingers on his own hands. Until the bones turn up at the bottom of the garden…