THE DISASSEMBLY OF DOREEN DURAND

Doreen Durand has not left her apartment in days after she witnesses two young boys violently killed in a hit and run from her window. Alone, having been abandoned by her only friend and roommate, and in the midst of a mental health crisis, Doreen is paralyzed by her trauma. She does nothing, only further retreats into her chaotic apartment.

Meanwhile, investigating detectives, Officers Palmer and Solloway, are racing to find the culprit. The driver skirted CCTV cameras and there were no witnesses – except for the evasive Doreen, who claims to have seen nothing and avoids their calls.

As the consequences of Doreen's inaction begin to pile up, Doreen runs away – and finds herself in the company of the enigmatic Violet Cascade. Violet is immeasurably wealthy, and claims to have psychic powers – and to be able to provide Doreen with a means of escape.

Officer Solloway, meanwhile, is determined to track Doreen down – long after the crime is solved, and everyone else in the police force seems to have moved on. And so an increasingly surreal game of cat and mouse begins, taking the reader across Europe, and eventually into thin air
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THE DISASSEMBLY OF DOREEN DURAND is a compelling debut, combining the tight pacing of Patricia Highsmith with a slowly unfurling surrealism, reminiscent of Murakami. The writing is accomplished, cinematic and fluent, with moments of startling perceptiveness. For us there were obvious similarities to Ottessa Moshfegh's MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION, and to Tom McCarthy's REMAINDER – but Ryan has also created something wholly unique and deeply unsettling.

Ryan Collett grew up in Oregon and has lived in Idaho, Georgia, Utah and New Mexico, before eventually settling in London. He works as a Press Release Editor, and also runs a Knitting YouTube Channel with over 23,000 subscribers.