THE ORIGINS OF BENJAMIN HACKETT

All families have secrets. Most go untold. Only the worst seem fated to return

Benjamin Hackett has come of age, technically. And in the midst of the celebratory hangover, his world is whipped out from under his feet. His parents have finally shared their lifelong secret with him; he's adopted. At the age of eighteen, the boy still has some growing up to do, and with the help of JJ, his loquacious consigliore and bodyguard, he embarks on an adventure that'll put to bed a lifetime of lies. Over the course of five days, they find themselves caught up in the darker side of Cork. But when they sweep through the misfits blocking their way and finally discover the truth of it now that's the greatest shock of all.

The Origins of Benjamin Hackett is a tender tale of heartache and displacement told through a wry and courageous voice. Set in Ireland in the summer of 1996, it's a timely reminder that the world hasn't moved on just as fast as we fancy. Now, in this emotionally charged story, Gerald O'Connor explores conditioned guilt and its consequences in a country still hiding from the sins of its past.

Gerald M. O'Connor is a native Corkonian, born in Blarney in 1975. O'Connor earned a BDS from University College Cork and worked in the UK for fifteen years as a dentist before returning to Ireland in 2013. Currently, O'Connor lives in Dublin with his family and pens character-driven novels of various genres. His debut work, The Origins of Benjamin Hackett, is due for release in February 2017 from Down&Out Books. When he isn't glued to the keyboard, O'Connor enjoys spending time with his family and being anywhere remotely in sight of the sea.