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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
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THE SHACKLES
Four friends who called themselves The Shackles because they could never get away from each other, cover up a fatal hit-and-run in their provincial Irish town, are forever bonded in a drastically different way.
St Stephen's Night, 1999. On the cusp of the new millennium, four nineteen-year-old friends drive home after an alcohol-fuelled night out in their hometown of Ballylea. In the freezing darkness, their car hits a pedestrian and three of the four make a split-second decision to drive on.
The fourth, who had blacked out from drinking, is deceived into believing that he was the driver. The group reaches an uneasy consensus to cover up their involvement in the fatal incident.
As the years pass, pharmacy owner Becca, Premier League footballer Andy, provocative journalist Cian and the reclusive Dreamy (who was given the false belief that he was behind the wheel) forge significantly different futures both in and away from Ballylea. A brittle love triangle is smashed and lifelong friendships wracked with distrust as The Shackles drift apart and occasionally collide, some prospering as household names, others tortured and stunted by guilt.
And when the anonymous emails start arriving, it becomes clear that the past won't allow itself to stay hidden forever.
Conor Griffin lives in Dublin. His short fiction has been published in the Irish Times and in literary journals. He was also a Mairtín Crawford prizewinner at the 2025 Belfast Book Festival.
The fourth, who had blacked out from drinking, is deceived into believing that he was the driver. The group reaches an uneasy consensus to cover up their involvement in the fatal incident.
As the years pass, pharmacy owner Becca, Premier League footballer Andy, provocative journalist Cian and the reclusive Dreamy (who was given the false belief that he was behind the wheel) forge significantly different futures both in and away from Ballylea. A brittle love triangle is smashed and lifelong friendships wracked with distrust as The Shackles drift apart and occasionally collide, some prospering as household names, others tortured and stunted by guilt.
And when the anonymous emails start arriving, it becomes clear that the past won't allow itself to stay hidden forever.
Conor Griffin lives in Dublin. His short fiction has been published in the Irish Times and in literary journals. He was also a Mairtín Crawford prizewinner at the 2025 Belfast Book Festival.
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Published by Penguin |