Description
'Vividly portrays the human face of young women on the margins of society, women who defy being statistics, who have their own stories and loves to tell' Sophie Ward
WINNER OF THE PORTICO PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE OCKHAM AWARDS
Leeds in the 1970s is a place fraught with danger for young women like Jude, for her best friend Nel and Janice across the road. Jude flirts with the wrong kind of people, gets drunk too often, ends up on wild hitch-hiking jaunts up and down the country. Until now it has all been fun, a way to let off steam when the relationship she's having with a married woman doesn't work out. Jude doesn't pay much attention to the news: to the young women who have been going missing, to the young women who haven't been returning home, to the dangers out there. That is until she's offered a lift by a couple in a grey car, a couple who have been stalking the roads, looking for someone exactly like her.
About the Author
Sally J Morgan was born in the Welsh mining town of Abertyleri, and grew up nomadically across Wales and England. She lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand, with her wife, the novelist Jess Richards. Toto Among the Murderers is based on her own experience of being offered a lift by Fred and Rosemary West.
Reviews
An exhilarating novel, so evocative of the lives of broke, hedonistic art graduates in the 70s and all the joy and recklessness of youth. I was gripped also by the darkness and predatory threats circling these characters, who think themselves so invulnerable, and yet are anything but * Susan Barker, author of The Incarnations *
Vividly portrays the human face of young women on the margins of society, women who defy being statistics, who have their own stories and loves to tell * Sophie Ward *
Moments of startling beauty and heart-wrenching tenderness. The author's skill in portraying so much brutality with such a lightness of touch is truly impressive. The writing engages from the get-go with crisp dialogue, deft depictions of time and place and sharp observations of human behaviour . . . I relished every page * Emma Henderson *
My favourite kind of book . . . captures an England ill-at-ease with itself full of people who don't know what they want, but they know it isn't this. This is a novel that introduces an assured writer, someone interested in lives that are often over-looked * Stephen May *
Contains some surprisingly touching moments * Sunday Business Post *
Awards
Winner of Portico Prize 2022 (UK).
Book Information
ISBN 9781529300390
Author Sally J Morgan
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint JM Originals
Publisher John Murray Press
Weight(grams) 359g
Dimensions(mm) 214mm * 132mm * 30mm
