Young adult and adult readers who love a solid and thought-provoking read will relish this new novel from the author of The Killing of Mud-Eye. Josh is in his final year of school and having a hard time of it. His mother Liz works in a factory to support him and his grandad. She takes a second job as cleaner to a highflying and corrupt businessman, who becomes attracted to her despite her opposition to everything he stands for. A web of deceit binds them together, with Josh a bewildered figure in the drama. Soon his grandfather is dead and Josh is living on the streets. Walters gives us a fast-paced near-tragedy, full of subplots and deftly sketched subsidiary characters. But it’s more than a personal saga. We see a working-class suburb drawn together in anger when the local factory is threatened with closure, the prized football team disbanded and the local journalists are in the pay of ruthless business interests. It’s only a near-tragedy because Walters shows that there is hope and a future for Liz and for Josh as they find ways to navigate their future.