The Unwilling

Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger 2022 Award.

NOT EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE . . .

After a tour of Vietnam and a three-year stint in prison, Jason is back in town and wants to rebuild his relationship with Gibby, the younger brother he hasn't seen for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake: long hours of sunshine and whisky and older women.

But when the four of them encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road, one of the women taunts the prisoners, causing a riot on the bus.

Soon after, Tyra is savagely murdered.

Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason. Determined to prove his older brother's innocence, Gibby must avoid the police and dive deep into his brother's hidden life, a journey that takes him into the darkest corners of the community.

What he discovers is a truth more disturbing than he could have imagined: not just the identity of the killer and the reasons for Tyra's murder, but the forces that shaped his brother in Vietnam, the reason he was framed - and why the most dangerous man alive wants him back in prison.