The Destroyers
A Novel
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3.8 • 26 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
An Esquire Best Book of the Year • A Paste Best Novel of the Year
Recommended by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Vogue, Paste, New York Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Seattle Times, Yahoo!, Refinery29, BBC, PopSugar, Boston Herald, New York Social Diary, Library Journal, Bookstr, Kirkus
“A seductive and richly atmospheric literary thriller with a sleek Patricia Highsmith surface." —New York Times Book Review
"Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Destroyers is at once lyrical and suspenseful, thoughtful and riveting." —Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You
“Superb. . . . A read-all-night of a book.” —Alan Furst, author of A Hero of France
Arriving on the stunning Greek island of Patmos, Ian Bledsoe is broke, humiliated, and fleeing the fallout from his father’s death. His childhood friend Charlie—rich, exuberant, and basking in the success of his new venture on the island—could be his last hope.
At first Patmos appears to be a dream—long, sun-soaked days on Charlie’s yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian’s past—and Charlie readily offers Ian the lifeline he so desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath, and it isn’t long before the dream begins to fragment. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Ian finds himself caught up in deception after deception. As he grapples with the turmoil left in his friend’s wake, he is reminded of an imaginary game called Destroyers they invented as children—a game, he now realizes, they may have never stopped playing.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the third novel from the author of Orient, Ian Bledsoe flies to the Greek island of Patmos, "the quiet island of the Apocalypse," after the death of his father to try to get financial help from his childhood best friend, Charlie Konstantinou. Both young men come from affluent New York families but find themselves in precarious positions with their family inheritances. On the island, Ian meets Charlie's cluster of extravagant friends, including his college girlfriend, vacationing on her summer off from law school. When Charlie offers Ian a job at his yacht company, things begin to start looking up, despite the appearance of more and more dubious individuals, including a group of religious hippies, around the touristy island. Suddenly, Charlie goes missing and it becomes Ian's job to find his friend. Bollen manages to create a novel that is equal parts literary and thrilling. His beautiful sentences linger, and each of his characters have rich, complicated pasts that unfold over time. Though the ending is a bit rushed and leaves some loose threads, the novel ultimately offers a cinematic and insightful reflection on wealth and the horrendous things it can drive people to do, even to the ones they love.
Customer Reviews
The Destroyers
A long, slow slog to an unsatisfying ending. The characters are unlikable and there is no one to root for or enjoy. The biggest disappointment is that there was no sense of the Greek location. Though set on Patmos, it could have been anywhere. The setting should have been evocative and atmospheric, but it just felt dull. Disappointing.