Septembers by Christopher Prendergast

Septembers is a tale of Noir fiction the protagonist Mark is a victim, a suspect and a perpetrator in the activities of his life. He also shows self-destructive qualities as events spiral downwards and inwards on himself.

The book opens with Matt travelling with Annabel, she parks the car on the side of the motorway and we are left asking why she might get out and walk dangerously close to the fast moving cars.

Then the story turns back two years and we see Matt as a failing history school teacher having a relationship with Annabel who works in the school reception. Annabel shows a need to live dangerously on the edge.Their relationship breaks up and Matt moves on to teach at a college where he soon discovers funding for the history department is being cut.

At a conference Matt meets the eccentric Jaroslaw who takes him under his wing and introduces him to his set of friends. Whilst travelling to a school to run a workshop they are viciously attacked and later Matt finds a hooligan and hands out his own punishment. His guilt over many things he’s recently done comes back to haunt him as we come full circle and find Matt and Annabel driving off to escape any consequences.

This style of fiction can be both clever and confusing, the twists and turns and eloquent use of words show a depth of writing which at times is hard to follow. It’s not an easy read and one that suits a niche market of followers.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com