(Film in production, starring Colin Farrel & Keira Knightley, directed by William Monahan)

Mitchell is finally free after a stint in prison for assault. A crony offers him a job as a loan-shark enforcer, and though Mitchell isn’t crazy about the idea, he doesn’t have any better offers. He’s perfect for the job – mean and merciless.

Buthe’s also got another, softer side: he’s an avid reader of crime novels, he’s a loyal friend, and he’d even like to get married one day if he can find the right woman. He figures his luck might have changed when he lands a legitimate job as a handyman for a rich actress who’s eager to reward him with cash, cars, and sex. Then he meets Aisling – smart, beautiful, and, best of all, as crazy about Mitchell as he is about her. But Mitchell can never truly escape his violent past or the dangerous world of loan sharks, druggies, and other bottom feeders. When an arrogant error in judgment threatens everything that’s dear to Mitchell, he plots his own ghastly form of revenge on those who’ve stolen his life.

Published editions: UK, The Do-Not Press, 2001; Transworld (movie tie-in);
USA: St. Martin’s Press, 2009;
France: Fayard;
Japan: Shinchosha;
Spain: Pamies;
Poland: Gruner+Jahr.
Rights available: Romanian, Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Macedonian, Moldavian, Montenegrin, Serbian, and Slovenian.