"Naeem Murr's compelling debut novel is reminiscent of the work of John Fowles. There's a stunning juxtaposition of monstrous acts and moody lyrical prose, and a skill with narrative that a thriller would be proud of". -- Stuart Dybek, author of The Coast of ChicagoWho is the boy? And whose body lies beneath a sheet of blue tarpaulin in the basement of a derelict brewery?The discovery of a chilling diary sends Sean Kennedy, once a foster father to the boy, on a desperate search to unlock the secrets of his tragic past and to learn the truth about the boy's part in the disintegration of Sean's family.The boy's compelling and protean personality (he is Devon to the keepers of the Boys' Home; Alex, to the Fatman with whom he lives; Priestly, to the young rent-boy who reveres him; and Durwood, to Sean's daughter) arches over this disturbing novel and is mirrored in the lives of all the people Sean encounters. Through these different perspectives we witness the boy's many incarnations, which reflect, aggravate, and distort the desires of those around him, involving these characters irrevocably in his own mysterious intentions. The boy keeps just beyond Sean's reach, then draws him into a final encounter that is both poignant and brutal.Part thriller, part psychological portrait, Naeem Murr's first novel is a penetrating study of innocence and malevolence ineluctably bound.