Risk

Recently divorced New Zealander Sam Nola returns to London, where he spent two years in his early twenties. It is early 2003, and on both sides of the Atlantic the case for military intervention in Iraq is being made - or fabricated.

But life for Sam has never been better: a grown-up, half-French daughter from a long-ago affair has recently got in touch, and he has walked into a lucrative role in the booming banking sector.

It is only when he learns of the deaths of two friends within a week that intrigue begins to intrude on his contentment and life begins to feel a little more precarious.

“'An elegant and assured novel. It is a pleasure to read a writer who knows just what he is doing and how to do it' Allan Massie, Scotsman .”

'Artistry, poise and wit ... an outsider's beady eye and an erudite yet lightly worn allusiveness' Trevor Lewis, Sunday Times. Sunday Times
'Fine, thoughtful and insightful' Eithne Farry, Daily Mail. Daily Mail
'A few chapters in, I found myself in the grip of an artist with the ability to capture mood and beauty in a sentence' John Gapper, Financial Times. Financial Times
'A laconically universal novel ... confident, briskly paced ... highly readable' Eileen Battersby, Irish Times. Irish Times
'An elegant and assured novel. It is a pleasure to read a writer who knows just what he is doing and how to do it' Allan Massie, Scotsman. Scotsman

C.K. Stead is the renowned author of poetry, literary criticism, short stories, and of novels such as Mansfield and My Name Was Judas. He was awarded the C.B.E. for services to New Zealand literature and was the winner of the 2010 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award.

Recently divorced New Zealander Sam Nola returns to London, where he spent two years in his early twenties. It is early 2003, and on both sides of the Atlantic the case for military intervention in Iraq is being made - or fabricated. But life for Sam has never been better: a grown-up, half-French daughter from a long-ago affair has recently got in touch, and he has walked into a lucrative role in the booming banking sector. It is only when he learns of the deaths of two friends within a week that intrigue begins to intrude on his contentment and life begins to feel a little more precarious.

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