Erin Sloane left Southport when she was 16, traumatised after her high school classmate Andre Villiers was murdered by his friends in an apparent Satanic thrill kill in the local woods. Although she wasn’t there on the night, Erin was part of the group. The fallout from Andre’s death, coupled with further loss in her own life, drove Erin to breaking point. She left town and has used alcohol and drugs to block out her past ever since.

Twenty years later, the decline of her ageing father brings her home. Now working as a journalist, Erin is asked to write a story about Andre’s death. Despite knowing it will drag up her barely suppressed demons, Erin can’t resist investigating. She finds a memoir, ‘Resident Alien’, told from the perspective of someone closely involved with Andre’s murder, which seems to add valuable insight. But is it reliable or leading Erin into further danger?

This novel won the 2018 Richell Prize and is a cracking, page-turning crime thriller. Southport in the 1990s is an affluent yet grim place, with the residents turning a blind eye to suffering. Erin and her friends experiment with drugs and sex and many of them are suffering trauma inflicted by the adults around them, yet they’re left to fend for themselves. This is atmospheric literary noir, dark and descriptive, with an explosive conclusion.

Reviewed by Melinda Woledge