Iron Annie (SHORTLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 2022) - Luke Cassidy

SHORTLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE 2022‘Utterly original … A bolt from the blue for Irish writing’ Niamh Campbell, winner of the Rooney Prize for This Happy''A queer underworld Thelma & Louise with better jokes'' Sarah Moss‘This year’s most ambitious and well-written debut'' Irish IndependentWhen Dundalk underworld regular Aoife brings the wild and magnetic Annie to the Town, her desire to love and cling to this dangerous stranger culminates in a road trip through Britain to dispose of ten kilos of cocaine for her business partner, The Rat King. But when Annie decides not to return to Ireland, Aoife makes a decision that changes everything. Tender, tragic but ultimately hopeful, Iron Annie is a breakneck journey that crackles with energy, warmth and heart, and marks the arrival of a truly original new voice in literary fiction.''Written in an exhilarating, lyrical vernacular, in much the way of Anna Burns, Kevin Barry or even Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting'' Daily Mail