Gilbert, Sean: I‘ll Be the Monster

From the moment I read the opening of I‘ll Be The Monster I was gripped. An ingenious premise, backed up with pitch-perfect dialogue, arresting scenes, and a caustic humour... one of our most promising emerging writers‘ Sophie Mackintosh, author of Cursed Bread The college bars were shuttered. Parties banned. Suicide watch was the new normal. And yet, outside, the air was sweet. Trees exploded in white and pink. Birds sang through long, pastel dusks. When I think of that time, I think of pale skin and outrageous blossoms. I think of choices. A homicidal couple embarks on a luxury holiday to save their marriage. After years of secrets and self-restraint, they‘ve reached breaking point. But three days into the trip, they run into Benny, an acquaintance from their Cambridge days. And Benny is desperate to reminisce about a time - and a person - they would rather forget. Darkly funny and razor-sharp, I‘ll Be The Monster follows a dangerous game of cat and mouse as it plays out under the stifling heat of the Mediterranean sun. From a major new talent in literary fiction, this gripping debut is a love story about the worst people you know - and of what happens when a change of heart occurs too late.