Tench

Longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award

An acquitted sex offender struggles to adjust to life after prison in this daring and deeply unsettling debut novel of psychological suspense—from a Dutch criminal psychologist

Jonathan has returned from prison to his largely deserted, run-down neighborhood. He has returned to his mother, to his dog, to filling the hot days with walks on the dunes and caring for the fish he keeps in an aquarium in his bedroom—who struggle, like him, to survive the oppressive summer heat. But there is a young girl with a chipped front tooth living next door, and feelings he thought forgotten are coming back to Jonathan. His growing obsession with Elke threatens to overwhelm his whole life, as well as hers, but he is determined to make the most of this second chance he has been given. He is determined not to let it happen again . . .

Tench is criminal psychologist Inge Schilperoord’s daring first novel: unnerving, morally complicated and utterly gripping, it moves brilliantly through true darkness.