Stillwater

In physician Scott’s impressive debut, a young man with a spotty past returns home after seven years away. Jack Quinlan, now going by the alias Luke Harris, arrives in Melbourne hoping to put his mother’s overdose and his father’s criminal history—which sent Jack into foster care—behind him. Working as an in-home caregiver, he soon finds a stable income, a chance to put himself through university, and the possibility of romance with a client’s daughter. But his new life is threatened when he encounters Gus Alberici, a crime boss whose sinister mentorship shaped Jack into a loyal enforcer when he was a boy. Gus demands his help locating Jack’s father, who vanished years ago after stealing a large sum from Gus. With Gus under pressure to repay a rival kingpin, Jack is roped back into his criminal past, and forced to get his hands dirty if he wants to preserve his future. Scott makes the life-or-death stakes of Jack’s dilemma palpable, and the novel’s terse prose and three-dimensional characters add depth. This gritty coming-of-age tale grabs readers’ attention and doesn’t let go. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Aug.)