Habit by Stephen McGeagh

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Author:  Stephen McGeagh ISBN:  9781907773334 Weight:  990g Lined and dated signed first edition, first print paperback original Lined Select:A big smile of them white teeth, and I can see some little red cracks in her bottom lip.‘Lee, Lee. Turn round you fucking tart.’ Availability:      In stock, usually sent within 24 hours Our price:  £8.99 –+ Add to Basket

Habit – Stephen McGeagh

Manchester, the present.  Michael divides his time between the job centre and the pub.  A chance meeting with Lee, an introduction to her ‘Uncle’ Ian, and a heavy night on the lash lead to a job working the door at a Northern Quarter massage parlour.

After witnessing the violent death of one of the ‘punts’, Michael experiences blood-drenched flashbacks and feels himself being sucked into a twilight world that he doesn’t understand but that is irresistibly attractive.  When he eventually finds out what goes on in the room below 7th Heaven, Michael’s life will never be the same again.

Think Bret Easton Ellis.  On a writing break in the north of England.  And all he packed was Fight Club and some early Stephen King novels.  Stephen McGeagh’s powerful debut will stay with you for a long time.

A raw slice of urban menace as immediate as a dangerous night out on the town.  In the vivid language of the streets it invokes the paranoid spirit of the city.  It’s as harsh and clear as neon, and it rings alarmingly true.  Be warned – this is not comfortable fiction. Perhaps there’s no escape.

Ramsey Campbell

Collectors Notes

• Nicholas Royle, that much-respected teller of uncanny tales, is the editor of Habit, Stephen McGeagh’s debut novel.