Hawk Mountain: A highly suspenseful and unsettling literary thriller

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At once unsettling and emotionally riveting, Hawk Mountain vividly depicts the turbulence of coming of age and the violence of repressed attraction. It offers a compelling look at how love and hate can be intertwined until the last breath. 'Brilliant' Sunday Times 'Ramps the paranoia up to Highsmithian levels' Guardian 'The perfect mix of psychological thriller and literary fiction' Sunday Independent When single father Todd Nasca is spotted on the beach by an old enemy - his high school bully Jack Gates - he is prepared for a tense encounter. But Jack, who hasn't seen Todd in fifteen years, is radiant, and overjoyed to have run into him. Jack suggests a meal to catch up. And by the way, Jack wonders, could he spend the night Caught off guard by this chance interaction, Todd finds himself unable to escape Jack's charismatic and insistent presence in his home. One night turns into days, and as Jack begins to deepen his relationship with Todd's son fear starts to set in. What is Jack up to What follows is a fast-paced story of obsession and violence, showing that love and hate can be intertwined until the very last breath...

Reviews

Standouts include ... Conner Habib's Hawk Mountain, a paranoid and unsettling tale of masculinity in crisis. * Guardian, 'The best crime and thriller books of 2022' *
Conner Habib's Hawk Mountain was one of the most impressive debuts of the year. Set in New England, it explores the long-term consequences of bullying as Todd, now in his 30s, and the father of a young boy, encounters his high school nemesis, although the inevitable reckoning is as innovative as it is poignant. * Irish Times, 'The best crime fiction of 2022' *
Habib ramps the paranoia up to Highsmithian levels * Guardian *
Dripping with menace from the first page, this story of childhood enemies meeting up fifteen years later is utterly enthralling. Brilliantly written with homoerotic undertones, this savage tale is uncompromising in its reflection of teen friendships and isolation, and unflinching in its examination of the delicacy of the human body. There is gold among the gore. I found it compelling, shocking, and beautiful. * Liz Nugent *
Conner Habib writes with an hallucinatory precision, and a kind of merciless humanity, about the poisonous work of repression. His forebears-Poe, Highsmith, even classical tragedy-are clear, but his originality is clearer still. Hawk Mountain is a work of strange, glittering darkness. * Mark OConnell *

Author Bio

Conner Habib is host of the popular podcast Against Everyone with Conner Habib which covers topics as broad as sexuality, spirituality, punk rock, occultism, and poetry. His nonfiction has appeared in dozens of print and online publications. This is his first novel. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.