Contemporary Irish Teen Thriller

Shiver the Whole Night Through - Darragh McManus
Available - November 2014


Originally found on the slush pile at Hot Key HQ, truly making it a Diamond in the Rough!


While this is Darragh's debut in teen fiction this Irish author brings all of the finesse of his previous adult Crime novels paired with a unique younger voice creating a thrilling murder mystery with a supernatural edge….

Aidan as a main character is intelligent, witty and relatable, there is an obvious change in him throughout the novel and its interesting to see how that change effects the characters around him.There are some pretty heavy themes of suicide, bullying and hooking up or 'Shifting' (a term used in Irish slang that can mean anything from kissing to full carnal knowledge. I love it!) not to mention he pretty much chain smokes throughout the entire book. But its these darker aspects that make it real and compelling, I mean don't we all want to read about someone with grit, integrity and a bit of familiarity? Besides these 'themes' are sadly just a part of life and reading about a character who overcomes his fears and limitations can only help the rest of us right?

There is also a fantastic exploration of history, where the whole town has a grim backstory, a sordid past that when examined closely is just down right scary, giving a glimpse of the mythical Ireland I love most. Darragh links the past and the present with an ancient evil that Aidan must confront or risk loosing the entire town to its frigid clutches.

As a stand alone novel it works perfectly well but thats not to say that I don't want more because I do - I think theres a lot more to come in Aidan and Sláine's story.