Always The Sun
Neil CrossNeil Cross’s gripping novel asks the reader a question: how far would you go to protect the child you love from those who seek to cause them harm?
What do you do when your son is bullied? Jamie is thirteen years old, and an only child. His mother has recently died. He and his father, Sam, have moved to Sam's hometown. A fresh start. An aunt to lend support. A new job for Sam, a new school for Jamie. But one day Jamie comes home, bearing the scars of every parent's nightmare. Something must be done... And so it begins.
"The stripped-down prose of Neil Cross is at once masterly, authoritative and tender throughout this superb and difficult novel. Outstanding." - Big Issue
"Cross's grimly readable novel settles into a parent's nightmares and ties apprehensive knots in the reader's stomach." - The Guardian
Neil Cross’s nomination ironically marked the end of his career as a full-time novelist. He decided to adapt his longlisted novel, Always the Sun, for the screen and found a new career. Cross has become hugely successful as a scriptwriter for film and television - creating the detective series Luther and writing for programmes such as Spooks and Dr Who. Although he has written further novels and a much-praised memoir, Heartland, prose is now his secondary career.