Shirker - Chad Taylor

When Ellerslie Penrose picks up the victim's wallet at the scene of a murder he quickly finds himself sucked into the investigation and begins a descent into a surreal and grotesque underworld. Compelled to find an explanation for the gruesome crime, Penrose uncovers a bizarre world of sexual obsessions where fantasy and reality blur under layer upon layer of deception. An old journal seems to hold the key - but someone is prepared to murder to keep its secret. As Penrose is drawn ever deeper, he begins to sense the extent of the evil he is up against - an evil that can defy time itself.
Lean, poetic - at times erotic - Shirker is a disturbing noir thriller from a massive new talent in contemporary fiction.