The Low Road - Chris Womersley

Lee, a young petty criminal, wakes in a seedy motel with a bullet in his side and a suitcase of stolen money, his memory hazy as to how he got there. Soon, he meets Wild, a doctor who is escaping his own disastrous life, and the two men set out for the safety of the countryside. As they flee the city, they develop an uneasy intimacy, inevitably revisiting their pasts?Lee is haunted by a brief stint in jail, while Wild is on the run frommedical malpractice. However, Lee and Wild are pursued through an increasingly alien and gothic landscape by the aging gangster Josef, who must retrieve the stolen money and deal with Lee to ensure his own survival. Ultimately, all three men are forced to confront the parts of themselves they sought to outrun. Part noir thriller, part modern tale of alienation and despair, this novel is an unrelentingly dark story of addiction, regret, and failed dreams.