The Butchers (Hardback)

This strange and poignant book grips throughout, offering a vivid portrait of one of Ireland's less heralded corners. * Guardian *
Gilligan writes with clarity and compassion, resulting in an outstanding contemporary twist on the great Irish novel. Enchanting, ethereal and enlightening. Highly recommended. * Irish Sunday Independent *
Exhilarating... I was hooked from the first page -- Donal Ryan, author of From a Low and Quiet Sea
The Butchers by Ruth Gilligan is a funny, sad, beautiful book that asks how you make a new life when your world changes. So much is packed into these pages about family, about greed, about love, and about desperation. Oh and it has the perfect ending. * Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You and Starling Days *
Flawlessly, intricately plotted, but with such a compelling central mystery that I binged it like a Netflix show... The Butchers is deeply humane and astute on why we might take even the worst options available to us, at times deeply poignant and genuinely moving. It's stunning. * Luke Kennard, author of The Transition *
Plot twists worthy of Tana French... dark, wild, mythic, unsuspecting, and absolutely riveting -- Colum McCann, author of Apeirogon
This is a remarkable novel. The story is utterly compelling and the characters so well-drawn I found myself reading faster and faster as the plot progressed. Gilligan paints a disturbing portrait of rural Ireland which is both modern and ancient, firmly grounded in the realistic and hauntingly otherworldly. * Jan Carson, author of The Fire Starters *
Immersive... Gilligan is a writer I admire * Jess Kidd, Daily Mail *
I binged it like a Netflix show... It's stunning * Luke Kennard, author of The Transition *
I found The Butchers haunting and compelling. The relationships between daughter, mother and landscape move in strange harmony with a story about Irish modernity and masculinity. * Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater *
Excellent... completely gripping * Evie Wyld, author of The Bass Rock *
I loved The Butchers. Filmic and sensory, full of heifers and grift. * Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times *
It's gripping, Gothic, and moody. * Buzzfeed *
A subtle and enthralling novel * Sebastian Barry, author of A Thousand Moons *