Years ago, Ray was sworn to silence. Now he’s going to speak. Even if it kills him.
Ray Watts is in a deep funk. His girlfriend Liz has abandoned him. So has the muse that inspired the art that supported him. If he doesn’t come up with the next mortgage payment he’s going to be out on the street. In a moment of desperation, he googles his ex-wife Susan. They haven’t spoken in years. Now they never will–she died last year in a fiery car crash. Ray becomes obsessed with the years they spent together in a spiritual group– a time that drove him to the edge and destroyed their marriage.
Ray has a plan. When you’re forbidden to speak, you end up with a lot of secrets. Juicy ones. So, he’ll write a best-selling book about his time in the group and pay off the mortgage. And writing will get him out of his funk. It’s what he’d always done–transmute his leaden troubles into the gold of art.
But when a brick crashes through his window–the first in a series of creepy, anonymous threats–he realizes that someone really doesn’t want him to write. They’re determined to shut him up. For good.
Praise for Never Speak:
“John Manchester is a fluent and refreshing new voice in the world of thrillers, and in Never Speak he takes us on a fantastic ride. Manchester is down-to-earth and funny, and he’s great at conjuring up the sights, sounds, and textures of his characters’ world. But he also brings elements you don’t often see in genre fiction: a distinctive musicality, a hallucinatory vision, and a deep, scary creepiness that surges in like an undertow, grabs you, and won’t let go.” —Stephen Schiff, showrunner for the upcoming Star Wars/Cassian Andor
“With a complex, tormented hero and a nightmare past that is haunting his future, John Manchester has created a story that sent chills down my spine. Bravo!” —New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy
“Never Speak is a taut, engrossing story that puts art, writing, and rock & roll in its considerable crosshairs. Dark in the best noir tradition, the last third of this twisty novel moves at breakneck speed.“ —Joseph Souza, bestselling author of The Neighbor
“Be prepared to stay up past your bedtime! John Manchester has crafted an edgy Hudson Valley thriller about a has-been musician whose past not only haunts him–it’s trying to kill him.”
—C. I. Dennis, author of the Vince Tanzi Series
