'Stick with the wandering storyline and this unwieldy, yet powerful, novel morphs into a phantasmagoric nightmare of fatherhood, as the shattering domestic crisis at its core slowly crystallises into view' - Daily Mail Praise for Mercia's Take:
'Energy and passion fuels this harsh and beautiful first novel; Daniel Wiles connects us viscerally to the past we have buried the history we choose to ignore' - Hilary Mantel
'Read this novel and marvel at its language, dark and gleaming as obsidian. Daniel Wiles channels the Southern Gothic into the vernacular of the Black Country and unearths from the past a tale of desperation that speaks to our current damnation. A striking debut' - Paul Lynch Feverishly compulsive Narrated with spectacular economy, in a thudding, rhythmic staccato studded with local vernacular, the book deftly folds themes of pride, masculinity and ecological ruin into its central story: the visceral vengeance quest that ensues after a fellow miner makes off with Michaels life-changing haul of gold - The Observer, 10 best debut novelists of 2022
'Unsettling and heart-wrenching, this debut marks Wiles as a formidable talent' - Antonia Senior, The Times
