Set in Ballina, County Mayo and mostly following the POV of Dev and Nicky, Wild Houses is a beautifully told story sharing a snapshot of these characters lives while exploring loneliness and grief, all with a tension of violence rippling underneath the surface.

Late one night, Dev opens the door of his house to see his two cousins manhandling a teenage boy out of a car - they’ve kidnapped Doll English to hold him as ransom until his brother Cillian pays a drug debt. Dev struggles with the violence while also staying silent, exploring in his own quiet way what it means to be complicit and the fine line between staying silent and living a peaceful life. At the same time we follow Nicky, Doll’s girlfriend as she thinks about her relationship, her future outside of Ballina and her own experiences with loneliness until the realisation sets in about Doll’s disappearance.

The writing in this is so quiet but impactful and I personally appreciated and loved Dev’s POV as we see this guy who is described as a ‘giant’ actually be extremely soft and quiet, and full of complex feelings and emotions wrapped up in his own mental health journey, anxiety and his grief over the recent passing of his mother. There were also some lovely moments in this involving Dev’s very elderly dog and Doll - and the gentleness between dog and boy breaking up the threat and tension of violence and the kidnapping situation.

Would highly recommend this book - it’s a shorter read than most but it’s one that will stay with you and make you think about the characters long after you finish it.