Wrecks - Matt Hill

A noirish near-future thriller about obsession, connection and penance, where human and machine bleed into one, for fans of J. G. Ballard and Joel Lane. When celebrated rally driver Teddy Moon suffers a career-ending crash in the foothills of Eryri, Wales, Lescure senior technician Jim Sorrel shoulders the blame. Cleared of criminal negligence but dismissed by his bosses, Sorrel goes to ground in London during a lethal heatwave. Here, Sorrel's guilt is only deepened by the disappearance of his young apprentice, Marcus - and by voices from the past haunting him through his phone. Then a lifeline: Teddy emerges from his coma and asks to see Sorrel in person. Because, Sorrel learns, Teddy has been dreaming of him. And now Teddy has an opportunity to discuss. At Teddy's behest, Sorrel takes a job couriering worldboxes - seamless, brushed-steel vessels - for well-paying, anonymous clients. It feels like another chance. A way for Sorrel to remake himself. But the worldboxes also seem to carry the threat of something incomprehensible, and soon even Sorrel's new beginnings falter as retribution draws near. Set against a background of unrelenting heat and oppressive surveillance, Wrecks drives readers towards a grotesque impasse, where blood and engine oil threaten to engulf us all.