The Young Accomplice

Author Benjamin Wood
Narrator Theo Solomon
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Run Time 12 hours and 7 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Historical fiction, Juvenile offenders, Narrative theme: Social issues.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

In a quiet Surrey village sits Leventree, an architectural practice set up by idealistic couple Florence and Arthur Mayhood, offering apprenticeships to young offenders after their release. Motivated by his own memories of Borstal, Arthur aims to mentor young adults with a troubled upbringing and give them opportunities to succeed.

Their first protégées are siblings, Joyce and Charlie Savigear, who quickly settle in; but when a dangerous figure from Joyce's past comes knocking, the Mayhoods' earnest hopes of doing good turn tragic. Forced into betrayal, Joyce must make a decision that will change her brother's life and threaten everything the Mayhoods have been trying to build.

A sinister and thrilling story that unpicks the tendrils of power and choice, lies and truth, and dire consequences borne of good intentions.

***PRAISE FOR BENJAMIN WOOD***

'A novelist to watch' - The Times, on A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

'A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource' - Guardian, on The Ecliptic

'Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read' - Independent, on The Ecliptic

© Benjamin Wood 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Critics Review

Britain’s answer to Donna Tartt
Sunday Times
Tense and full of menace
New Statesman, Books of the Year
Highly accomplished . . . It’s idealistic, gripping and beautifully textured, moving with great power. It’s rare to see such attention to character and setting, and I think Wood is one of Britain’s best young writers
Spectator, Best Books of 2022
This satisfyingly old fashioned- feeling novel from a youngish author strikingly conveys its 1950s rural setting, and has a grim pull of foreboding . . . Benjamin Wood’s perspective-shifting novel weaves elements of
thriller, romance and coming-of-age to gripping, memorable effect
Sunday Times, Best Books for the Year
A treat . . . Wood’s daring narrative decisions show he hasn’t lost the old spark, but has just added to it with his new repertoire. What, it asks, are the opportunities available to somoen who wants to leap clear of their wrong beginnings, when everything that hurts has already been cut?
Critic, Fiction Books of the Year
Benjamin Wood knows how to generate tension, makes lively characters you can see and hear, and writes about rural England in a sensitive, considered way that doesn’t stray into the nostalgic. A huge talent
Hilary Mantel
Wood is a seriously talented writer, able to enter the minds of his characters with eerie precision. The Young Accomplice is an involving tale of revenge and responsibility, which, while it devastates, also tells us that new lives can be built among the ashes
FT
[Wood’s] best novel yet . . . [he] deserves to be far better known
Irish Times, 2022 Books of the Year
A British novelist who deserves more attention than he has had . . . Wood blends storytelling punch with literary sensibility . . . The Young Accomplice shows the difference between a book that slides down the surface of things, and one that digs it claws into you and sticks there
The Times
Benjamin Wood is a beautiful writer and this is his best novel yet, both gripping and unputdownable. Like people in Thomas Hardy, his characters surge from the page, and the mystery unfolds with a sureness seldom seen in contemporary British fiction
Andrew O'Hagan, author of Mayflies
His most original [novel] yet . . . The Young Accomplice has already been compared to Thomas Hardy novels and there are echoes of Tess of the d’Urbervilles in the story of a vulnerable young woman whose past catches up with her. Wood is also wonderful on the intricacies of love and architecture as a means of enriching people’s lives. It’s a novel that feels as if it has been imagined with slow and tender care – and I suspect it will be cherished by readers for a long time
Sunday Times
With deceptive ease, the books weaves elements of crime, mystery, love story and coming of age . . . a well-wrought novel whose pleasure is in each careful scene, moment and sentence
Irish Times
Blown away by A Station On The Path To Somewhere Better . . . Dark and disturbing, but wise, moving and beautifully written. Am immediately going to seek out his other books now. What a writer
Richard Osman on A Station On The Path To Somewhere Better
Benjamin Wood is building a sublime body of work. This masterful, suspenseful novel is his best yet. It swallows you up. I love it
David Whitehouse, author of About A Son
A novelist to watch
The Times, on A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better
A resounding achievement . . . Rich, beautiful and written by an author of great depth and resource
Guardian, on The Ecliptic
Exhilarating, earthy, cerebral, frank and unflinching . . . A masterfully paced and suspenseful read
Independent, on The Ecliptic

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