The Abstainer

An Irishman in nineteenth-century England is forced totake sides when his nephew joins the bloody underground movementfor independence in this propulsive novel from the acclaimed authorof The North Water.Manchester, England, 1867. The rebels will behanged at dawn, and their brotherhood is already plottingrevenge.Stephen Doyle, an Irish-American veteran of the Civil War,arrives in Manchester from New York with a thirst for blood. He hasjoined the Fenians, a secret society intent on ending British rulein Ireland by any means necessary. Head Constable James O'Connorhas fled grief and drink in Dublin for a sober start in Manchester,and connections with his fellow Irishmen are proving to beparticularly advantageous in spying on Fenian activity. When along-lost nephew returns from America and arrives on O'Connor'sdoorstep looking for work, O'Connor cannot foresee the way hisfragile new life will be imperiled—and how his and Doyle's fateswill be intertwined.In an epic tale of revenge and obsession, master storytellerIan McGuire once again transports readers to atime when blood begot blood. Moving from the gritty streets ofManchester to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, TheAbstainer is a searing novel in which two men, motivated byfamily, honor and revenge, must fight for life and legacy.