Black's Creek

A young boy drowns in a tragic accident in a lake in upstate New York. Fourteen-year-old year old Tommy and his two friends are sure they know who drove him to take his own life: the boy's father is also convinced and pressurises the local Sheriff, Tommy's father, to make an arrest. But there is not enough evidence, and the boys decide to take things into their own hands.





A gripping tale of power, growing sexuality and the strength of rumours in a small community

'Sam Millar didn't invent the noir crime novel but ... he might as well have. Powerful. Not to be missed!' Jon Land, New York Times best-selling author of Strong at the Break and Betrayal

'Reminiscent of Steven King's classic, Stand by Me, and Dennis Lehane's Mystic River, Black's Creek is an atmospheric must-read, page-turning book.' New York Journal of Books



Sam Millar is a bestselling crime writer and playwright from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He previously lived in the United States and is the author of On the Brinks, a memoir about his involvement in the Brinks Robbery. He has won numerous literary awards, his books have all been critically praised and translated into French and German by major publishers.



echoes of Huckleberry Finn, Stand by Me and other wonderful coming of age novels … pure gold



fast-moving thriller … the short chapters keep the pages turning … an imaginative noir with an unusual narrator



a tense read … an ending that is more poignant that you would usually expect in a crime novel. This for me added an extra touch to a well-written and gripping novel



a dark story, often violent, but with a tenderness that more than offsets the gory detail



a sweaty slice of dark Americana, part crime novel, part coming-of-age tale … heady, atmospheric journey into the dark heart of adolescence. And, by god, we liked it … gothic noir, a small town fever dream in the vein of Jim Thompson, and in this world of cookie-cutter procedurals, that can never be a bad thing



powerful and atmospheric coming of age story ... beautifully atmospheric, the unfolding story is hauntingly realistic and the sparseness of the narrative only emphasises the stark reality of the story. The writing is imaginative and well-conceived; the author captures perfectly the brooding nature of small town America, a place where resentment lingers and long held grudges are allowed to fester and grow … a compelling page turner and the need to know just how the story would eventually be played out kept me turning the pages long into the night



The big Sunday question- why have I never read Sam Millar  @Thebrinksman  before?  #amreading  Black's Creek- it's ace!



When you begin to review a book with the phrase, "How the hell have I not read this author before?" you know you may be on to a bit of a winner. Such is my reaction to this recent discovery of Sam Millar … this is a real read-in-one sitting book as the slowly escalating sense of peril and Millar's descriptive prowess, both of characters and location, keep you immersed in the events of this small but multi-faceted community. There is a brilliant build-up of tension, offset by the powerful dynamics of friendship and family that Millar brings to bear on the story. Millar pulls no punches in his depiction of the violence that permeates the attacks, with the more violent interludes in the book being perfectly placed, so the details of these and their ramifications for the community at large, become more vital … Highly recommended and an author that I will unquestionably seek out again