At no point did I have a clue where this narrative was going and I mean that in the most complimentary way to Eliza Clark. This is a startling, dark novel following Irina - a photographer who produces sexually violent pictures of men that she scouts in the shops, bars, public transport and streets of Newcastle.

Irina as a protagonist is often darkly funny - there were moments of her narrative that made me snort with laughter - but mostly reprehensible. She's obsessive about her body and appearance, treats her best friend pretty terribly and loathes the men that she photographs. She is the ultimate unreliable narrator - often contradicting her thoughts and behaviours. There were moments were I did wish we had a bit more of a rationale for her behaviour - whilst there are hints at what may be motivating her I think really just allowing Irina to be unhinged gives Clark potentially more space to make points through her narrative.

Clark's writing is pacy and has a sense of general foreboding throughout. She so easily draws the multitude of characters and relationships within the novel which I found fascinating. Clark also definitely has points to make about gendered violence and sexual politics, and who gets to have what 'gaze' when it comes to gender. I did find some plot lines petered out in a way that I didn't always find satisfying, and I'm still trying to work out what I think about the ending.

Either way, I'm super excited to pick up Penance in 2025.