I was lucky enough to see Djamal White at Manchester Literature Festival and admired his tenacity in pursuit of his debut novel. I was a novel that submerged us into the less salubrious and well known parts of Dublin, a world of drugs, and criminality.
Did I like Tony his protagonist?? No, I found him just a little selfish, a loose cannon, his emotions always at the ready to run amok no matter the consequences. His past crimes had seen him flee to England and now he was back needing protection, always looking over his shoulder just in case.
Aengus Lavelle could provide that protection and under the watchful eye of Flute they do his dirty business, but then another side to the novel emerged one that was unique and unexpected. Tony was gay, Flute was gay, when they finally found themselves together would this be their saving grace a way out of the underworld they inhabited. I got the impression that for Flute it didn't matter but for Tony his sexuality was a closely guarded secret, one that threatened to wreck his hard fought masculinity which I found quite sad. His relationship with his Mum and brother was equally mixed and fraught and also sad, his willingness to risk them totally selfish.
For all its bleakness there were moments of happiness, of Tony feeling happy, of belonging but the ensuing last part of White's novel soon brought him back down to earth.
It was an ending that matched the emotion of the novel with its dramatics, his hold your breath moment and cemented my view that Djamal White is a novelist to watch.

ALL THEM DOGS gripped me from the opening line, a Dublin I recognise, have lived alongside, but have never been apart of made disturbingly real in this spectacular debut. Themes reminiscent of Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo and Colin Barrett’s Wild Houses with flavour of the RTE drama KIN. Thrilling, heartbreaking, and raw.

I'll post a full review on my Instagram closer to the release day! Many thanks for the digital arc.

Tony Ward coming back to West Dublin after five years away feels like lighting a match in a room full of fumes. From the first pages, there’s a sense of inevitability hanging over this book — that whatever Tony is hoping for, whatever fresh start he thinks he might manage, it’s already slipping through his fingers.

Home isn’t what he left behind. His old mentor is dead, his best friend has gone straight, and the criminal landscape has shifted without him. Tony has history, mistakes he’s still running from, and a reputation that follows him like a bad smell. When he falls in with Darren “Flute” Walsh — now a key enforcer for a local crime boss — it feels, to Tony at least, like a way back in. Protection, status, belonging. A no-brainer, or so he thinks.

But Flute is not the quiet lad Tony remembers from school. He’s brooding, unpredictable, and quietly terrifying, and the dynamic between them is electric from the start. There’s attraction there, dangerous and complicated, threaded through violence and loyalty and fear. What I really appreciated is how Tony’s sexuality is treated as part of the fabric of his life rather than the focus of the plot. This is a crime novel first and foremost — gritty, brutal, and tense — but it’s also deeply human, and often surprisingly tender.

Tony is a fascinating protagonist. He does awful things, makes consistently bad decisions, and yet there’s something heartbreakingly endearing about him. He feels broken in a way that rings true, and there’s a real sense that he wants to be loved, or at least seen, even if he doesn’t quite know how to ask for it. The supporting cast are just as well drawn, particularly his mother and brother, whose presence adds emotional depth and grounding to an otherwise ruthless world.

The writing is sharp, visceral, and unapologetically Irish. The dialogue crackles. The slang feels lived-in rather than performative. It reminded me of The Blood Miracles meeting Young Mungo, with shades of Kin running right through it. The pacing is relentless without ever feeling rushed, and the atmosphere is thick with menace and inevitability.

And that ending — genuinely unexpected, but absolutely spot on. It took me by surprise in the best way and gave the story exactly what it deserved. I closed the book feeling both satisfied and slightly stunned, which is no small feat.

This is a superb debut. Bleak, gripping, emotionally charged, and impossible to put down. I inhaled it. A vivid, fast-paced Irish crime novel with real heart and bite, and an early contender for one of my favourite reads of 2025. I’d be shocked if this doesn’t end up on screen somewhere — it’s crying out for it.

Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read via NetGalley — as always, this is an honest review.

A powerhouse debut built on sharp snappy writing and taut intense drama. Right from the start the story takes hold and never lets go.

Our fiery protagonist is on a collision course with destiny trying desperately to find another way out. But is a new job and an unexpected romance enough to distance himself from an explosive departure five years ago? Thrown right into fire on his return home, we follow along as Tony must navigate a fragile Irish crime scene rocked by revenge, retribution and naked ambition, while his very life hangs in the balance.

A vividly described and fast paced thriller sure to satisfy any fan of the genre. I simply could not put this one down.

The book was provided as an advanced reader copy through netgalley.com

Superb debut from Djamel White, with a bleak tale of a young lad who fled Dublin some years ago and has now returned, getting involved with local drug / gang lord as an enforcer. His family life is deeply conflicted, his friends from before have moved on and he starts building new relationships with his new ‘colleagues’. White makes Ward a fully sympathetic character and I was fully invested in the unexpected queer angle. Gripping, emotionally engaging and at times shocking, this is a fantastic read. Early shout for a booker long list for me.