The past tries to play catch-up in gripping political novel

The Returners By Gemma Malley Published by Bloomsbury ISBN 9781408800904

Will Hodge's life is a miserable mess but he doesn't know how to get back on the right track. His mother has died under mysterious circumstances, he can't make any lasting friends, his father's life has been taken over by the radical political ideas that are gripping half the country, and each day brings problems that are alienating Will more and more from his family and social surroundings.

Will is insecure about his life and future, but he's not the sort of person to give up easily. He might think and worry too much, but he's not going to give up. After all, as Will tells himself daily, 'You never know when things are about to change.'

What he does know is that if his mum hadn't died, things wouldn't be as bad for either him or his dad. She would have kept the family together.

Set in England in the near future, Gemma Malley's The Returners plays out against an intriguing socio-political background. The recession has worsened and the country is sliding daily towards right-wing nationalistic extremes. The National Party has gained power, promising to make the country successful again by ridding it of 'foreign' influences. A friend of Will's father , a policeman turned political activist, has persuaded Mr Hodge to embrace the new politics. These are dangerous times.

This tense, controversial background is crucial to Malley's novel, but it never gets in the way of the story. The Returners is set in disturbing political times, but it is not a political novel where the author hammers home his or her own standpoint. Malley has a gripping story to tell and doesn't let politics - or anything else - get in her way.