The Disappeared
Published on 9. February 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
362 pages
978-1-7396681-3-6 (ISBN)
Description
People disappear. Or are disappeared.
Hugh is searching for his son, Adam, an investigative journalist lost in the valleys of central Peru.
A mysterious phone call from Adam's girlfriend tells him that his son is on the trail of corrupt ex-military officers and renegade Shining Path terrorists fighting for control of the lucrative trade in cocaine.
As Hugh ventures deeper into the world of the disappeared, he is certain of only two things: that he will do anything to get his son back alive - and that time is running out.
THE DISAPPEARED is a meticulously researched work of fiction which draws upon first-hand testimonies from the grandmothers of the disappeared and members of the judiciary involved in combatting the drug trade.
'A stunning contemporary thriller. Like Roberto Bolaño and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author's compassion for those eradicated from history emanates from each page' Mark Liam Piggott, journalist & author of Militant Factions
'Every line Stephens includes in The Disappeared seems to matter. There is no puffed-up bravado, no fake, writerly show. Things are there for a reason. Each paragraph warms us on the journey. Each scene unravels itself before us in a very simple, yet extraordinary way. We care about the characters because they seem real, vulnerable, tarnished. And the strand of mourning throughout the book, the deep cut off loss, is ever-present' Jeff Weston, journalist & author of Mutler
Hugh is searching for his son, Adam, an investigative journalist lost in the valleys of central Peru.
A mysterious phone call from Adam's girlfriend tells him that his son is on the trail of corrupt ex-military officers and renegade Shining Path terrorists fighting for control of the lucrative trade in cocaine.
As Hugh ventures deeper into the world of the disappeared, he is certain of only two things: that he will do anything to get his son back alive - and that time is running out.
THE DISAPPEARED is a meticulously researched work of fiction which draws upon first-hand testimonies from the grandmothers of the disappeared and members of the judiciary involved in combatting the drug trade.
'A stunning contemporary thriller. Like Roberto Bolaño and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the author's compassion for those eradicated from history emanates from each page' Mark Liam Piggott, journalist & author of Militant Factions
'Every line Stephens includes in The Disappeared seems to matter. There is no puffed-up bravado, no fake, writerly show. Things are there for a reason. Each paragraph warms us on the journey. Each scene unravels itself before us in a very simple, yet extraordinary way. We care about the characters because they seem real, vulnerable, tarnished. And the strand of mourning throughout the book, the deep cut off loss, is ever-present' Jeff Weston, journalist & author of Mutler
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
431 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-7396681-3-6 (9781739668136)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Stephens was born in 1950, in Woking, Surrey. He graduated in 1972 from the University of Reading with a degree in Modern History & Politics and went on to gain a PGCE at the University of Southampton, picking up his M.Ed. in 1976 and PhD in 1982 - both from the University of Exeter. He has worked in Afghanistan, Laos, Kenya and Sierra Leone as a professor and researcher, spending the past six years in Lima, Peru. He is the eldest of five siblings, son of two teachers, and author of Purely Academic: A Satire, The Disappeared and Under Andean Skies: Living and Writing in Peru. He is a snazzy and natty former Ten Pound Pom who has filled his life with an awful lot of adventure.