Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
When Charlie and I were young, we played a game called Destroyers. . . . We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival. . . .
Arriving on the Greek island of Patmos broke and humiliated, Ian Bledsoe is fleeing the emotional and financial fallout from his father s death. His childhood friend Charlie rich, exuberant, and basking in the success of his new venture on the island could be his last hope.
At first Patmos appears to be a dream long sun-soaked days on Charlie s yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian s past and Charlie readily offers Ian the lifeline he so desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath, and it isn t long before the dream begins to fragment. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Ian finds himself caught up in deception after deception. As he grapples with the turmoil left in his friend s wake, he is reminded of an imaginary game called Destroyers they played as children a game, he now realizes, they may have never stopped playing.
An enthralling odyssey and a gripping, expansive drama, The Destroyers is a vivid and suspenseful story of identity, power and fate, fathers and sons, and self-invention and self-deception, from a writer at the very height of his powers.
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Synopsis
"A smart, sophisticated literary thriller."--Jay McInerney, author of Bright, Precious Days
"Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Destroyers is at once lyrical and suspenseful, thoughtful and riveting."--Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You
"Possessed of both cold-blooded electricity and a beguiling elegance, The Destroyers enfolds. A propulsive, hypnotic portrait of rot at paradise's heart and of the sprawling, inescapable tendrils of class and avarice."--Sophie McManus, author of The Unfortunates
When Charlie and I were young, we played a game called Destroyers. . . . We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival. . . .
Arriving on the Greek island of Patmos broke and humiliated, Ian Bledsoe is fleeing the emotional and financial fallout from his father's death. His childhood friend Charlie--rich, exuberant, and basking in the success of his new venture on the island--could be his last hope.
At first Patmos appears to be a dream--long sun-soaked days on Charlie's yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian's past--and Charlie readily offers Ian the lifeline he so desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath, and it isn't long before the dream begins to fragment. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Ian finds himself caught up in deception after deception. As he grapples with the turmoil left in his friend's wake, he is reminded of an imaginary game called Destroyers they played as children--a game, he now realizes, they may have never stopped playing.
An enthralling odyssey and a gripping, expansive drama, The Destroyers is a vivid and suspenseful story of identity, power and fate, fathers and sons, and self-invention and self-deception, from a writer at the very height of his powers.
Synopsis
Recommended as Summer Reading by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Vogue, New York Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Seattle Times, Yahoo , Refinery29, BBC, PopSugar, Boston Herald, New York Social Diary, Library Journal, Bookstr, Kirkus
"Beautiful people visiting glamorous places, being wicked enough to bring Patricia Highsmith to mind. It just isn't summer without this kind of globe-trotting glamour to read about, especially when most of it is set in the Aegean. Bollen is stylish enough to know what sells.... Escapism, as calculating as it gets." --Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Destroyers is at once lyrical and suspenseful, thoughtful and riveting." --Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You
"The Destroyers is one superb novel, a tightly woven and fast-moving narrative set in beautifully crafted prose. A read-all-night of a book." --Alan Furst, author of A Hero of France
When Charlie and I were young, we played a game called Destroyers. . . . We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival. . . .
Arriving on the Greek island of Patmos broke and humiliated, Ian Bledsoe is fleeing the emotional and financial fallout from his father's death. His childhood friend Charlie--rich, exuberant, and basking in the success of his new venture on the island--could be his last hope.
At first Patmos appears to be a dream--long sun-soaked days on Charlie's yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian's past--and Charlie readily offers Ian the lifeline he so desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath, and it isn't long before the dream begins to fragment. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Ian finds himself caught up in deception after deception. As he grapples with the turmoil left in his friend's wake, he is reminded of an imaginary game called Destroyers they played as children--a game, he now realizes, they may have never stopped playing.
An enthralling odyssey and a gripping, expansive drama, The Destroyers is a vivid and suspenseful story of identity, power and fate, fathers and sons, and self-invention and self-deception, from a writer at the very height of his powers.
Synopsis
Recommended as Summer Reading by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Vogue, Esquire, Paste, New York Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Seattle Times, Yahoo , Refinery29, BBC, PopSugar, Boston Herald, New York Social Diary, Library Journal, Bookstr, Kirkus
"Beautiful people visiting glamorous places, being wicked enough to bring Patricia Highsmith to mind. It just isn't summer without this kind of globe-trotting glamour to read about, especially when most of it is set in the Aegean. Bollen is stylish enough to know what sells.... Escapism, as calculating as it gets." --Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Destroyers is at once lyrical and suspenseful, thoughtful and riveting." --Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You
"The Destroyers is one superb novel, a tightly woven and fast-moving narrative set in beautifully crafted prose. A read-all-night of a book." --Alan Furst, author of A Hero of France
When Charlie and I were young, we played a game called Destroyers. . . . We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival. . . .
Arriving on the Greek island of Patmos broke and humiliated, Ian Bledsoe is fleeing the emotional and financial fallout from his father's death. His childhood friend Charlie--rich, exuberant, and basking in the success of his new venture on the island--could be his last hope.
At first Patmos appears to be a dream--long sun-soaked days on Charlie's yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian's past--and Charlie readily offers Ian the lifeline he so desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath, and it isn't long before the dream begins to fragment. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Ian finds himself caught up in deception after deception. As he grapples with the turmoil left in his friend's wake, he is reminded of an imaginary game called Destroyers they played as children--a game, he now realizes, they may have never stopped playing.
An enthralling odyssey and a gripping, expansive drama, The Destroyers is a vivid and suspenseful story of identity, power and fate, fathers and sons, and self-invention and self-deception, from a writer at the very height of his powers.
Synopsis
An Esquire Best Book of the Year
Recommended by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Vogue, Paste, New York Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Seattle Times, Yahoo , Refinery29, BBC, PopSugar, Boston Herald, New York Social Diary, Library Journal, Bookstr, Kirkus
"A seductive and richly atmospheric literary thriller with a sleek Patricia Highsmith surface." --New York Times Book Review
"Equal parts Graham Greene, Patricia Highsmith, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Destroyers is at once lyrical and suspenseful, thoughtful and riveting." --Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You
"The Destroyers is one superb novel, a tightly woven and fast-moving narrative set in beautifully crafted prose. A read-all-night of a book." --Alan Furst, author of A Hero of France
When Charlie and I were young, we played a game called Destroyers. . . . We were sharpening our instincts, jettisoning attachments. We were honing strategies for survival. . . .
Arriving on the Greek island of Patmos broke and humiliated, Ian Bledsoe is fleeing the emotional and financial fallout from his father's death. His childhood friend Charlie--rich, exuberant, and basking in the success of his new venture on the island--could be his last hope.
At first Patmos appears to be a dream--long sun-soaked days on Charlie's yacht and the reappearance of a girlfriend from Ian's past--and Charlie readily offers Ian the lifeline he so desperately needs. But, like Charlie himself, this beautiful island conceals a darkness beneath, and it isn't long before the dream begins to fragment. When Charlie suddenly vanishes, Ian finds himself caught up in deception after deception. As he grapples with the turmoil left in his friend's wake, he is reminded of an imaginary game called Destroyers they played as children--a game, he now realizes, they may have never stopped playing.
An enthralling odyssey and a gripping, expansive drama, The Destroyers is a vivid and suspenseful story of identity, power and fate, fathers and sons, and self-invention and self-deception, from a writer at the very height of his powers.