The Traveller and Other Stories

Author Stuart Neville On Tour
Foreword by John Connolly
$9.99 US
Soho Press | Soho Crime
On sale Oct 06, 2020 | 978-1-64129-204-7
Sales rights: US/CAN (No Open Mkt)
A darkly glittering collection of Northern Irish noir by Stuart Neville, Los Angeles Times Book Prize–winning author

Since his debut novel, the modern classic The Ghosts of Belfast, was published a decade ago, Stuart Neville has written nine other critically acclaimed novels and achieved international recognition as one of crime fiction’s great living writers.

Now for the first time Neville offers readers a collection of his short fiction—twelve chilling stories that traverse and blend the genres of noir, horror, and speculative fiction, and which bring the history and lore of Neville’s native Northern Ireland to life. The Traveller concludes with the long-awaited eponymous novella, the companion piece to The Ghosts of Belfast and Collusion.

Complete with a foreword from Irish crime fiction legend John Connolly, this volume is the perfect indulgence for fans of ghost stories and noir, and is a must-have for devotees of Neville’s prizewinning Belfast novels.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery Book of 2020  

Praise for The Traveller and Other Stories

"Chilling . . . These stories have an uncanny power to convince. The best of Mr. Neville’s ghost tales can hold their own with those of the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen. But the ultimate prize-winner here, 'Coming in on Time,' a heartbreaking vignette of domestic tragedy seen through the eyes of its youngest victim, hasn’t a trace of the supernatural—only the horror of innocence encountering evil."
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

“No matter the nature and circumstance of the plots, Neville shows his storytelling mastery in tales that inevitably climax with sentences loaded in desolation.”
—Jack Batten, The Toronto Star

"Noir, noir, noir—everybody wants to write noir fiction. But most self-anointed 'noir' narratives just don’t hack it. They’re dark and dreary, to be sure; but a true noir mystery must also have a black heart. This kind of spiritual despair comes naturally to Stuart Neville, whose Belfast crime novels bleed."
The New York Times Book Review

"Splendid . . . This chilling assortment of Northern Irish noir is not to be missed."
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review  

"Irish noir done to a turn, with just enough tearful sentiment to turn the screws tighter."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Neville, author of The Ghosts of Belfast, turns from thrilling mystery to chilling horror. Thirteen macabre tales feature killers and specters sure to haunt your dreams for days to come. Neville sets his stories amidst his native Irish shores, filling each yarn with a hint of the old country. This blend of genres conjures nightmarish realities to create a bone-chilling collection."
—The Lineup

"Hauntingly delicious . . . If you want to give friends an unexpected and highly memorable trick-or-treat, get a couple of extra copies of this collection. Make sure to ink your name into your own copy, so it won't walk away lightly. It will be, indeed, haunted."
—Kingdom Books

Praise for Stuart Neville

 
“A rare example of legitimate noir fiction.”
—The New York Times Book Review 
 
“Tightly wound, emotionally resonant . . . Displays an acute understanding of the true state of Northern Ireland, still under the thumb of decades of violence.”
Los Angeles Times
 
"The current master of neo-noir detective fiction."
The Boston Globe
 
A brilliant thriller, unbearably tense, stomach-churningly frightening . . . A future classic.”
The Observer
 
“A great, brawling ache of a novel . . . filled with both prickling suspense and fiercely wrought emotion.”
—Megan Abbott
 
“A flat-out terror trip.”
—James Ellroy
 
“An exceptional talent. Crime fiction doesn’t get much better.”
—Lee Child

About

A darkly glittering collection of Northern Irish noir by Stuart Neville, Los Angeles Times Book Prize–winning author

Since his debut novel, the modern classic The Ghosts of Belfast, was published a decade ago, Stuart Neville has written nine other critically acclaimed novels and achieved international recognition as one of crime fiction’s great living writers.

Now for the first time Neville offers readers a collection of his short fiction—twelve chilling stories that traverse and blend the genres of noir, horror, and speculative fiction, and which bring the history and lore of Neville’s native Northern Ireland to life. The Traveller concludes with the long-awaited eponymous novella, the companion piece to The Ghosts of Belfast and Collusion.

Complete with a foreword from Irish crime fiction legend John Connolly, this volume is the perfect indulgence for fans of ghost stories and noir, and is a must-have for devotees of Neville’s prizewinning Belfast novels.

Praise

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery Book of 2020  

Praise for The Traveller and Other Stories

"Chilling . . . These stories have an uncanny power to convince. The best of Mr. Neville’s ghost tales can hold their own with those of the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen. But the ultimate prize-winner here, 'Coming in on Time,' a heartbreaking vignette of domestic tragedy seen through the eyes of its youngest victim, hasn’t a trace of the supernatural—only the horror of innocence encountering evil."
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

“No matter the nature and circumstance of the plots, Neville shows his storytelling mastery in tales that inevitably climax with sentences loaded in desolation.”
—Jack Batten, The Toronto Star

"Noir, noir, noir—everybody wants to write noir fiction. But most self-anointed 'noir' narratives just don’t hack it. They’re dark and dreary, to be sure; but a true noir mystery must also have a black heart. This kind of spiritual despair comes naturally to Stuart Neville, whose Belfast crime novels bleed."
The New York Times Book Review

"Splendid . . . This chilling assortment of Northern Irish noir is not to be missed."
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review  

"Irish noir done to a turn, with just enough tearful sentiment to turn the screws tighter."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Neville, author of The Ghosts of Belfast, turns from thrilling mystery to chilling horror. Thirteen macabre tales feature killers and specters sure to haunt your dreams for days to come. Neville sets his stories amidst his native Irish shores, filling each yarn with a hint of the old country. This blend of genres conjures nightmarish realities to create a bone-chilling collection."
—The Lineup

"Hauntingly delicious . . . If you want to give friends an unexpected and highly memorable trick-or-treat, get a couple of extra copies of this collection. Make sure to ink your name into your own copy, so it won't walk away lightly. It will be, indeed, haunted."
—Kingdom Books

Praise for Stuart Neville

 
“A rare example of legitimate noir fiction.”
—The New York Times Book Review 
 
“Tightly wound, emotionally resonant . . . Displays an acute understanding of the true state of Northern Ireland, still under the thumb of decades of violence.”
Los Angeles Times
 
"The current master of neo-noir detective fiction."
The Boston Globe
 
A brilliant thriller, unbearably tense, stomach-churningly frightening . . . A future classic.”
The Observer
 
“A great, brawling ache of a novel . . . filled with both prickling suspense and fiercely wrought emotion.”
—Megan Abbott
 
“A flat-out terror trip.”
—James Ellroy
 
“An exceptional talent. Crime fiction doesn’t get much better.”
—Lee Child