Advertisement
Books

Halfway House by Helen FitzGerald review – a masterclass in blackly comic horror

A young woman is taken hostage on her first shift at an Edinburgh halfway house for violent offenders. The story escalates from there

The central protagonist of Helen FitzGerald’s Halfway House is Lou O’Dowd, a chaotic and self-deprecating Australian who moves to Edinburgh on a whim to work in a halfway house for high-risk offenders. FitzGerald herself is Australian by birth but has lived in Scotland for decades, and has worked here as a probation officer, and has no doubt used some of that experience to lend authenticity to her tale. 

Though I would hope for her sake that she’s not the same as Lou, who is a hilarious walking disaster of a young woman, making bad decisions and being self-destructive, but doing it with panache and a sarcastic aside into the bargain. 

Change a Big Issue vendor’s life this winter by purchasing a Winter Support Kit. You’ll receive four copies of the magazine and create a brighter future for our vendors

The book takes its time to establish her as a flaky and funny character, introducing her and her world vividly and memorably, before throwing her into the company of a bunch of dangerous sex offenders, murderers and more. 

The story escalates on one fateful night in the halfway house, which is a masterclass in blackly comic horror and crime writing, as events conspire to make Lou a hostage. 

But she’s a resourceful character, and FitzGerald expertly folds the interweaving storylines together as the book comes to a climax, leaving the reader breathless and grinning from ear to ear.  

Advertisement
Advertisement

Doug Johnstone is an author and journalist.

Halfway House by Helen FitzGerald is out on 18 January (Orenda, £9.99). You can buy it from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine, which exists to give homeless, long-term unemployed and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy!

If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member.

You can also purchase one-off issues from The Big Issue Shop or The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
The truth is we're all sinners – it's how we survive as human beings
Neuroscience

The truth is we're all sinners – it's how we survive as human beings

Top 5 books with a hero, chosen by teacher and author Jack Jackman
Books

Top 5 books with a hero, chosen by teacher and author Jack Jackman

Gliff by Ali Smith review – ingenious and warm anti-establishment storytelling
Books

Gliff by Ali Smith review – ingenious and warm anti-establishment storytelling

Ground by Jadelin Gangbo review – hope for healing amid the wreckage
Books

Ground by Jadelin Gangbo review – hope for healing amid the wreckage

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue