The narrative’s set up will sound straightforward: a man wronged by a police officer in the past – Jay – has his partner Al kidnap the police officer’s son – Rob – and the three men are together in a cabin during a particularly cold and icy winter. Jay has a dominant relationship with Al, but Rob’s arrival sparks something in Al that threatens all of their safety and futures – a possessive compassion.

These three men, each broken in their own way, orbit each other in a spiral of assault, imprisonment, beatings, love, sex, blood, submission and domination that is so genuinely enthralling you’ll be hard pressed – as I was – to put the book down. As things grow more tangled and the emotions of Al become more conflicted, the reality that not everyone is likely to make it through this time alive becomes all the more apparent, and the tension rises viscerally for the reader. As erotic as it is disturbing – and it is both – FOG lives up to its name. The lines blur, and the world around these three characters grows more and more narrow, closing in around them and leaving them with no clarity to find a way out.

I can’t recommend this one highly enough. It’s dark, yes, but it’s just so damn poetic and beautifully written that even the cruelest moments are stunning.