Matthew Stokoe

Matthew Stokoe is widely considered to be one of the most original and exciting writers of the last twenty years. Translated and published around the world, his books have set new boundaries in urban horror and gritty, pull-no-punches noir. Dennis Cooper said of Stokoe’s first novel, COWS: “Enormously disturbing and transcendently clever, Cows, a literally eviscerating portrait of life among the British lower classes, is revered internationally as one of the most daring English-language novels of the past few decades.” After COWS, Stokoe turned his sights on Hollywood, producing the now-famous HIGH LIFE – both a page-turning mystery and one of the most brutal critiques of Tinsel Town ever committed to fiction. Ken Bruen said of it: “...Chandler on heroin, Hammett on crack, James M. Cain with a blowtorch. The writing is a knuckleduster to the brain, a chainsaw to the gut...” Stokoe has continued to explore his uniquely dark view of lives lived in the modern world, and in 2014 was nominated for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière – France’s most prestigious crime writing award – for his novel, EMPTY MILE. COLONY OF WHORES, his latest novel, is now available. Critical Praise for Matthew Stokoe "Stokoe's in-your-face prose and raw, unnerving scenes give way go a skillfully plotted tale that will keep readers glued to the page." Publishers Weekly (High Life) "Heartbreakingly powerful contemporary noir... Stokoe stays true to a bleak vision of the world as he enmeshes his characters in the kinds of tragic setups reminiscent of a Thomas Hardy novel." Publishers Weekly (Empty Mile) "If you enjoy the sensation of your jaw dropping to the floor in a combination of stupefaction, hilarity, and shock, Cows is your book. Matthew Stokoe has written a novel like no other I've ever read - appalling, funny, and possessed of a sense of outre violence that makes Joris-Karl Huysmans read like Louisa May Alcott." Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest (Cows) "Beautifully written and deeply gripping, Empty Mile is a great read. I'm already looking forward to the next one from Matthew Stokoe." Michael Connelly, author of The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Empty Mile) "One of the most unstinting, imaginative, brutal and original contemporary novels ever written about the punishments that come with the prioritization of fame..." Dennis Cooper author of The Marbled Swarm (High Life) "This book has everything a good crime novel should: a suspenseful story with violence at its core, characters driven by lust, love and guilt, propelled with prose that's poetic and profound." Carole E. Barrowman, Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (Empty Mile) www.matthewstokoe.com