Straight Jacket

'If God is too indifferent, or too non-existent to take care of His creation, then clearly it's up to Me.'

Morgen Tanjenz is a lawyer with an overactive sense of justice. His mission in life is to reward the virtuous, punish the ignorant and avenge those who won't avenge themselves. His favourite pastime is 'life sculpture' - anonymously intervening in the lives of strangers to change their destiny in ways he thinks they deserve.

But Morgen isn't the only one changing lives in the city. A serial killer is on the prowl and taunting the police in letters to the local rag. But, as the body count rises, Detective Sergeant Blacksnake Fowler can hardly focus on the job with so many distractions: his boss hates him, his deputy is trying to undermine him and the woman he loves is having an affair.

In the cicada-throbbing heat of a Sydney summer, the threads of a strange story become entangled in a wild conclusion no one will see coming. 'a ripsnorter of a ride through the dark heart of the burbs... may just be Australia's answer to American Psycho.' Kirsten Krauth, just_a_girl 'Sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing, and always compelling... with a super-original premise and a one-of-a-kind protagonist'. Tony Wilson, Making News

'A disturbingly good read. Unnerving and darkly comic.' Stuart Quin, Ealing Studios Australia

About the Author

Adrian Deans is a lawyer, journalist and novelist. He has been writing seriously for 20 years and in that time has seen his darkly comic speculative fiction stories gradually morph into darkly comic crime. His first novel (Mr Cleansheets, Vulgar Press) was published in 2010 to some critical acclaim, but it is his new novel (Straight Jacket, High Horse Books) which has taken him to the next level. Straight Jacket is now selling in all Australian airports (an honour usually reserved only for the Big Six blockbusters) and has been optioned by Ealing Studios in the UK. Watch this space for early announcements regarding film production.