THE DREDGE: A Novel

Praise for The Dredge

“Flaherty writes with stealthy acuity, his prose seemingly simple yet full of coiled power… Multiple hauntings emerge in The Dredge, and you’ll be contemplating them after the last page.”

—Sarah Weinman, the New York Times

“In this accomplished debut mystery, Flaherty revitalizes the familiar trope of old secrets threatening to resurface with sinewy prose and well-tooled suspense. . . The past and present unfold gradually from the vantage points of Flaherty’s well-drawn leads, keeping readers on a knife’s edge as the full scope of each character’s history clicks into place. “

—Publisher’s Weekly

“Flaherty deftly conjures up an atmosphere of dread and suspense, with all roads leading to the pond, and all concerns pointing toward what lies at its bottom. This is an assured, compulsively readable debut.”

—Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads

Praise for The Dredge

“The Dredge probes the conventional American myth: the past can be reformed and even suppressed so that one can turn a new page in the American Eden and become a new Adam or Eve. The intense story dramatizes how the past always shapes and determines the main characters’ quotidian existence and mental activities. An ambitious, splendid debut.”

—Ha Jin, National Book Award winning author of Waiting

“It's clear that Brendan Flaherty is not here to f*ck around. With his debut novel, The Dredge, he catapults us right away into dark family dysfunction with tight, athletic prose reminiscent of seasoned masters like Elmore Leonard and Harry Crews. This novel could’ve been twice as long, but this author knew to stick to the plan with not a wasted word. So, remember the name, Flaherty, folks. He’s here to stay.”

—Brian Panowich, international best-selling author of Bull Mountain and Nothing But The Bones

“Deep in characterization and entertaining in its narrative; it makes a very philosophical point about how well we are aware of those we consider ourselves close to and how time changes them.”

—Toni V. Sweeney, New York Journal of Books

Praise for The Dredge

“The story—which recalls simpler, less supervised times and contrasts them with the complexities of modern life—is bolstered by characters who are distant yet distinctive, and whose roiling inner lives weaken their outer ones. If The Dredge is an indication of things to come, Flaherty is an author to keep both eyes on.”

—John Valeri, Criminal Element

“Flaherty's debut is a tightly written suspenseful character-driven novel that feels like Southern noir despite taking place mainly in Connecticut. At only 240 pages, it comes in well below average length, but this is due to the clarity of the writing rather than a lack of detail. Without superfluous verbosity, the language recedes to the background as the characters come forward in vivid detail. The Dredge could easily be read in one sitting partly because of its length but also because the author immerses the reader in the small-town atmosphere at the same time that he introduces the background to the plot and develops the inter-related characters who are impacted by the eponymous dredge. Having accomplished all of this simultaneously, Flaherty's prose then adds layer after layer of depth to the plot… There is a great deal of depth in the story writing, and I think this would make an excellent book club book as it extends beyond the mystery aspects.”

—Sharon Mensing, Reviewing the Evidence

Praise for The Dredge

“How these well-drawn traumatized characters and their secrets collide in the present day, permanently changing the course of their lives, is the theme of Flaherty’s beautifully written debut. His Connecticut is not the monied suburbia of Rick Moody and John Cheever, but a rural working-class community more reminiscent of Daniel Woodrell’s Ozark mountain towns. . . This sad novel about the corrosive effects of family trauma and pain will linger in readers’ minds.”

—Willy Williams, firstCLUE

“The writing is tight and intense. The characters are vulnerable, impulsive, and scarred. And the plot, using a back-and-forth style, intertwines and unravels seamlessly into an engrossing tale full of lies, deception, abuse, desperation, manipulation, familial drama, troubled pasts, unusual friendships, troubling behaviours, violence, and murder… Overall, The Dredge is a dark, atmospheric, promising debut by Flaherty that kept me enthralled from the very first page and left me entertained, satisfied, and eager to read whatever his deliciously sinister mind manages to come up with next.”

—WBTB Book reviews