Ashley Rosco works as a bouncer at the only nightclub in a small town, spending his off-hours training as a bodybuilder. He occasionally acts as muscle for his best friend, Darren, a small-time drug dealer whose business is growing under the influence of his criminal father. Darren’s girlfriend, Chass, short for Chastity, has had her own problems with drugs, and has lost custody of her young daughter. For years, Chass made money by picking produce alongside migrant workers, known locally, derisively, as Amigos.

Both Darren and Chass have been acting strangely, tense and jittery, but things really change when Ash gets a call from Chass on a bad connection, asking for his help. Chass is Ash’s cousin—and, as we discover, the secret love of his life. Chass disappears the next day, and Ash can’t shake the feeling that something has gone terribly wrong.

Knucklehead is a riveting, powerful crime novel about fathers and sons, the limits of friendship, and the terrible, necessary choices we make.

Born in Orillia, Ontario, MATT LENNOX first pursued a military career, becoming a captain in the Canadian army. He was posted to Afghanistan between 2008 and 2009, during which time he wrote many of the stories in his first collection, Men of Salt, Men of Earth. It was published by Oberon Press in 2009 and was shortlisted for the 2010 ReLit Award (the title story had been previously published in Best Canadian Stories in 2006). He has completed an MFA at the University of Guelph and lives in Toronto. For more information, visit Matt’s Facebook page.

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