The shortlist for the 2011 Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize is :
EAVESDROP – Ian Coates
Customs investigator James Winter fights to clear his name after being wrongfully fired for colluding with diamond smugglers. As he unravels the mystery of how they repeatedly evade arrest, he uncovers industrial espionage, a Mossad agent, a spate of London assassinations and a Syrian hit squad intent on destabilizing the Middle East.
PHANTOM LIMB – Roper Cleland
When sixteen year old Kinney’s toe is brutally sliced off by her boyfriend she is sent by her father from South Carolina to England to embark on a new life with her grandmother. Once there she uncovers a string of secrets that prompt her to question the very essence that makes up her family. Originally from South Carolina herself, Roper now lives in London.
WHERE THE MOON ISN’T – Nathan Filer
Narrated by nineteen year old schizophrenic Matthew Homes who is haunted by the death of his brother when they were young boys. Nathan is a mental health nurse working at the academic unit of psychiatry at Bristol University.
VAUXHALL – Gabriel Gbadamosi
Narrated by a young boy growing up in a melting pot house bursting with all walks of Lambeth life in the 1970’s. Working out how his Irish-Yoruba family functions and fits into the diverse pulsing community might be less of a struggle than working out where he can fit in as the youngest of four children in a crowded household of eighteen. Gabriel is a playwright, poet and critic, and a presenter of Radio 3’s Night Waves.
FROM THE DARKNESS, THE MOON – Liam Hegarty
Set in modern day Hiroshima, Hegarty’s three protagonists very different lives are intertwined by virtue of their shared attitudes and approaches to life. Liam’s love affair with Japan started when he moved there to teach.
TWO WAVES OF THE SEA – Davina Langdale
Paul Farley, an artist, is in India searching for his friend Oscar, who has gone missing in mysterious circumstances. Narrated by Paul, Oscar and his younger sister Olivia, the narrative swings from India to Italy and the South Pacific as it becomes increasingly clear that something terrible has happened. Davina teaches in London.