Only Killers and Thieves

by Paul Howarth

Overview

An epic tale of revenge and survival, Only Killers and Thieves  is a gripping and utterly transporting debut, bringing to life a colonial Australia that bears a striking resemblance to the American Wild West in its early years.

It is 1885, and a crippling drought threatens to ruin the McBride family. Their land is parched; their cattle are starving. When the rain miraculously comes, it renews their hope for survival. But, returning home one afternoon after swimming in a remote water hole that had been replenished by the downpour, fourteen-year-old Tommy and sixteen-year-old Billy encounter a shocking tragedy.

Thirsty for vengeance against the man who they believe has wronged them—their former Aboriginal stockman—the distraught brothers turn to the ruthless, cunning John Sullivan, their father’s former employer and the wealthiest landowner in the region. Sullivan gathers a posse, under the leadership of the dangerous, fascinating Inspector Edmund Noone, comprising members of the Queensland Native Police, an infamous arm of British colonial power charged with the “dispersal” of indigenous Australians to  “protect” the rights of white settlers. As they journey across the barren outback in pursuit, their harsh and horrifying experiences will have a devastating impact on Tommy, one that will torment him for the rest of his life—and will hold enduring consequences for a young country struggling to come into its own.

Re-creating a period of Australian and British history evocative of the violence of the American frontier era, Only Killers and Thieves is an unforgettable story of family, guilt, empire, race, manhood, and faith.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062690999
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	339
Sales rank:	810,598
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Paul Howarth is a British-Australian author and former lawyer who holds an MA in creative writing from University of East Anglia, where he was awarded the Malcolm Bradbury Scholarship. In 2018 his debut novel, Only Killers and Thieves, was published to international acclaim, winning the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for best fiction, and appearing on numerous other awards and books of the year lists.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/01/2018
In this powerful debut novel, set in 1870s Australia, two teenage brothers ride into the desert interior, along with an unscrupulous neighbor and a cadre of the infamous Native Police Force, to avenge the deaths of the boys' family. Billy is the elder, but Tommy, the central protagonist, is more intuitive and comes to realize the troop's actual intent: a genocidal raid on remaining aboriginal inhabitants. With sweeping descriptions of landscape and the journey's hardships, the novel feels like a modern Western along the lines of Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. Howarth's narrative is almost cinematic and, like a modern Western film, includes scenes of graphic violence. Tommy's empathy with the natives he encounters immerses readers in the history of Australia's treatment of its indigenous people. Howarth is British but lived in Australia for several years and here draws on his research of the Queensland Native Police Force. U.S. readers will make the connection with our country's oppression of Native Americans and gain an understanding of the fundamental racism of both former British colonies. VERDICT Highly recommended; Howarth is a novelist to watch.—Reba Leiding, emeritus, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA

Library Journal

11/27/2017
A quest for frontier justice drives the events of Howarth’s devastating and impressive debut, set in the Australian outback in 1885. Sixteen-year-old Billy McBride and his 14-year-old brother, Tommy, are orphaned when, they believe, their rancher father’s disgruntled aboriginal stockman guns down their parents and younger sister in cold blood. Enlisting the help of neighboring rancher John Sullivan (with whom their father had a prickly relationship) and Edmund Noone, an inspector with the Native Mounted Police, the boys embark on a manhunt. Things quickly go awry when their confederates use evidence Billy fabricated as a pretext to slaughter the alleged culprit’s entire tribe. This atrocity is emblematic of the novel’s theme concerning the strained relations between white settlers and the natives whom they have displaced from their lands. Howarth skillfully uses the fraying relationship between the two brothers—Billy embraces vigilantism with vengeful zeal, while Tommy is revolted by both the carnage and its effect on his brother—to illustrate the moral issues at the heart of his story. The narrative is empowered further by his searing descriptions of the outback, a drought-ridden landscape of desiccation and death that provides a backdrop as bleak and merciless as the characters who move against it. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Only Killers and Thieves is a powerful debut. Paul Howarth brings early Australia to life, bloody warts and all, in an epic tale of murder, revenge, and colonial oppression, with very little room for redemption. The story and his words will stay with you, long after you have finished the book.” — New York Review of Books

“Prose like that arrives direct from Cormac McCarthy’s dusty Southwest…Howarth’s spotlights how arbitrary frontier justice can be. But he also asks: How much less arbitrary is a purportedly civilized society?” — Washington Post

“An outstanding debut…a powerful novel of crimes in a bleak landscape.” — Sunday Times (UK), Historical Fiction Book of the Month

“They’re hard to find, books that grab you by the throat and won’t let go — addictive novels that make your heart race. Only Killers and Thieves tops that category…There’s much to relish in this page turner, descriptive writing, a plot that wrings you out, and characters you grow to hate, evil and racism personified…This literary, hard-hitter brings to life a time of mistrust and violence in Australia when whites tried to wipe out indigenous Australians. Only Killers and Thieves is brilliant but brutal.” — The Missourian

“Howarth’s stunning debut has shades of Cormac McCarthy and Patrick deWitt...a book that grips from the outset and entertains even as it educates us about an appalling part of Australia’s history. Epic in scope, Only Killers and Thieves is a study in morality in a land where white vigilantism has never seemed more depraved.” — The Irish Times

“Hugely impressive…reminiscent of Peter Carey.” — Irish Examiner

“A must-read for anyone who craves pictorially descriptive writing, story-telling with palpable tension and characters so finely drawn they leap off the pages…Howarth has captured the trappings of America’s Wild West, only here the white vigilantes’ victims are Australia’s aboriginal natives. Otherwise the parallels are striking, from ethnic hatred, violent attacks and torture to the bloodthirstiness of ruthless hunters as they move through an unrelenting, sun-parched landscape bent on extermination. Against this stark and gory backdrop Howarth crafts nuanced, insightful alterations in the boys’ characters…No matter how driven you are (and you will be), resist the temptation to read Only Killers and Thieves straight through. Howarth’s writing deserves thoughtful savoring.” — Newark Star-Ledger-NJ.com

“Howarth’s impressive debut is a Wild West saga transported to 19th-century Queensland, Australian. The story deals unflinchingly with the brutality of Australian rule…but the heart of the story is the complicated relationship between the brothers...While this book has a historical point to make, it also works as a suspenseful mystery and a resonant bildungsroman.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Powerful debut…the novel feels like a modern Western along the lines of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses. Howarth’s narrative is almost cinematic…U.S. readers will make the connection with our country’s oppression of Native Americans and gain an understanding of the fundamental racism of both former British colonies…Howarth is a novelist to watch.” — Library Journal, starred review

“A gripping novel about conflict in the Australian outback at the turn of the century; beautifully done.” — Paulette Jiles, New York Times Bestselling Author of News of the World, National Book Award Finalist

“I couldn’t put Only Killers and Thieves down. It does what great Westerns do, it drops you inside the ugliness and chaos of Australian frontier life, it educates and horrifies, but also it entertains. Howarth’s debut is a powerhouse page turner.”          — Willy Vlautin, author of Lean on Pete

“… visceral yet elegantly written…”      — Library Journal

“Devastating and impressive debut...Howarth skillfully uses the fraying relationship between the two brothers—Billy embraces vigilantism with vengeful zeal, while Tommy is revolted by both the carnage and its effect on his brother—to illustrate the moral issues at the heart of his story. The narrative is empowered further by his searing descriptions of the outback, a drought-ridden landscape of desiccation and death that provides a backdrop as bleak and merciless as the characters who move against it.” — Publishers Weekly

“Howarth manages to infuse the old tropes with a depth of emotion and moral complication that will stay with readers long after closing the book.” — BookPage

“Rich in character and period atmosphere, this effective blend of family saga and historical mystery will please fans of Jeffrey Archer and Wilbur Smith.” — Booklist

“Visceral…The imagery the author uses is both brutal and beautiful…The effects of Tommy’s actions haunt him long after the deeds are done, just as this story lingers in the mind long after the book is closed.” — Shelf Awareness

“Everywhere alive with vivid evocations of a landscape as punishing as it is beautiful and vibrant characters who would be just as at home in Blood Meridian or Butcher’s Crossing, Only Killers and Thieves compels and convinces from the start. This is a thrilling book and Paul Howarth a writer of tremendous talent.” — Laird Hunt, author of The Evening

“A gripping and vivid novel, Paul Howarth brings early Queensland to life so well that you can practically smell the horses. Paul Howarth is a remarkable new talent.” — John Boyne, author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies

“Only Killers and Thieves is a historical novel, but the savagery it depicts is still a matter to be reckoned with in contemporary Australia where the traumas of genocide continue to resonate from generation to generation. This is an impressive debut.” — Tim Winton, author of Breath and Eyrie

“Just try putting this book down. An original, breathless, compelling debut.” — Jess Walters, author of Beautiful Ruins

From the Publisher

Prose like that arrives direct from Cormac McCarthy’s dusty Southwest…Howarth’s spotlights how arbitrary frontier justice can be. But he also asks: How much less arbitrary is a purportedly civilized society?

Washington Post

Howarth’s stunning debut has shades of Cormac McCarthy and Patrick deWitt...a book that grips from the outset and entertains even as it educates us about an appalling part of Australia’s history. Epic in scope, Only Killers and Thieves is a study in morality in a land where white vigilantism has never seemed more depraved.

The Irish Times

They’re hard to find, books that grab you by the throat and won’t let go — addictive novels that make your heart race. Only Killers and Thieves tops that category…There’s much to relish in this page turner, descriptive writing, a plot that wrings you out, and characters you grow to hate, evil and racism personified…This literary, hard-hitter brings to life a time of mistrust and violence in Australia when whites tried to wipe out indigenous Australians. Only Killers and Thieves is brilliant but brutal.

The Missourian

An outstanding debut…a powerful novel of crimes in a bleak landscape.

Sunday Times (UK)

Hugely impressive…reminiscent of Peter Carey.

Irish Examiner

A must-read for anyone who craves pictorially descriptive writing, story-telling with palpable tension and characters so finely drawn they leap off the pages…Howarth has captured the trappings of America’s Wild West, only here the white vigilantes’ victims are Australia’s aboriginal natives. Otherwise the parallels are striking, from ethnic hatred, violent attacks and torture to the bloodthirstiness of ruthless hunters as they move through an unrelenting, sun-parched landscape bent on extermination. Against this stark and gory backdrop Howarth crafts nuanced, insightful alterations in the boys’ characters…No matter how driven you are (and you will be), resist the temptation to read Only Killers and Thieves straight through. Howarth’s writing deserves thoughtful savoring.

Newark Star-Ledger-NJ.com

A gripping novel about conflict in the Australian outback at the turn of the century; beautifully done.

Paulette Jiles

Only Killers and Thieves is a powerful debut. Paul Howarth brings early Australia to life, bloody warts and all, in an epic tale of murder, revenge, and colonial oppression, with very little room for redemption. The story and his words will stay with you, long after you have finished the book.

New York Review of Books

Prose like that arrives direct from Cormac McCarthy’s dusty Southwest…Howarth’s spotlights how arbitrary frontier justice can be. But he also asks: How much less arbitrary is a purportedly civilized society?

Washington Post

Howarth manages to infuse the old tropes with a depth of emotion and moral complication that will stay with readers long after closing the book.

BookPage

I couldn’t put Only Killers and Thieves down. It does what great Westerns do, it drops you inside the ugliness and chaos of Australian frontier life, it educates and horrifies, but also it entertains. Howarth’s debut is a powerhouse page turner.”         

Willy Vlautin

Everywhere alive with vivid evocations of a landscape as punishing as it is beautiful and vibrant characters who would be just as at home in Blood Meridian or Butcher’s Crossing, Only Killers and Thieves compels and convinces from the start. This is a thrilling book and Paul Howarth a writer of tremendous talent.

Laird Hunt

Only Killers and Thieves is a historical novel, but the savagery it depicts is still a matter to be reckoned with in contemporary Australia where the traumas of genocide continue to resonate from generation to generation. This is an impressive debut.

Tim Winton

Visceral…The imagery the author uses is both brutal and beautiful…The effects of Tommy’s actions haunt him long after the deeds are done, just as this story lingers in the mind long after the book is closed.

Shelf Awareness

Just try putting this book down. An original, breathless, compelling debut.

Jess Walters

Rich in character and period atmosphere, this effective blend of family saga and historical mystery will please fans of Jeffrey Archer and Wilbur Smith.

Booklist

A gripping and vivid novel, Paul Howarth brings early Queensland to life so well that you can practically smell the horses. Paul Howarth is a remarkable new talent.

John Boyne

Rich in character and period atmosphere, this effective blend of family saga and historical mystery will please fans of Jeffrey Archer and Wilbur Smith.

Booklist

Only Killers and Thieves is a story of brooding danger, family bonds, and the choices two brothers make in becoming men. A sparse and lyrical Western that manages to illuminate one of Australia’s darkest periods.”                                                                                                  

Emma Viskic

Outstanding debut...a powerful novel.

Sunday Times

05/01/2018
Set in 1885 Queensland, Australia, this taut and harrowing narrative begins with 14-year-old Tommy uncovering a brutal crime, the murder of his parents and the wounding of his sister. He begins to believe that the investigation is spiraling out of control when the notorious Inspector Noone of the Queensland Native Police accuses the local Kurrong tribe of the crimes. Recruited to Noone's tracking party, Tommy becomes increasingly convinced of the man's corrupt, unfettered power as well as the Kurrong's innocence. This fast-paced story explores the psychology of complicity in uncomfortable detail: Tommy faces harsh punishment for voicing dissent in a time and place where white masculinity is defined by collective assertions of dominance over racialized bodies. Graphic violence and dire moral concessions ensue. Throughout, Howarth creates a strong sense of place, with Tommy's diction and syntax shaping readers' perception of the unforgiving social and natural landscape. Because of the focus on Tommy's perspective, the Indigenous characters only appear when Tommy tries—and often fails—to reach out to them. An author's note lists useful historical resources. VERDICT For readers seeking morally complex revenge plots or a fictional gateway into international histories of colonial violence.—Katherine Magyarody, Texas A&M University, College Station

School Library Journal

★ 2017-11-14
Howarth's impressive debut is a Wild West saga transported to 19th-century Queensland, Australia. Two brothers come of age during a bloody wilderness manhunt against the background of a shameful era in Australia's racial history.Brothers Tommy and Billy are the sons of rancher Ned McBride, who's barely surviving under the thumb of land baron John Sullivan. Sullivan's local rule is aided by his association with Inspector Edmund Noone, a leader of the Native Mounted Police, which carried out the genocide of Australia's indigenous people. Racial tensions escalate after the two brothers witness a lynching, and soon afterward they find their parents murdered—apparently by their aboriginal stockman Joseph, whose gun is found nearby. They have no choice but to join forces with Noone and Sullivan, who set out to take revenge on Joseph—or on any other tribal people they encounter on the hunt for him. The story deals unflinchingly with the brutality of Australian rule, and the true circumstances of the parents' murders are ultimately revealed. But the heart of the story is the complicated relationship between the brothers, as Tommy's developing conscience threatens his bond with the older Billy, who has committed to Sullivan's cause. One turning point for Tommy is his attachment to an aboriginal woman whose family has been slaughtered by their posse.While this book has a historical point to make, it also works as a suspenseful mystery and a resonant bildungsroman.

Kirkus Reviews