The Dynamite Room - Softcover

"Suspenseful and powerful. A novel of great humanity that exposes the absurd contradictions of war."--Samantha Harvey, author of The Wilderness, short-listed for the Orange Prize and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize

"Superb. Absorbing, suspenseful and with a beautifully poetic touch."--Nathan Filer, author of the Costa Award-winning The Shock of the Fall

"Clever and unsettling, this most unconventional of war stories had me totally gripped."--Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee

"With its unshowy, confident prose, this novel is accomplished, resonant and surprising, and poses some delicately handled questions about whether redemption is possible, and at what point a good heart becomes forever besmirched."--Jill Dawson, Guardian

"As powerfully visualized as a screenplay... Hewitt handles this complicated narrative with assurance, juggling the reader's sympathies while adding crumbs of information, all the while pitting Heiden's tarnished ideals against Lydia's vulnerability. A sense of theatricality pervades the contemporary scenes--small cast, stifling domestic setting--but these are usefully crafted in the closing pages to deliver a jolting finale. An unusual, intricate drama delivered with accomplishment."--Kirkus Reviews

"In this fine balance of taut suspense and tragedy, Hewitt has created an emotionally charged character study in which he explores the loneliness, fear, hope, and shame
that war visits on ordinary people. Mystery and general-fiction book groups will enjoy dissecting these characters and their nuanced story; highly recommended to fans of Karin Fossum as well as to readers of character-driven historical fiction."--Booklist (starred review)


Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize

A Barnes and Noble's Discover Great New Writers pick of 2015

PRAISE FOR THE DYNAMITE ROOM

"Wow. Wonderful."--Chris Cleave, author of Little Bee and Gold

"An effective psychological drama between two extraordinary characters. Claustrophobic, touching, character-driven, and told in lovely prose...Readers who loved The Boy in the Striped Pajamas will have a strong affinity with The Dynamite Room."--Katie Ward, author of Girl Reading

"The Dynamite Room grabs you from the outset and refuses to let you go. Whilst building strong psychological tension between the two characters, it still skillfully achieves empathy, ultimately, for both. A compelling, powerful and humane book."--Judith Allnatt, author of The Moon Field

"Ambitious and often gripping...Hewitt has a strong sense of narrative pace and brings a strange poetry to his depiction of an exhausted and empty world...A very promising first novel."--Observer (UK)

Fleeing her life as a child evacuee in 1940 Wales, 11-year-old Lydia returns to her abandoned English village and resolves to wait for her family's return at the side of a wounded soldier who harbors a dangerous secret. A first novel. 15,000 first printing.