Yesterday's Shadow

"If you can believe in a person, their world comes with them: the events they lived through, the miracles they witnessed, the lessons they learnt."

On a frozen Cambridge night at the turn of the millennium, sixteen-year-old Nick becomes the reluctant saviour of a homeless man named Peter. In the weeks that follow, Peter introduces Nick to his faith, which offers Nick certainty right when he needs it. But as Nick learns more about Peter, he begins to doubt the path he has chosen.

Can Peter help Nick cope with his parents’ separation? What about his budding relationship with the headstrong Jo? And let’s not start on the looming threat of exams. As the long winter continues, who truly needs who?

P.J. Murphy brings knowing humour and a healthy dose of coming-of-age nostalgia to his third novel, which explores what happens when two very different worlds collide.