The Forgiven

Lawrence Osborne is the author of six critically acclaimed novels, including The Forgiven, Hunters in the Dark, and Beautiful Animals, as well as six books of nonfiction, including Bangkok Days. His most recent novel, Only to Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Novel, was nominated for an Edgar Award and named as a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review. He has led a nomadic life, living in Paris, New York, Mexico, and Istanbul, and he currently resides in Bangkok.

In this haunting novel, journalist and novelist Lawrence Osborne explores the reverberations of a random accident on the lives of Moroccan Muslims and Western visitors who converge on a luxurious desert villa for a decadent weekend-long party.David and Jo Henniger, a doctor and a children's book author, in search of an escape from their less than happy lives in London, accept an invitation to attend a bacchanal at their old friends' home, deep in the Moroccan desert. But as a groggy David navigates the dark desert roads, two young men spring from the roadside, the car swerves...and one boy is left dead.When David and Jo arrive at the party, the Moroccan staff, already disgusted by the rich, hedonistic foreigners in their midst, soon learn of David's unforgiveable act. Then the boy's irate Berber father appears, and events begin to spin beyond anyone's control.With spare, evocative prose, searing eroticism, and a gift for the unexpected, Osborne memorably portrays the privileged guests wrestling with their secrets amid the remoteness and beauty of the desert landscape. He gradually reveals the jolting backstory of the young man who was killed and leaves David's fate in the balance as the novel builds to a shattering conclusion.Now with Extra Libris material, including a Q&A and bonus content