Real Monsters — Liam Brown

As a soldier's wife awaits information about his whereabouts overseas, he descends further into the madness of war in this “memorable and moving” novel (Benjamin Myers, author of Pig Iron).
 
Reeling from the terrorist attack that killed her father, Lorna lurches through an inebriated adolescence until she finds love and redemption in a young soldier named Danny. But her dream of a stable life is once again shattered when Danny is called to serve overseas -- and soon lost in the desert.
 
Most of Danny's unit is dead. They are victims, it would seem, of a brutal ambush. With their equipment destroyed and food running out, the small band of men stumble through the sand and shadows, desperate to find salvation. As their hope fades, they begin to turn on each other. When it finally becomes clear that only the most vicious will survive, what will Danny be if he ever does return to Lorna?