Matt Morris is a TWOC-er, and for those who don't know what TWOC stands for (and that included me at the start of this book) it is an acronym for "Taken Without Owner's Consent", an official sounding description of stealing cars.

Matt is a troubled soul, he carries the mental and physical scars of his TWOC-ing past. He has scarred hands from burns sustained in a car crash whilst he was in a stolen car, and he is "haunted" by the apparition of his dead elder brother, the person who taught him everything he knew about stealing cars.

His probation officer feels he is not showing progress and suggests he goes on a rural retreat with two other troubled teenagers, a goth girl with a tendency for fire-starting, and a graffiti artist. Two people with whom he strikes up a quite unlikely friendship, and with whom he is to share an adventure.

This is somewhat of a departure for Graham Joyce in terms of content, but most certainly not in terms of quality. This is a very realistic feeling novella, and one that proves Joyce's ability as a writer.

Joyce is a horror writer, and a fine one at that – but this is more subtle than would be expected for a horror writer. This is about thoughts, feelings, denial and repression, it is a journey into the mind of a troubled teen, struggling to recover who he is after an accident which nearly cost him and his dead brother's girlfriend Jools, their lives.

It's quite fascinating how Joyce manages this, for the world of the TWOC is completely alien to my understanding and upbringing and yet it absorbed me. And in doing this it certainly didn't bring any element of glamour to TWOC-ing – quite the opposite.

Matt's elder brother died in an accident, and Matt himself has limited dexterity from the burns he sustained in an accident coupled with immense feelings of guilt over the Jools's injuries. Yet in amongst all this he is also a typical male teenager in some respects – he is easily distracted with thoughts of sex.

Now this is unlikely to feature in anyone's favourite novels list, it just doesn't fit into any easy category and so will probably be overlooked in such consideration – which is a pity as it is a wonderful piece of writing.

Synopsis
TWOC: (twok) abbr. of criminal offence of Taking Without Owner's Consent, as distinct from Theft; usually applied to the motoring offence of so-called 'joyriding'.

Matt Norris's life has been hell. Why wouldn't it be? He and his brother Jake stole and totaled a fancy car. Jake died and Jake's girlfriend Joolz has been hideously scarred. Only Matt got out unscathed.

Physically that is. But since the accident Jake has come back, haunting Matt's every step, turning up in weird attire and outrageous costumes. Because Jake isn't happy with the way Matt remembers the accident.

Matt is a walking wreckage. He talks the big talk but inside he's coming unglued. Riddled with guilt, Matt attempts a deadly reconstruction of that tragic day. And when he does he wakes up to a different world.

Sometime hilarious, sometimes tender, TWOC is a fast-paced blending of supernatural fantasy and gritty psychological thriller by an award-winning author.