What can it mean to somebody to kill his own best friend? To take the life from somebody who is so close that he has become part of your own identity? These are the feelings of guilt, loss and need for atonement that Joshua Haigh has to try and resolve in Denn Killian Matthews first novel, Wild Roses.

The story begins in a small town in Oregon where Joshua Haigh befriends Clarence Clarbourne at High School. This friendship develops, but is never quite on equal terms. Josh is in awe of Clarence, his self-confidence, charm and magnetism, while Clarence demands such utter devotion from his friend that his attitude seems to be more one of disrespect or disdain than of friendship. The two young men find wives and go their separate ways, until Josh receives a call from Clarence offering him a job as a journalist. After accepting the job, their sado-masochistic relationship resumes and intensifies, only now, with Clarence’s growing inner troubles and alcohol dependency, his actions become psychotic. Tragedy strikes when Josh, acting in self-defence, is forced to kill his best friend.

Confused and lost, Josh goes on the run, reaching Canada, in a deluded dream that he will find some sort of peace once he has reached Vancouver. On his trip he encounters a string of flawed characters and finds himself in bizarre and sometimes dangerous situations. Finally, at the end of his tether, he gives himself up to the police, not knowing what the outcome of his trial will be.

Wild Roses strips the surface off of middle America, revealing a dissonance between the harmony of daily life and the turmoil that lies beneath. Josh and Clarence’s peculiar relationship, the hidden back stories of the people who Josh meets en route, the irrational behaviour of Josh - all of these things testify to the existence of a world that we must all know exists but fail to acknowledge. The story of Josh and Clarence may seem straightforward to onlookers, but deep down there is intrigue and unrest that tells another tale.

Denn Killian Matthews holds a Master’s degree in Linguistics and Literature. His published writings include a collection of 14 short stories entitled Are you ready for love? and, of course, his first novel Wild Roses. After a teaching experience in the United States, he returned to Europe with a view to furthering his academic career. After an accident which occurred to him in 1999 and left him in a wheelchair, he has started writing and defined himself as a writer henceforward.

Wild Roses is a work full of excitement and humour, but is also one that leaves the reader disconcerted at the perplexities that underlie seemingly everyday scenes.