The Benefactors - Wendy Erskine

Longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction

From the prize-winning author of Dance Move and Sweet Home, this is an astounding novel about intimate histories, class and money - and what being a parent means.

Misty thought of them as friends, the three local boys from wealthy homes. Until upstairs at a house party an act of violence takes place, with lines drawn and repercussions for them all. On her side, Misty has her devoted father Boogie, and the formidable matriarch Nan D. On theirs, the boys have their mothers - Frankie, Bronagh and Miriam will use the considerable power at their disposal to protect their own children.

And all the while, anonymous voices across the city confide in us, sometimes offering us another perspective on what has happened, but more often telling their own stories - inviting us briefly into lives shaped by money and class, by family and love.

336 pages