Nightcrawling: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022

Nightcrawling follows seventeen-year-old Kiara Johnson as she tries to get by without the safety and stability other teenagers take for granted. With her mother in a rehab facility and her older brother focused on a recording studio, Kiara is left to fend for herself and for nine-year-old Trevor, whose own mother is often absent for days at a time.

When their landlord threatens to raise the rent, Kiara begins walking the streets after dark, determined to survive in a world that does not protect her. After she is picked up by two police officers, she is offered a disturbing deal in exchange for her freedom, placing her at the centre of intense media attention. Asked to testify in a grand jury trial that could expose corruption within a police department, Kiara must weigh the cost of telling the truth against the risk of retaliation that could leave her family vulnerable.

Key details

• Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022
• Described as the youngest ever Booker nominee
• Instant New York Times bestseller

Synopsis

Kiara Johnson is seventeen and living without reliable support, taking responsibility for herself and a nine-year-old boy while her mother is in rehab and his mother frequently disappears. As rent pressures mount, she walks the streets at night to survive. A police encounter leads to a gruesome bargain and a public storm, with Kiara pushed towards testifying in a grand jury trial that could reveal corruption. The decision carries consequences that may put those she loves in danger.