Ray Spalding's had enough of his wife, Paula. He's left his home in Edinburgh's Southside and headed for Belfast. It's safer there.

Unknown to Ray, Paula's also had enough of him. She's not going back home. Not now, not ever.

Jesse Spalding wakes up one morning to find both his parents gone. And he can't tell anyone or he'll be taken into care.As time passes and bills need paying, all Jesse can rely on are his wits, his friend Archie and his dad's 1950s record collection.Southsiders is a powerful short novel that follows the spiralling fortunes of Ray and Jesse, pushing father and son to their limits while they struggle against the odds in the darker shadows of two of Britain's capital cities.

"The prose is tightrope taut and the plotting first class … a tense and thrilling novella" – Crimesquad.com on Mr Suit

"Grim, but really good" – Ian Rankin on Smoke

Nigel Bird is the author of several novels, novellas and short story collections, including In Loco Parentis, Smoke, Mr Suit and Dirty Old Town.