Northline, paperback/willy vlautin

Fleeing Las Vegas and her abusive boyfriend, Allison Johnson moves to Reno, but finds herself haunted by the mistakes of her past, and lacking any self-belief.

Her only comfort seems to come from the imaginary conversations she has with her hero, Paul Newman.

But, as life crawls on, small acts of kindness do start to reveal themselves and slowly the chance of a new life begins to emerge.

Full of memorable characters and imbued with a beautiful sense of yearning, Northline is an extraordinary portrait of small-town America and an emotional tour de force.