Sanctuary
‘Everyone should read this furious defence of the voiceless.’
Chris Cleave
Alex Donovan is a young refugee lawyer in crisis. Helping desperate clients reach safety is what gives his job meaning. But he now finds himself demoted, signed off sick for stress, and facing redeployment to the firm's subterranean billing department. Then there is Amy, the woman he adores. The irresistible junior barrister seems to be drifting away from him. With little to lose and all to prove, Alex dreams up a madcap plan to restore his honour and secure Amy's affection. But, is anything quite as it seems...
Endorsements & reviews
Chris Cleave
'Everyone should read this furious defence of the voiceless. Sanctuary is a blistering novel that speaks for the migrants our politics would rather silence. It unmasks a system built to exploit the powerless. In exposing the hypocrisies of refugee policy, Sanctuary holds up a mirror to our times and reveals that the real emergency is not migration, but how we treat those who migrate.'
Love Reading
'Smart as heck and containing a taut energy, Sanctuary is an exciting and convincing read.'
Robert Bathurst
‘Passionate and atmospheric, both as a love story and a ferocious drama set in the murky world of asylum policy and practice, written with deep insight, exciting twists and insolent good humour.’
Suzi Feay
'Alex the human rights lawyer is one of the most vivid and compelling protagonists I've come across in ages. Sharp as tacks at work, fairly clueless when it comes to women, somehow he manages to be both rude and charming, cunning and gauche, cynical and romantic, all at the same time. Gaisford's insider knowledge makes his cleverly constructed legal thriller a compulsive and genuinely enlightening read. Alex's passionate hope is that a story can change the public's perception of asylum seekers. Maybe this one will.'
Behind the book
Tom draws on a decade of experience as an asylum, immigration, and human rights lawyer to tell the story in Sanctuary.
‘I would finish a scene, only to witness it play out in real life a short while later’
Interviews & Features
Q&A with Cinto Press