A promising young football player returns home to his tiny Scottish village, his dreams in tatters and a dark secret haunting his conscience, in a beautiful, unforgettable novel about hope and redemption, when everything seems lost...
'A brilliant, bittersweet story that captures the rawness of strained relationships, set against the struggles of a failing lower-league football team. Ross's best novel yet' Stuart Cosgrove
'Few do raw, authentic, almost palpably believable characters better than David F. Ross ... a novel that deals with profound themes' Patrick Barclay, The Times
'A deeply compelling story about ambition, failure and interpersonal history ... it's what novels should do' Ewan Morrison, author of Nina X
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Danny Garvey was a sixteen-year old footballing prodigy. Professional clubs clamoured to sign him, and a glittering future beckoned.
And yet, his early promise remained unfulfilled, and Danny is back home in the tiny village of Barshaw to manage the struggling junior team he once played for. What's more, he's hiding a secret about a tragic night, thirteen years earlier, that changed the course of several lives. There's only one Danny Garvey, they once chanted ... and that's the problem.
A story of irrational hopes and fevered dreams - of unstoppable passion and unflinching commitment in the face of defeat - There's Only One Danny Garvey is, above all, an unforgettable tale about finding hope and redemption in the most unexpected of places.
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'If you enjoyed Shuggie Bain, you will adore this book ... filled with honesty and written with a tenderness that is faultless. One of the best books I've read in years' Anne Cater
'Triumph and tragedy are inexorably woven together, with the former only offering brief respite before reality returns ... David F. Ross is in the Premier League of writers' Alistair Braidwood, Scots Whay Hae
'No words will EVER be good enough for this incredible book. Intense. Heartbreaking. Passionate' Mairead Hearne, Swirl & Thread
'An amazing book, giving me the same feeling I had reading James Kelman when I was younger' Douglas MacIntyre, Creeping Bent
'A thought-provoking book with a slow-burn edginess, sprinkled with hope, loss, grief, unrequited love and moments of dark, often unexpected, laugh-out-loud humour' Sergio Burns, Ayrshire Magazine
'A story with a punch, clouded by memory and regret ... beautiful' The Bookbag
'Tips the balance between comedy and tragedy in a truly devastating way. I closed the cover rooted to the spot, stunned into immobility by the desperate, heart-rending power of the ending' Live Many Lives
'A real new talent on the Scottish literary scene' Press & Journal
'By turn hilarious and heart-breaking, more than anything Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope' Liam Rudden, Scotsman
'David Ross carved out an enduring place for himself among contemporary Scottish novelists' Alastair Mabbott, Herald Scotland
'A warm, funny consideration of reconciliation between middle-aged friends and a celebration of music's healing powers. Suggest to fans of Nick Hornby' Library Journal
'The skillful way that David Ross weaves the many and diverse motivations in this moving and authentic story is superbly done ... I was absolutely blown away by this unforgettable and emotional read' Jill Adams, 17 Degrees
