Pretty Boy Red

by Derek Byrne

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication November 24, 2026

Reviews

[Wendy Remez]

4 stars-This was a bit different than I expected, and a bit more sad. I will admit, I have been quick to judge youth offenders particularly those who murder other youths. I tell myself that they deserve adult prison and must surely be guilty. However, this book made me view it all a little differently. I will say the writing style was a bit hard to follow at first, but I got used to it as I read.

[Claudia Cloud]

This was an absolute treat to read - it's a complex and compassionate novel, gripping and poignant, both a character study and a racing plot. Set in Australia, it tracks young Joel’s painful journey as he grapples with life in a juvenile prison and his own fragmented memories of a terrible crime. In this brutalised world a tentative friendship brings tests of courage, loyalty and integrity, making this a must-read with real heart and a sting in its tail. I loved it.

[Sarah]

Part portrait of a child in the bleak reality of the penal system, part literary thriller, Pretty Boy Red is a serious page turner, with prose and dialogue so good that I didn’t want to rush. By turns powerful and unsettling, harrowing and tender, the author’s control over the narrative is nothing short of masterly. It’s truly hard to believe this is a debut: Derek Byrne is one to watch.

[Eric]

Pretty Boy Red has been one of my most pleasant reading experiences this year. In an earlier update, I added how I had almost put it down, but as soon as I became familiar with the writing style and characters, it took off.

If asked to describe Derek Byrne's style of writing in this novel, I would suggest it is a blending of James Ellroy and Cormac McCarthy, but far from any sort of imitation and with a style all his own.

It is a novel that runs the gamut of human behavior and emotion and leads me to look forward to Byrne's future writing.

Pretty Boy Red is based in Australia and follows Joel, an incarcerated juvenile offender awaiting trial for the offenses of murder and luring young boys for an older man for further victimization. Though small in stature, Joel comes with a well-known reputation that others greatly fear, giving him a wide berth, except for those who wish to do him harm because of his past events.

To tell the story, the novel includes flashbacks, as well as a focus on fragmented memories of Joel, while at first avoiding a complete reveal of the exact particulars of what occurred during these horrendous crimes, with the story being parsed out until the climax of the novel.

While the novel deals with troubling and graphic themes, Byrne does not describe such events in an exploitative way, and does so in such a deft way that the reader can easily decipher the horror without needless descriptive titillation.

Pretty Boy Red is highly recommended to fans of crime fiction and tales of morality and redemption.

[Zoe Forever Reading 16]

Pretty Boy Red is an emotional book to read and is extremely sad and hard hitting at times. Following Joel in juvenile prison, going through his trial and his flashbacks from his past. Once invested you can’t help but carry on reading the harrowing journey Joel is on and what he has experienced. Derek covers some very important topics that makes you stop and think as the reader and witnessing what Joel is going through.
I will definitely read more from Derek in the future.