Service A Novel

By: Sarah Gilmartin

Published by Steerforth Press, 2024-06-04

A “powerful and compelling” novel about power, consent, and complicity in our #MeToo era — for fans of Sweetbitter and I Have Some Questions for You (Joseph O’Connor, author of My Father’s House)

Tensions are at an all-time high in an upscale Dublin restaurant as its employees grapple with the fallout from a shocking scandal involving its head chef

The waitress, the chef, and the chef’s wife may all lovingly describe the food, but they agree on little else as their 3 voices reveal a story of power and complicity, and the courage it takes to face the truth.

When Hannah learns that famed chef Daniel Costello is facing accusations of sexual assault, she's thrown back to the summer she spent waitressing at his high-end Dublin restaurant when she was a young college student— the plush splendour of the dining rooms, the wild parties after service, the sizzling tension of the kitchens. But Hannah also remembers how the attention from Daniel soon morphed from kindness into something darker.

Now the restaurant is shuttered and Daniel tries to understand how his life is now completely out of his control. His wife Julie is hiding from paparazzi, trying to come to terms with the legal case while suddenly questioning her life and marriage as she attempts to protect her two sons.

Surrounded by the wreckage of the past, Daniel, Julie, and Hannah must reconsider what happened at the restaurant.

Beautifully written and cleverly told in 3 voices, this scorching novel explores uncomfortable truths about our changing social norms with nuance and complexity.