The Lost Past of Billy McQueen

By: Neil Alexander

Narrated by: Neil Alexander, Patrick Moy, Ruairi Conaghan

Earphones Award Winner 2025

The past has never left Billy. It's just been waiting for him to come and find it...

It's been over thirty years since Billy last called Northern Ireland home. Back then, his secret love for schoolfriend Conor was the only shining light that kept him going during troubled times. That is, until their romance was tragically cut short when Conor disappeared without a trace.

Now a phone call draws Billy back home when his mother falls into a coma. While sorting through old belongings, he stumbles upon an envelope bearing his name. Inside, he finds a mysterious note and a mixtape left by Conor - dated the very day he disappeared in 1989.

But who sent it? Why did his mother keep it hidden? And what really happened to Conor?

As Billy sets off to find the answers to a mystery that's followed him for years, he soon realises that uncovering the truth about his lost past may come at a high cost. But laying the ghosts of that past to rest might be the only way to finally set himself free...

From the author of The Vanishing of Margaret Small comes a compelling and deeply nostalgic coming-of-age tale that promises to touch your heart and stay with you long after the last page. Packed with humour and tenderness, it's perfect for fans of The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, The Keeper of Stories and A Tidy Ending.©2024 Neil Alexander (P)2024 Bonnier Books UK

Beautiful

This is so well written. It captures so much about love and being a teenager and becoming middle aged. Some parts are hysterically funny as someone growing up in the 80s who has been to my own idiot school reunions. I didn’t find the homophobia sad since it honestly is written softer than it felt at the time, and while good things have happened (I’m legally married), now homophobes have automatic weapons. So, not so much shock value like there seems to be in reviews for other people.
Overall, gorgeous and sweet and sad. And the mystery is nicely paced and kept me turning pages.