2026 Booker Longlist: All Them Dogs by Djamel White

by jenp27 on September 7, 2026

Next up for our panel is All Them Dogs by Djamel White. Four of our panel members read this book and one DNF it. Here are our reviews….

Djamel White is an Irish writer and the author of All Them Dogs, his debut novel. White was just 28 when All Them Dogs was longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize, making him the youngest writer on this year’s list.

Book Synopsis from Booker website: Things are different since Tony Ward landed back in town. The West Dublin gangland has changed. His old mentor is dead, and his best pal Kenny Boyle is on the straight and narrow.

After five years keeping quiet across the way, Tony is keen to reinstate himself, and when the opportunity arises to work side by side with Darren ‘Flute’ Walsh, a top enforcer of notorious crime boss Aengus Lavelle, it feels like a no brainer.

Biting off more than he can chew has never bothered Tony Ward, but Flute Walsh is not the meek, quiet boy Tony remembers from school. Brooding, stoic, and unpredictably dangerous, Tony finds himself drawn to his new associate in more ways than one.

With retribution from his past actions always close in the rear view, the protection offered by Flute’s standing in the gang is crucial. But how safe is Tony really, when a mutual attraction starts to complicate matters?

Andrew’s Thoughts: I have no idea why this book made the longlist, but I did enjoy reading it. There’s nothing here that is new or inventive or even particularly creative, but the plot moves along quickly and I found the characters interesting enough to keep me engaged. It’s a fairly standard organized crime thriller, without much suspense – and not much of an ending. As I finished, my first thought was “this is Tana French lite.” But for a quick, summer beach read (if you like moody, dark, Irish crime)? 10/10.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 2/5
Character development: 3/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 14/20

Jen’s Thoughts: For me this one comes down to personal preference. I’m generally not a big fan of gritty crime or graphically violent novels. I did like Marlon James’ Brief History of Seven Killings (speaking of violence) because I found the historical and political context interesting. I found the context/setting less interesting in this book. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. I did find myself invested in the characters and their fates. It was well written and a nice break from some of the other selections. If you like the genre, this will be a solid book for you.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 2/5
Character development: 3/4
Plot development: 4/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 14/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: This was so violent and heartbreaking. It reminded me a bit of Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, without the heroin addiction. But it was also beautiful in its way. The story moved well, the family dynamics were messed up (real family and gang family), and the descriptions brought the reader into Dublin. The highlight for me was one of the relationships- so beautifully written. What dragged- the dialogue. But this is a great book. If the reader can get past the violence.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 3.5/4
Plot development: 3.5/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 17/20

Nicole’s Thoughts: I’ve read this book before, you’ve probably read this book before. It’s not my kind of story. That being said, it was a good version of it. The writing was above average, the story progressed well and you couldn’t help but root for the characters despite their circumstances and themselves. I don’t even think the spark of originality in this book was particularly original – It was almost like the idea was let’s put this circumstance in this kind of story and see how it plays out. We got the expected result. This sounds more harsh than I actually feel about it, but bears pointing out.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 1/5
Character development: 4/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 13/20

Lisa’s Thoughts:

I started out listening to this one. Maybe part of the problem was that I could not decode the Irish accent 100% of the time. But I just did not like this book. I did not care about the main characters or the other characters or what they did or why. They bored me. I did not care enough that I decided life is too short for me to finish the book, and I moved on to the next one.

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