1992. Bosnian Serb Army Commander, Ratko Mladić, is besieging and bombarding the citizens of Sarajevo. His forces are rampaging through much of the rest of Bosnia at the same time. But, as his notoriety increases, his daughter Ana, a medical student in Belgrade, is struggling to deal with the anomaly of her commitment to the caring professions and her father’s role as a genocidal killer. When her partner and fellow medical student, Goran, challenges her to renounce her father, she responds in a way no-one might have foreseen, changing the lives of those close to her dramatically and irrevocably.

As he struggles to deal with the consequences of Ana’s actions, Goran stumbles into a dilemma even more challenging than his choice over his ultimatum to her. His response to this fresh dilemma will haunt him for years; but, by now a qualified doctor, he works on the frontline of the post-war devastation in Bosnia, seeking to repair children damaged physically and psychologically by the conflicts. It is a saintly Bosnian Muslim social worker who emerges to jolt him out of his torpor, helps him chart his route to redemption, and teaches him a whole new way of living his life.

Though based on a true father-daughter dynamic, Goran’s Dilemma is also a timeless story of love discovered, doomed and then renewed.

Verified Amazon reviews of Goran's Dilemma

"Phil Murphy is a master story teller...  Brilliantly done."
"Brilliant, well written historical novel"
"A really enjoyable and educational read.  What a debut!  I loved this book."
"This thoughtful, suspenseful novel...unfolds at pace with increasing tension."
"This book is beautifully written in vivid, accessible prose and constantly compels the reader's attention.  Strongly recommended."

And from renowned singer-songwriter and author of The Songman, Tommy Sands: 

"Thanks for this wonderful book, Phil.  I have been living with it and being made to think how the opening lines...are mindful of the closing words of an old Irish song.  These words would be spoken by the singer, not sung, so as to bring the listener back to earth gently, after being transported to the othersphere of song.  Phil Murphy's journalistic years of following heavy footsteps of fact stand him well in recounting events but his added art of imagining sets us free for tracking truths perhaps higher and deeper than the daily news and that is a much needed addition for which, today, our wholeness hungers."