The Loney
On sale
12th March 2015
Price: £9.99
Costa First Novel Award, 2016
‘The Loney is not just good, it’s great. It’s an amazing piece of fiction’ Stephen King
Easter 1976. Two teenage brothers, one mute, the other his lifelong protector, set off on a retreat with their parents and others from their church to a Catholic shrine on a wild, ever-changing stretch of Lancashire coastline known as the Loney. Led by new incumbent Father Bernard, the pilgrims dutifully observe the traditions leading up to the Resurrection, but the boys learn that there is a much older, darker power to be found in the landscape itself, one which is being tapped by strange rituals on the tidal island of Coldbarrow.
Many years later, a child’s body is discovered, and the two brothers are forced to confront the horrors of the past. The Loney always gives up its secrets, in the end.
WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD
THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016
‘This is a novel of the unsaid, the implied, the barely grasped or understood, crammed with dark holes and blurry spaces that your imagination feels compelled to fill’ Observer
‘A masterful excursion into terror’ The Sunday Times
Easter 1976. Two teenage brothers, one mute, the other his lifelong protector, set off on a retreat with their parents and others from their church to a Catholic shrine on a wild, ever-changing stretch of Lancashire coastline known as the Loney. Led by new incumbent Father Bernard, the pilgrims dutifully observe the traditions leading up to the Resurrection, but the boys learn that there is a much older, darker power to be found in the landscape itself, one which is being tapped by strange rituals on the tidal island of Coldbarrow.
Many years later, a child’s body is discovered, and the two brothers are forced to confront the horrors of the past. The Loney always gives up its secrets, in the end.
WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD
THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016
‘This is a novel of the unsaid, the implied, the barely grasped or understood, crammed with dark holes and blurry spaces that your imagination feels compelled to fill’ Observer
‘A masterful excursion into terror’ The Sunday Times
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Reviews
An amazing piece of fiction
A masterful excursion into terror
An unforgettable addition to the ranks of the best British horror
An eerie, disturbing read that doesn't let up until its surprise ending
This is a novel of the unsaid, the implied, the barely grasped or understood, crammed with dark holes and blurry spaces that your imagination feels compelled to fill
A haunting and ambiguous novel that will keep you up at night
Here is the masterpiece by which Hurley must enter the Guild of the Gothic: it pleases me to think of his name written on some parchment scroll, alongside those of Walpole, Du Maurier, Maturin and Jackson
An extraordinarily haunted and haunting novel
A tale of suspense that sucks you in and pulls you under. As yarns go, it rips
A masterclass in spinning out tension
Written with the skill of a poet
A haunting exploration of religion, faith and family. Hurley's evocation of the landscape is bleak and beautiful, while his portrayal of a family slowly imploding is both perceptive and compelling