THE LONEY
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award
Staff Pick, Best Summer Books of 2016 by Publishers Weekly
Noted as a Sunday Times (UK) Exceptional Novel of 2015
A Best Book of 2015 by the London Times and the Daily Mail
Cited as a “modern classic” by Britain’s Sunday Telegraph
The eerie, suspenseful debut novel — hailed as “an amazing piece of fiction” by Stephen King — that is taking the world by storm.
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award
Staff Pick, Best Summer Books of 2016 by Publishers Weekly
Noted as a Sunday Times (UK) Exceptional Novel of 2015
A Best Book of 2015 by the London Times and the Daily Mail
Cited as a “modern classic” by Britain’s Sunday Telegraph
The eerie, suspenseful debut novel — hailed as “an amazing piece of fiction” by Stephen King — that is taking the world by storm.
When the remains of a young child are discovered during a winter storm on a stretch of the bleak Lancashire coastline known as the Loney, a man named Smith is forced to confront the terrifying and mysterious events that occurred forty years earlier when he visited the place as a boy. At that time, his devoutly Catholic mother was determined to find healing for Hanny, his disabled older brother. And so the family, along with members of their parish, embarked on an Easter pilgrimage to an ancient shrine.
But not all of the locals were pleased to see visitors in the area. And when the two brothers found their lives entangling with a glamorous couple staying at a nearby house, they became involved in more troubling rites. Smith feels he is the only one to know the truth, and he must bear the burden of his knowledge, no matter what the cost. Proclaimed a “modern classic” by the Sunday Telegraph (UK), The Loney marks the arrival of an important new voice in fiction.
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Hardcover
- May 2016
- 304 Pages
- 9780544746527
Buy the Book
$25.00
About Andrew Hurley
Andrew Michael Hurley lives in Lancashire, where he teaches English literature and creative writing. He has published two short story collections. The Loney, which won the Costa First Book Award, was shortlisted for the James Herbert Award and will be published in seven territories, is his first novel.
Praise
“The setting is amazing. The cast of characters is freaking weird and out of their time but also very believable. And there's this completely terrifying thing that's going on and half the time you just don't know what it is. There's a boy and his brother, who has a developmental disability, who go every year on a very strange pilgrimage to this unspecified marshy place called the Loney. One year they go strange things start happening and they encounter locals who are at first helpful and then become quite sinister and frightening very quickly.”—Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train, digitalspy.com
“Hurley tantalizes the reader by keeping explanations for what is happening just out of reach, and depicting a natural world beyond understanding. His sensitive portrayal of Tonto and Hanny's relationship and his insights into religious belief and faith give this eerie tale depth and gravity.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This eerily atmospheric and engrossing novel will captivate readers who like their fiction with a touch of the gothic.”—Library Journal, editor's pick
“It’s not just good, it’s great. An amazing piece of fiction.” —Stephen King