Bluff

From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, Pine, comes a haunting and atmospheric new gothic thriller, set in the brooding Scottish landscape.

In this corner of Fife, summer nights meant parties on wind-blown beaches, wrapped in hoodies and denim jackets, pretending you weren’t cold in the stubborn evening light.

JOANIE, 2013. Desperate to flee the claustrophobia of St Rule, Joanie has been looking forward to her big escape. But at the eleventh hour this dream slips through her hands. Devastated, Joanie falls into the orbit of an enigmatic couple – a pair of charismatic academics at the town’s university – who offer her a new kind of freedom.

CAMERON, 2023. When Cameron arrives back in St Rule for Christmas, a question burns in his mind: whatever happened to Joanie? It’s been a decade since he saw his former friend. But as he starts to look for answers, it becomes clear that someone wants to keep this secret buried at all costs. How far should he go in pursuit of the truth?

Praise for Francine Toon:

‘A literary gothic thriller to chill the marrow’ Guardian

‘Hugely atmospheric, exquisitely written and utterly gripping’ Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Hunting Party

‘A must-read for fans of eerie gothic fiction’ The Skinny

‘An evocative read which will keep you guessing’ Sunday Independent

‘Both eerie and thrilling at once…had me under its spell until the end’ Sophie Mackintosh, Man Booker Prize-longlisted author of The Water Cure

‘Gripping’ Sunday Times Scotland