Saltwash

Tom Shift and Oliver Keele are pen-pals. They were introduced through their respective cancer clinics. From reading Oliver's letters, Tom has deduced that Oliver is lonely and somewhat nomadic. He appears to live hand to mouth at a series of cheap B&Bs.

When Oliver suggests they meet up, Tom agrees. Neither of them have long left. While Saltwash seems an unlikely kind of place for a holiday, he goes with it. The Castle Hotel is one of the few places still open in an off-season seaside town that has definitely seen better days, but it's surprisingly busy. It becomes clear that the guests are all there for some kind of reunion, and that they know Oliver.

Little by little it becomes clear that all the guests have dark and troubled histories. They are drawn to the hotel not just for the company and nostalgia but for the opportunity to win the lottery, which for them, is the chance to have the memories of their wrongs eradicated. Before they die, they all want redemption. But if we can't remember what we've done, do we become someone else? And why does Oliver want Tom at Saltwash?

The spectacularly chilling new novel from the 'master of menace', Andrew Michael Hurley.