What Dies in Summer
- 3 May 2012
- 9780857862808
- £6.39
- 288 pp
In a few words
A stunning literary thriller with the debut promise of S. J. Watson and the taut coming-of-age drama of Stephen King’s Stand by Me. This will appeal to fans of intelligent, psychological thriller books like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories.
A beautifully written and deeply engaging study of loss and innocence, suffused with chilling dread. A haunting novel, a captivating debut, I loved it.
S.j Watson, Author Of Before I Go To Sleep
Compulsive and provocative . . . A narrative voice that's raw and desperate, a story that grips from start to finish, What Dies In Summer is hugely impressive.
John Boyne, Author Of The Boy With The Striped Pyjamas And The Absolutist
More about
the book
Longlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger
‘I woke up in a cold sweat, knowing for a definite fact that death was a teenage girl and that she had been standing silently by my bed during the night…’
Jim Beaudry, or Biscuit as he’s known, is a teenage boy trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble has a way of finding him. Especially after his cousin L.A. turns up on his doorstep. When one summer afternoon Biscuit and L.A. discover the body of a teenage girl in the Texas wilderness, an investigation begins that will put both of their lives in grave danger.
A magnificent novel, not so much about loss of innocence as innocence put through the masher. The story pulsates with a deep dread that would be unbearable if the novel weren't so sweet, funny, sexy and ultimately moving.
Nick Cave, Author Of The Death Of Bunny Munro
An erotic, compelling and deeply assured debut, midway between Ellroy and Faulkner. It evokes so precisely the beauty and sadness of first love and lost innocence.
Sam Taylor, Author Of The Republic Of Trees
Builds upon the framework of the conventional modern thriller to fashion something that is much, much more - an exploration of adolescence under the extra pressure of family dysfunction caused by drunkenness and relationship breakdown
John Harding
Daily MailA moving exploration of the vulnerability of youth, and of tangled family relationships
Laura Wilson
Guardian
