Iain Banks at his very best - his funniest, grittiest and most exciting novel yet.

'Utterly absorbing . . . Addictive, funny and brilliantly observed' Stephanie Cross, Daily Mail

Stewart Gilmour is back in Stonemouth, the estuary town north of Aberdeen that on a bleak day can seem to offer little more than sea-fog, gangsters, cheap drugs and a suspension bridge irresistible to suicides. After a five-year exile, Stewart's presence is required at the funeral of patriarch Joe Murston, even though the last time Stu saw the Murstons he was running for his life.

As he steps back into the minefield of the past to confront his guilt and all that it has cost him, Stewart uncovers ever darker stories, and his homecoming takes a more lethal turn than even he had anticipated.

'Emotionally satisfying . . . Intellectually convincing. . . Beguiling' Stuart Kelly, Guardian

'At the heart of the gradually menacing drama lies a romance, a thing of tenderness and devotion . . . As ever with Banks, there are nuanced questions. . . Unfailingly entertaining . . . This is Banks at his waspish, intelligent, nuanced best' Scotland on Sunday

'Utterly absorbing... addictive, funny and brilliantly observed' Daily Mail

Stewart Gilmour is back in Stonemouth, the estuary town north of Aberdeen that on a bleak day can seem to offer little more than sea-fog, gangsters, cheap drugs and a suspension bridge irresistible to suicides. After a five-year exile, Stewart's presence is required at the funeral of patriarch Joe Murston, even though the last time Stu saw the Murstons he was running for his life.

But Stonemouth is also home to the girl who still haunts his dreams....


Praise for Iain Banks:

'The most imaginative novelist of his generation' The Times

'His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthral new readers' Ken MacLeod, Guardian

'His work was mordant, surreal, and fiercely intelligent' Neil Gaiman

'An exceptional wordsmith' Scotsman