Hailed as “a masterful excursion into terror” by the Sunday Times—the eerie, suspenseful debut novel from the author of Devil’s Day and Starve Acre.

Winner of the Costa First Novel Award
A Best Book of the Year, London Times and Daily Mail

“The terrors of this novel feel timeless . . . There are abominations here, and miracles.”—New York Times Book Review

“An amazing piece of fiction.”—Stephen King

“Completely terrifying.”—Paula Hawkins

“Vibrantly written.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Stunning” —Jeff VanderMeer

When Smith was a boy, he and his family went on an Easter pilgrimage with their local parish to the Loney, a bleak stretch of the English coastline, to visit an ancient shrine in search of healing for Smith’s disabled brother. But the locals were none too pleased to welcome them, and the two brothers soon became entangled in a troubling morass of dangerous rituals.

For years after, Smith carries the burden of what happened that spring. And when he hears that the body of a young child has been found during a storm at the Loney, he’s forced to finally reckon with his darkest secrets—and the terror they carry with them.
“The masterpiece by which Hurley will enter the Guild of the Gothic”—Guardian

“Fans of Shirley Jackson are sure to savor . . . Tight, suspenseful writing makes this masterful novel unsettling in the most compelling way.”—Washington Post