First published 1998
Luke creates connect-the-dots adult magazines on the Isle of Sheppey, a windswept patch of land jutting from the Thames estuary. The island holds little beyond a nudist beach, nature preserve, and wild boar farm, but it draws an unlikely collection of residents. Lily arrives with her sharp tongue and burning anger. Jim settles in with eight-year-old Nathan. The enigmatic Ronnie watches them all with dark, knowing eyes. Each character carries hidden wounds from their past, constructing elaborate lies to shield themselves from painful truths. As their stories intersect on this barren landscape, they must confront the secrets that have shaped them. The island's isolation forces them to face what they've been running from. Only by abandoning their protective fantasies can they find a path toward healing and acceptance.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Isle of Sheppey, Thames Estuary
Period: contemporary
290 pages · Kindle Edition · Fourth Estate
Content warnings: mental-illness