Saltwash

Hardback Published on: 23/10/2025
Price: £16.99
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Bookseller Reviews

View all
Saltwash
Fantastic
Another fabulously dark story from Andrew Michael Hurley - they make my heart sing in a sort of uncanny way! This one takes place in a rainwashed Norther... READ MORE
Olivia at Telford
Saltwash
Life is really what you make of it
This book is home to such an intricate story, yet so simple at the same time! Tom, growing old and struggling with a new cancer diagnosis portrays such a ... READ MORE
Carrie (Store 823)
Saltwash
Highly atmospheric and increasingly Sinister Examination of the Human Condition
Andrew Hurley is first up an amazing writing with the ability to evoke an atmosphere in a few well chosen words. His description of the care home smelling ... READ MORE
Sally, Richmond

Synopsis

It's time to atone.

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. And, 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 memoires of their wrongs to be 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?

Publisher information

  • Publisher: John Murray Press
  • ISBN: 9781399817530
  • Number of pages: 256
  • Dimensions: 216 x 138 x 30 mm
  • Weight: 361g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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Saltwash
Very dark book but excellent!
I really enjoyed "Saltwash" by Andrew Michael Hurley. Something was very off with the atmosphere of the book from the beginning, and for me this set the to... READ MORE
Mel Pretorius
Saltwash
Atmospheric, menacing and poignant, though not supernatural
Previous, chilling books I’ve read and reviewed by Hurley have all had more than a whiff of the diabolical about them, something intensely religious – thou... READ MORE
Lady Fancifull
Saltwash
Disappointing!
I am so disappointed! I’ve enjoyed Hurleys books, I have them on my bookcase but unfortunately Saltwash won’t be joining them. Although this is a characte... READ MORE
Susan  Frances
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
Haunting.
Saltwash is a rather rundown town and the last place Tom Swift would have dreamt of going to. But his new friend Oliver Keele has insisted on meeting for a... READ MORE
Peter  Evans
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
View of the end of life
Tom, an old chap is in palliative care for a brain tumour, and is encouraged to write to a pen pal with a similar prognosis. His contact Oliver and he get... READ MORE
Aidan Dunn
Saltwash
A story of darkness, friendship and hooe
Tom is a man with a terminal cancer diagnosis, and his pen pal Oliver is in the same position. They have never met but Oliver suggests that they do so at a... READ MORE
Kaye Fraser
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
A bit disappointing
Tom is undergoing cancer treatment. As part of this it is suggested that he becomes pen-pals with another sufferer. He and Oliver seem to get on very well ... READ MORE
Maggie Macdonald
Saltwash
Readable
I was sent a copy of Saltwash to read and review by NetGalley. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this novel. It was well written and readable but I can... READ MORE
lesleys
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
Bleak and fascinating
Saltwash is a slow, character-driven story that focuses less on surprises and more on how its characters ended up where they are. Even if you go in knowing... READ MORE
Shelley Connor
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
An excellent read
The book follows Tom as he travels to a hotel to meet a pen friend in a rain-soaked Northern seaside town. Everything is not as it seems as a sense of drea... READ MORE
Jim
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
Beautifully written
Tom Shift arrives in Saltwash-on-Sea by train, he’s there to meet his pen-pal Oliver Keele at The Castle Hotel. As he wanders through the once splendid La... READ MORE
Celia Short
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
Saltwash
Sinister and disturbing from the start
Tom and Oliver become pen-pals via their treatment for terminal cancer, and arrange to meet at a dismal out of season hotel in a forgotten seaside town. Wh... READ MORE
Sarah Wood
Saltwash
interesting story
This is quite a slow burn book, peopled with quirky characters meeting for an annual get together. Although it was fairly obvious from early on why they we... READ MORE
jean
Saltwash
Avoid the hardback blurb!
I picked Saltwash up because one of the author’s previous works, Starve Acre, stands among the most haunting novels I have ever read. His power to conjure ... READ MORE
Alastair Stone