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The Loney cover art

The Loney

By: Andrew Michael Hurley
Narrated by: Richard Burnip
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Summary

WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD

THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016

If it had another name, I never knew, but the locals called it the Loney - that strange nowhere between the Wyre and the Lune where Hanny and I went every Easter time with Mummer, Farther, Mr and Mrs Belderboss and Father Wilfred, the parish priest.

It was impossible to truly know the place. It changed with each influx and retreat, and the neap tides would reveal the skeletons of those who thought they could escape its insidious currents. No one ever went near the water. No one apart from us, that is.

I suppose I always knew that what happened there wouldn't stay hidden for ever, no matter how much I wanted it to. No matter how hard I tried to forget . . .

©2015 Andrew Michael Hurley (P)2015 John Murray Press

Critic reviews

'Modern classics in this genre are rare, and instant ones even rarer; The Loney, however, looks as though it may be both' Sunday Telegraph

What listeners say about The Loney

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

A Bit Slow...,

The Loney is an unusual story. It has a good ending, however, I found it slow to progress. The narrator is excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Cracking lidten

Beautiful prose haunting story performed impeccably. At times disturbing and horrific but never cheap or tawdry.. Just amazing

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I don't have enough superlatives. This is what fiction should be....

I'm not one for writing reviews, but must for "The Loney". This is the best piece of fiction I have read in ages. So humane, intelligent, so thought-provoking, so insightful, so gripping, so well paces and plotted, so well written. Absolutely unputdownable/unswitchoffable. And in the audible version, so excellently narrated (which, unfortunately, is rarely the case with audio downloads). I am about to order the print version and start reading. This more than deserves the Costa prize, and should have been on the 2015 Mann Booker shortlist. Please read/listen!!!

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8 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Odd gothic thriller

The last 20 mins was the best part of this entire novel. Incredibly slow to start and for a very long time the religious subplot seemed pointless. There's also a lot of holes in the story like what happened to the baby's mother? Feel like it's been overhyped.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars

Abigails'Party meets The Whicker Man

This book is written beautifully. The phrases, observations and descriptions of the people and beach and the sea around Morcombe bay are wonderful and evocative. The dissection of the relationships within the group is acute and peceptive. The use of flashbacks occasionally gets confusing but the story continues to its conclusion in a non linear slightly dark way. Not a gory blood spattered horror by any means more a "tales of the unexpected". Absolutely loved it. Iain

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

The reader conveys subtly different accents faultlessly. A fantastic and original story. Beautifully read. Loved it

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A visceral masterpiece

This is so brilliantly written, it really does lead the imagination to think beyond the story, in between the lines! I personally like a little bit more horror in my stories, but this was a genre all of its own!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Haunting and thought provoking

The combination of a beautifully written, understated style of writing; haunting images and a superb narrator kept me listening when I should have been doing other things! Now that I am finished the book, I find that aspects of the story keep on flitting into my mind, and while I consider them, I realize that the book is much more multi-faceted than I expected. There is the gothic aspect, and some supernatural incidents that are hinted at by the genre of the book. Then there is the human drama of a community caught up in issues of faith and family. Finally, there is a hint of humour in the parochial characters. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy crime and thrillers, to those who appreciate the bizarre, and to those who enjoy books that question our basic values and religion.

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15 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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accumulating weirdness and creepiness

great story.builds the horror without you really noticing what is happening. characterisations are rich and layered. the setting is wonderfully constructed and atmospheric . when the reveal happens it's way more horrible than could be imagined and I missed the clues all the way through. absolutely loved it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Good story

This was a good story and well narrated. It kept me gripped from beginning to end.

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