"With an abandoned degree behind her and a thirtieth birthday approaching, amateur writer Bonnie Falls moves out of her parents' home into a nearby flat. Her landlady, Sylvia Slythe, takes an interest in Bonnie, encouraging her to finish one of her stories, in which a young woman moves to the seaside, falling under strange influences. As summer approaches, Sylvia suggests to Bonnie that, as neither of them has anyone else to go on holiday with, they should go away together - to the seaside, perhaps. The new novel from the author of the Man Booker-shortlisted The Lighthouse is a tense exploration of obsession, manipulation, the influence of subliminal messaging, and the decay of the English shore. Shot through with a staggering and sinister psychological depth, Bonnie Falls and Sylvia Slythe will prove two of the most unforgettable characters in English-language fiction."--