Bluff

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, Pine, comes a haunting and atmospheric new gothic thriller, set in the brooding Scottish landscape.

In this corner of Fife, summer nights meant parties on wind-blown beaches, wrapped in hoodies and denim jackets, pretending you weren’t cold in the stubborn evening light.

Joanie, 2013. Desperate to flee the claustrophobia of St Rule, Joanie has long been looking forward to her big escape. But on the night of her school graduation this dream slips through her hands.

Devastated, Joanie falls into the orbit of an enigmatic couple – Erin and David – who offer her a new kind of escape. Charismatic, older and intellectual, they make Joanie feel alive and important in a way she didn’t know was possible.

Cameron, 2023. When Cameron arrives back in St Rule for Christmas a question burns in his mind: what ever happened to Joanie? It’s been a decade since he saw his former friend, and in truth he hadn’t given it much thought – busily building a life.

But as he starts to look for answers, it becomes clear that someone wants to keep this secret buried at all costs. How far should he go to pursue the truth?

Set amongst the ancient cobblestone of a Scottish coastal town steeped in history, Francine Toon masterfully blends the tension of a mystery with the chill of a modern gothic. This is a story where every shadow holds a secret, and every revelation brings Cameron and Joanie closer to a truth that could shatter their worlds.

Praise for Francine Toon:

‘A literary gothic thriller to chill the marrow’ Guardian

‘Hugely atmospheric, exquisitely written and utterly gripping’ Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Hunting Party

‘A must-read for fans of eerie gothic fiction’ The Skinny

‘An evocative read which will keep you guessing’ Sunday Independent

‘Both eerie and thrilling at once…had me under its spell until the end’ Sophie Mackintosh, Man Booker Prize-longlisted author of The Water Cure

‘Gripping’ Sunday Times Scotland

© Francine Toon 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

A bravura sequence of adolescent thrill and romantic fireworks that shows Toon at the peak of her powers... What Toon’s really fabulous at… are those compelling teenage relationships that she opens the novel with and whose upshot she unfolds moreishly a decade later.
Sunday Times
Like so much good horror, this is about guilt and unreliable memory
Daily Mail
Skilfully handled themes of guilt, regret and adolescent confusion coupled with dark academia make for an insidious tingle of doom
Guardian
Toon’s gift for creating an otherworldly atmosphere in small towns with big secrets is present once again in a novel that explores the desire to escape the ordinary
Scotsman
Toon is great on atmosphere
Mail on Sunday
Atmospheric... Toon layers unease and memory, crafting a chilling, slow-burn novel
i Newspaper
[Bluff] explores youthful naivety, adult choices, and how past actions can haunt us for years
Woman & Home
[An] atmospheric tale of buried secrets . . . This absolute masterclass in suspense is genuinely unputdownable. I devoured it in a day.
The Bookseller
Explores youthful naivety, adult choices, and how past actions can haunt us for years
Woman & Home
An utterly gripping novel which keeps you guessing until the end.
Scottish Field
A taut, eerie exploration of memory, belief, and the treacherous edges of girlhood. Francine Toon has a knack for getting deep under the skin.
Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark
Dark, beguiling, and steeped in menace, Francine Toon spins a brooding mystery which shimmers with unease. It perfectly captures that dread of teenage girlhood.
Lucy Rose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb
Bluff is a menacing, wind-swept thriller that creeps up on you as stealthily as a figure in the dark.
Anna Bailey, Sunday Times bestselling author of Tall Bones
Atmospheric, taut and powerfully plotted, Bluff shows how memory can act as both shield and distortion in the pursuit of truth.
Celia Silvani, author of Baby Teeth
Bluff weaves a chilling tale of coercion, deception, and dangerous liaisons, where the dark presence of one's past and hometown coalesce into something truly terrifying. A brilliantly gothic tale.
Christiana Spens, author of The Colony
A literary gothic thriller to chill the marrow
Guardian on PINE
[A] simmering gothic thriller
Daily Mail on PINE
Splicing small-town domestic drama with grisly mystery and occult thrills… cleverly crafted
Metro on PINE
As gripping as any boxset
Sunday Times Scotland on PINE
This haunting debut is a must-read for fans of eerie gothic fiction
The Skinny on PINE
A thrill of a book
i-D on PINE
Hugely atmospheric, exquisitely written and utterly gripping
Lucy Foley, author of THE HUNTING PARTY on PINE
Marries the claustrophobia of rural life with fascinating hints of Scottish myths, to create an emotional read with the pace of a thriller
Irish Country Magazine on PINE
Carefully calibrated to make every single hair on the back of your neck stand up on end
Scotland on Sunday on PINE
Eerie and thrilling
Sophie Mackintosh, author of THE WATER CURE on PINE
Both spooky and tender; drenched in a sense of place and yet eerily timeless
Mick Herron on PINE
Combines the Gothic sensibilities of Shirley Jackson with the psychologically astute suspense of Gillian Flynn
Sharlene Teo, author of PONTI on PINE
Chillingly atmospheric
Woman's Own

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