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The Sanctuary

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What to expect

In a disintegrating and lawless near-future, a young man journeys north to a mysterious island owned by one of the world’s wealthiest men—and finds an entire new civilization waiting for him.

Ben is a painter from the crowded, turbulent city. For six months his fiancée, Cara, has been working on the remote island of Sanctuary Rock, the private estate of millionaire philanthropist Sir John Pemberley. Now she has decided to break off their engagement and stay there for good.

Ben travels to the island to try and win Cara back. After an arduous journey, he finds himself compelled to stay. But as Ben begins to traverse Pemberley’s kingdom, he begins to uncover the truth of the apparently perfect society the enigmatic Sir John is building. Is Sanctuary Rock truly a second Eden, as he claims—or a previously undiscovered level of hell?

Critics Review

“Wonderful: boldly imagined and beautifully written—the best future-shock thriller for years.”

Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on The Last Day

“Near-future thrillers don’t come much better than this stellar effort from Murray…This fires on all cylinders.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A suspenseful read with a dystopian theme.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Absolutely brilliant. I’m thinking it should be made into a movie!”

Zoe Ball, radio and television presenter

“A disturbing and atmospheric dystopian novel, rich in imagination and stylishly written. I was totally immersed in this story that has themes around climate change and the future of humanity on a decaying planet. Totally absorbing.”

Paul Burke, Crime Time FM

“Gripping, unsettling, and original.”

Tim Harford, Sunday Times (London) bestselling author

“A really great book. I was rapt with it and it was so tense, and as a reader you’re trying to work out what the hell is going on.”

Richard Herring, stand-up comedian and writer

“Imaginative and intriguing. The Sanctuary sucks you in and doesn’t let you leave until the very last page—and a final revelation that left me thinking late into the night. Andrew Hunter Murray is a young writer to watch.”

Anthony Horowitz, New York Times bestselling author

“A brilliantly clever thriller by a brilliantly clever author.”

Richard Osman, New York Times bestselling author

“A thoughtful, impressive science fiction thriller.”

Pop Science Books

“There is a pang of generational angst at the heart of the book—a sense that the younger generation have been excluded from the ordinary society-building that their parents’ generation took for granted, and that…there might be somewhere they could go and start afresh and belong. Unfortunately, unless you are a billionaire or fancy drinking the Kool-Aid, there really isn’t—so put your feet up and escape with this book instead.”

Radio Times (London)

“Murray’s disturbing eco-thriller keeps its readers spellbound until the final chilling twist.”

Daily Mail (London)

“Literary touchstones include H. G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau and, of course, Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Pemberley’s daughter, Bianca, makes a superbly compromised Miranda). The plot is about eco-Nazis, obviously, but the considerable pleasure of this novel is in the getting from here to there.”

The Times (London)

“This is a smoothly written, thought-provoking tale about aging societies and wealth inequality, with an effective shocker of an ending.”

The Guardian (London)

“Its intelligence and bravura characterization will have you turning page after page. A fabulous achievement.”

Stephen Fry, actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, and author, on The Last Day

“A stunningly original thriller set in the world of tomorrow that will make you think about what’s happening today.”

Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on The Last Day

“A novel that pulls you in immediately and doesn’t let go until the last page.”

Booklist
Author Andrew Hunter Murray
Narrator Andrew Hunter Murray
Duration 10 hours and 3 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9798200977604
Format Audiobook
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Genre Fiction: general and literary, Occult fiction, Psychological thriller, Thriller / suspense fiction
Availability US

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