Pine's Francine Toon for Bluff
Monday 3rd November
Pilrig St. Paul's / LARCH, Leith Walk, Edinburgh EH6 5AH
6.30pm
7pm
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.
Francine Toon's debut novel Pine was a Sunday Times bestseller and number one Times bestseller. It won the 2020 McIlvanney Prize, was shortlisted for Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and longlisted for the Highland Book Prize and the Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award.
Her poetry, written as Francine Elena, has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Best British Poetry 2013 and 2015 anthologies and Poetry London, among other places. Her short story 'Ghost Kitchen' was published in the anthology Of The Flesh.
We are delighted to welcome Francine back for her highly anticipated new novel, Bluff.
Set amongst the ancient cobblestone of a Scottish coastal town steeped in history, Francine masterfully blends the tension of a mystery with the chill of a modern gothic.
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?
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.
"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
"Both spooky and tender; drenched in a sense of place and yet eerily timeless." ~ Mick Herron on PINE