From the acclaimed author of Ghost Wall, Summerwater is a devastating story told over twenty-four hours in the Scottish highlands, and a searing exploration of our capacity for both kinship and cruelty in these divided times.

The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller, longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.

From the acclaimed author of Ghost Wall, Sarah Moss' Summerwater is a devastating story told over twenty-four hours in the Scottish highlands . . .

'Superb' - The Times
'Sharp, searching . . . utterly of the moment' - Hilary Mantel
'So accomplished' - Guardian

It is the summer solstice, but in a faded Scottish cabin park the rain is unrelenting. Twelve people on holiday with their families look on as the skies remain resolutely grey. A woman goes running up the Ben as if fleeing; a teenage boy chances the dark waters of the loch in his kayak; a retired couple head out despite the downpour, driving too fast on the familiar bends.

But there are newcomers too, and one particular family, a mother and daughter with the wrong clothes and the wrong manners, start to draw the attention of the others. Who are they? Where are they from? Should they be here at all? As darkness finally falls, something is unravelling . . .

'A masterpiece' - Jessie Burton
'One of her best' - Irish Times
'Beautifully written, intense, powerful' - David Nicholls

"Moss is a writer who can say more than most others in half the space. Her latest, a haunting story of alienation set on a Scottish campsite, is the summer’s most interesting read" - Independent

"Suffused with fascination . . . this latest display of Moss’s imaginative versatility shine[s] with intelligence" - The Times

"For more than a decade, Sarah Moss has been crafting quiet, complex novels that make an indelible impression on the reader. This is one of her best, and most accessible, and should bring her work to a wider audience." - Irish Times

"Moss has quietly, and it must be said remarkably quickly, been putting out some of the most interesting and carefully sculpted novels of recent years." - Financial Times

"One of our very best contemporary novelists." - Independent

"Moss’s star is firmly in the ascendant" - Guardian

"One of the finest contemporary writers working in Britain today" - Stylist

"A brilliant, confounding writer" - New Yorker

"A brilliant story of dysfunctional families" - The Times