Hunt’s novel is an ode to the fictional northern island of Skara Skaill. Innes, a demolition worker on the mainland, returns to his wild island home, after receiving a belated letter confirming his father’s death. Innes once held sway on the island, but now there are mobsters and small-time crooks with nothing friendly in mind. He crosses paths with Rory and Tito, two self-reliant teen brothers living alone in an abandoned house, which the county has reclaimed. The boys’ precarious life is well drawn; they listen to staticky radio in an upper floor darkened room; they climb out of windows because the door’s boarded shut; they cash in on small finds of metal to eke out a subsistence level existence.
A tiny, valuable Byzantium coin finds its way to Alistair Clements, the antiquities chair at the Ashenrose Museum on the mainland. Excited by its possible provenance he grabs his assistant and makes his way to Skara Skaill, to find the source of the coin. This forms the mystery on which the novel is based.
Hunt’s story positively oozes quirky characters in wild rugged landscapes. The superstitious inhabitants still pay deference to the ‘Little People’ and fear the resentful, dangerous tides during FhØghar season. A strong theme is the interdependence of man and nature in an untamed environment. Part mystery/thriller, part treasure hunt, part meditation on island living, Faulkner Hunt has conjured a page-turner which is appealing because of its unforgettable cast. Recommended.