The only way I can describe it is that I was pulled into this book by some magnetic force. When we meet Tom we know that he is an older man with a challenging health diagnosis, who lives alone and has some regrets. By the time we learn that his pen pal through a scheme for such things arranges to meet up with him in a desolate place, where the remnants of summers past linger on the promenade and in the furnishings of the meeting place, we are too far gone to resist. This book is full of all that we take as menacing and yet is philosophical in its constitution too. And Saltwash is a chilling place that we’ve all been to or driven through – the ghost of what used to be a destination spa town, evidence of its glory days peeling off the buildings and lamp posts giving us the feeling that some kind of apocalypse happened there. This, my friend, is probably what scares us all the most, that we become like Saltwash.

When Tom, an elderly bachelor full of regret and cancer meets Oliver, the leftover cancerous rags of a theatrical flamboyant, he thinks he has found a cancer buddy. But Oliver has been deliberately vague in his character, and when he invites Tom to dinner at the Castle in Saltwash, he turns out to be not quite what Tom was expecting.

Guilt, regret, shame, remorse, sadness. What a heady combination of reasons for a group to gather, and yet, there they are. Welcome to the Castle Hotel.

I highly recommend Saltwash by Andrew Michael Hurley.

I have previously read and enjoyed a couple of novels by Andrew Michael Hurley, so I jumped at the chance of reading his new work.

Saltwash tells the story of Tom, a 70 something man who finds himself at an unusal gathering, due to the hand that life has dealt him. The story raises interesting philosophical arguments about right and wrong, fate vs free will, and matter of life and death themselves.

I greatly enjoyed this book, I loved the pacing, and how real Tom felt.

Some readers may find some of the topics in the book upsetting, so be aware of this when picking up the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever found themselves pondering over life on a wet and gloomy Tuesday afternoon, and to anyone who just wants to sit down with a good book.

A thrillingly discomfiting read, where the things not described are more powerfully unsettling than if they were explicitly shown to the reader. Explores the themes of sin and death in the limbo-like confines of a seedy seaside hotel, in an area whose better days are many decades behind.

Tom, an old chap is in palliative care for a brain tumour, and is encouraged to write to a pen pal with a similar prognosis. His contact Oliver and he get on well and Oliver suggests they meet for dinner in the faded coastal resort of Saltwash. The tatty hotel fills up with a large party who all seem to know each other, many quite dysfunctional, and are looking forward, eagerly, to their dinner and the prize draw that will take place afterwards. No one will tell Tom what the prize is. This has an elegiac feel, and considers what we can value and expect towards the end of life. Its beautifully written, very different, and a very good read.

Like all Hurley’s novels ‘Saltwash’ is dark and moody just like the town of the title. Hurley manages to elicit a feeling of disquiet with his descriptions of the weather, the landscape and the people who populate it. Another excellent book.

Terminally ill Tom Shift travels to the Castle Hotel in the decaying seaside town of Saltwash to meet his pen pal Oliver Keele. There he finds not just Oliver, but a group of elderly regulars who return every year to take part in a mysterious prize draw. Throughout the novel, the prize is only hinted at and never revealed to Tom.

The atmosphere is well drawn with the setting of the crumbling town mirroring its ageing visitors, and there is a sense of unease in Hurley’s writing. However, the story never quite delivered the menace I expected. Tom is passive, more focused on the regrets of his past than questioning what is happening or even trying to stop it, which meant there was never any sense of threat. While reading, I found myself thinking of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery which clearly inspired this.

Although I enjoyed Saltwash, I found it lacked the folk horror element of Hurley’s Starve Acre, which I loved. Ultimately, this was well written but too subdued and lacking tension to be truly haunting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

As a long-time admirer of Andrew Michael Hurley’s haunting, folkloric storytelling in The Loney and Starve Acre, I came to Saltwash with high hopes. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite deliver the eerie, atmospheric magic I was searching for.
The pacing felt sluggish, with long stretches that lacked the tension or unease that Hurley usually builds so masterfully. While the writing remains evocative in places, the story never quite found its rhythm, and I struggled to stay engaged.
The big twist—clearly meant to be a turning point—didn’t land with the impact I expected. It felt more like a narrative detour than a revelation, and rather than deepening the story, it left me feeling a bit disconnected from it.
Most disappointing, though, was the absence of that rich, folkloric texture that defines Hurley’s best work. Saltwash felt more like a conventional psychological drama than the myth-tinged, uncanny tales I’ve come to love from him.
There are glimmers of what makes Hurley great, but for me, Saltwash drifted too far from the shore, pardon the pun.

Andrew Michael Hurley's Saltwash is a superbly written and unnerving novel that delves into the serious issues of regret, forgiveness, and atonement. The novel is set in an abandoned, shabby beach town and follows the story of Tom Shift, a dying man who wants some kind of absolution before his death. Tom's acquaintance with mysterious Oliver Keele, established through a series of letters, leads him to the remote Castle Hotel, a location that has secrets and its own faded glory.

The book is more a psychological enigma than a linear story and is imbued with an undercurrent of unease that pervades its pages. The coming of other visitors, all bearing their own profound remorse and competing for an opportunity at "deliverance," lends a touch of unsettling suspense. The author's writing is bleak and lovely, ideally conveying the rotting loveliness of the location and the inner conflict of his figures. Saltwash is a serious, contemplative book that will be enjoyed by readers of literary fiction and those who like a story that stays with them long after the last page is turned.

Saltwash is yet another beautiful folk story from Andrew Michael Hurley, it starts with a devastating story about a man with a tumour and expands from there covering a ton of penpal stories as the man decides to reach out to others in his situation and invites a penpal to a seaside town for a game which soon becomes sinister.
It was a slow-burn, as the dread was building throughout the novel.
I wanted to love this more than I did. I think I just preferred Hurley's other story Starve Arce more than this. But it's still a great read especially if you enjoy slow burn folk stories.

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray press for the wonderful opportunity to read this book for an honest review for free .

Firstly I feel almost saddened reading this book about an elderly man clearly still with his whits about him has suddenly been cursed with a tumour in his brain.

He’s not completely likeable but most of Andrew Micheal Hurly Characters are straight out of Dickens or Shirley Jackson removed from being decent but altogether off kilter

Tom shift has been invited to the castle 🏰 to meet his penpal Oliver Keele. Sadly both of them are terminal as are all the people heading to this get together.

He’s oddly placed on a bus with a red badge amongst others, he’s unsure why then he meets som interesting characters Petula being my very favourite older Femme Fatale lush lusty and very snidey.

She’s sworn to secrecy about this prize and what the draw is .

My mind races thinking oh god is this a sacrifice, a lottery picking stones for the harvest or a giant man made of wicker.

Nope it’s a harrowing tale of people with horrible pasts some wishing to be redeemed, seeking forgiveness, wanting to wash away the sins of devious acts.

Petula says ask him about the widows to Tom about Barnaby Collins which I thought was nice tip of the hat to dark shadows a favourite of mine.

The draw is a raffle everyone gets a ticket , our other male protagonist is Oliver he’s so at peace , everyone adores him he’s got tattoos of his siblings names on his knuckles , they don’t speak to him it’s tragic.

When Oliver’s name is drawn the number 11 he asks Tom to come with him.

Firstly he gets to say his goodbyes as people say good luck no see you soon or I’ll catch you later .
Just it was wonderful seeing you couldn’t have been given to a better person.

He has his Photograph taken to be hung by the other winners from several years ago.

He’s then lead into a small room where large wingbacked chair has been sat. He’s joined by Tom Oliver has been chosen to be put out his misery. Euthanasia is now big topic . Who should get it who is worthy of mind body and soul. Will there be complications, empathy, or even misuse of this law or rule.

The draw is an easy way out for the lucky winner no more pain no more suffering or guilt. Just peace.
Oliver leaves us with this quote “‘Man comes wailing into life, let him depart in peace”

Andrew Micheal Hurleys use of language is undoubtedly brilliant macabre and almost certainly deeply disturbing but funny non the less.

Examples

We parted company

The smell of gravy and indignity

Pleat of brain

For loveliness to increase was rare

What they did not what they said

Bulbous tuber.


I adore Hurlys books this might have been the honey swapped with salt , I’ll never want eel soup no thank you .

Known for his folk horror, I went into Saltwash with no real idea how this story would work out, which is exactly how you should go into reading it. Focused primarily on Tom who has terminal brain cancer and has enrolled onto a pen pal program to speak to other people with the same type of cancer. There he speaks to a man called Oliver and it’s shown that both men are quite isolated in their old age, Oliver is estranged from his family and Tom appears to have no family, only an ex wife he’s confided in about his diagnosis thus spurring him on to speak to others in the same medical position as him. The two decide to meet, with Oliver suggesting they go for a meal at a seaside town castle out of season for a meal. People there appear to be waiting to see which lucky person will win the draw for a mysterious lottery.

As the novel develops and the intrigue keeps building, it’s uncertain what strange prize is to be offered but ultimately this novel speaks eloquently about what it means to have a fulfilling life, and arguably what kind of fate, or luxury it is to have a good death. A fantastic novel that makes you reflect on life, illness, and dignity.

Tom and Oliver become pen-pals via their treatment for terminal cancer, and arrange to meet at a dismal out of season hotel in a forgotten seaside town. What Oliver didn't mention was that he was inviting Tom to take part in a mysterious prize draw for a questionable prize. Tom arrives at the hotel early and there is no sign of Oliver, as Tom slowly discovers the horrific purpose of the evening.

As ever Hurley builds a sinister and disturbing atmosphere from the start, and Tom's reflections and regrets on his life and his desire to do some good in his remaining time are intercut with the events of the evening and the desires of the other dinner guests. It's slow build and a sense of foreboding builds up very nicely as you wait for the worst to happen. I was holding my breath much of the way through, and so was a little disappointed with the anti-climax at the end.

Well worth reading for the skill and craft of the writing, but left me unsatisfied as I had expected more before the end.

Decent suspense and quite shifty. The writing does keep you interested for the most part. Especially the descriptiveness of the story whereabouts. I was a bit disappointed in the big twist though.

It should be better if it supported Kobo. If you enjoy literary fiction; then this one is definitely for you!
This is an ARC review. I appreciate receiving this copy from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

Tom, a dying man – in the sense that he's got months left, not just in the way we all are – goes to meet pen-friend Oliver in a decaying off-season seaside resort, but when he makes it through the dismal weather, he finds it wasn't the tete-a-tete he'd been expecting; he's been roped into some unsettling annual beano, where a cast of grotesques assemble each year for a raffle whose significance is withheld from him, but – to the reader at least – is obviously something permanent. This is very obviously Aickman territory, and if you were being uncharitable you could suggest that all Hurley has done is padded it out to novel length with wodges of backstory because those are much easier than Aickman's pregnant insinuations. Not to mention, Aickman would definitely not have shown the prize of that fateful draw, which Saltwash very much does, and it would be a spoiler to even hint at exactly why I found the details so anticlimactic. But for all that, I was much more grabbed by this than my last Hurley read, when I doubled back to drag myself through The Loney and came close to thinking I might be done with him altogether. I think it's in how well he uses a still comparatively modest amount of space to draw out the ever-mounting pains, indignities and regrets of getting old, the bright, receding moments of the past; in particular, the scene where the decrepit, haunted guests watch a montage of home movies from the summers of their youth should have been a terrible cliché, but was written well enough to be as poignant as it needed to be. Also, of course, this is a novel set in a Northern November, so all that rain and cold was a lovely escape from real life and the Sun making yet another attempt to see me off before I need to worry much more about advancing years.

(Netgalley ARC)

The story starts in familiar Andrew Michael Hurley territory with evocative description of his Lancashire setting, in this case the sights, sounds, smells and weather of a seaside town in November. Having once spent an out-of-season weekend in Morecambe, I can attest to the writing's authenticity; the rain was biblical and lasted the full 48 hours of my visit.
The book moves into the rhythm of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day as protagonist Tom travels to the town in wistful contemplation of his life.
Once Tom gets to the hotel and he meets other guests, whom the author describes in all their flawed and eccentric detail, I was reminded of Elizabeth Taylor's Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont.
Tom's time at the hotel unfolds with undercurrents of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and nods to Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Kafka's The Trial.
Like Andrew Michael Hurley's previous novels, which I've read and enjoyed, this is billed as folk horror. However, despite the tilts in that direction, I felt this was more of a fluently written literary novel about regret, atonement and mortality.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Upon publication, I will post my review on my blog and GoodReads.

Ugh, this was slow - I'm so disappointed! And it wasn't atmospheric, tension-building slow, but *boring* slow. I've loved all previous books by Andrew Michael Hurley (minus Barrowbeck which was a bit meh), but Saltwash was a slog. Couldn't it be a novella instead? Probably. The characters were not interesting in the slightest, the 'mystery' was easy to guess early on and the entire thing lacked the usual atmosphere, tension and creepiness that I have found in Hurley's previous novels. What happened with this book?! The story was clearly inspired by Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', but it was poorly executed. I really hope whatever Andrew Michael Hurley writes next comes back to his uncanny, folky and spooky roots similar to his first three novels.

I am so disappointed! I’ve enjoyed Hurleys books, I have them on my bookcase but unfortunately Saltwash won’t be joining them.
Although this is a character driven story I became very bored by it. It’s halfway through before one of the central characters appears. I guessed what was coming in this ‘lottery’ and felt disappointed that the book didn’t have more to offer.
Sadly not for me.

Andrew Michael Hurley is a superb writer, his prose is razor sharp, his descriptions of place and character second to none. Although the themes of his latest book are challenging (end of life, old age etc) this was a page turning novel. The character of Tom, elderly and terminally ill, was expertly drawn, and the setting of the hotel where he encounters his 'pen-pal' Oliver (and others) for a strangely elusive, unnervingly mysterious 'social meet-up' was believable and yet sinister. I found myself turning the pages late into the night, wanting to find out what was going to happen. Hurley is a master of the dark, and 'Saltwash' is one of his finest books.

This was a different read than what I was expecting, based on previous books I have read by this author. Unfortunately, I wasn't that keen. However, the characters were brilliant event so realistic, almost alive. Most were quite unpleasant though. I did guess the purpose q the Castle so it didn't feel like q twist or a surprise. Perhaps that was never the intention. There was nothing supernatural about this story, which I have loved in previous books I have read by this author but it was incredibly well written but not really my cup of tea. I gave 4 star as it is so well written and the characters are brilliantly crafted.