It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
UV

UV

Summary

Winner of the Prix Roman France Télévisions

On a hot and lazy sun-drenched afternoon, when one affluent family are at their most docile, most vulnerable, most ripe for the picking, a handsome stranger unexpectedly turns up, and lingers poolside. A master of the art of deception, Boris introduces himself as an old school friend of Philip, the feckless brother. No matter that Philip has been unreachable for days and yet to arrive for the summer holiday, Boris is welcomed with open arms.

As the island's spectacular Bastille Day fireworks celebration looks ever nearer, and Philip's arrival feels increasingly imminent, Boris is embraced wholeheartedly into the family fold. No one seems to notice as he carefully exerts a powerful and sinister influence over them all...

Reviews

  • A Hitchcockian nightmare ... precise, funny and super subtle
    Le Nouvel Observateur

About the author

Serge Joncour

Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more