Does It Hurt?

How it reads

Does It Hurt? is horror (dark romantic horror, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in the wilderness or at sea, in the present day, told in the first person by several narrators. Its central concerns are survival, secrets and love. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is dark — no rescue, no neat bow. At 432 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.