Cold skin

Eddie wants nothing more than to leave school and work underground in the mines, but his father refuses to let him or his brother near the coal pits. In Burruga, a quiet town where the only real excitement is brawling at the pub, a girl's body turns up beside the river one Friday night. Suspicion falls on every man in town, and Eddie finds himself pulled into hidden secrets and a bitter pursuit of revenge.

Steven Herrick brings a range of vivid characters to this dark story about malice, power and the struggle to forgive. The novel explores first love, sexual awakening, cowardice and what it means to be a man, with a particular focus on the relationships between fathers and sons. It is written for teenage readers.

Steven Herrick is also the author of By the River.