The Haunting of Hero's Bay - Amanda Block

The sea doesn''t forget. It knows all of this has happened before.And will happen again...1840As a vast ship loses its way in the night-time mist, shattering against the cliffs of Crescombe, North Devon, a daring young artist dives into the murky sea. But it''s not for heroism he is risking all: something - or someone - is drawing him into those dark, perilous waters . . .By dawn, only his legacy will survive.NowWhen Finley arrives in Crescombe for the summer, he suspects he''s not alone in his attic bedroom. Before long, he is uncovering secrets the remote seaside town has kept for almost two centuries: about ghosts and curses, about a ruthless old smuggling family, and about the young women whose bodies have washed up along the town''s rocky shoreline, just below his porthole window.Yet the more Finley learns, the further he''s bonded to those who have gone before him - and the closer he comes to meeting the same watery end . . .But this is not just a story about death. It''s about love. It''s about fate. And how, ultimately, the past can pull you under . . .Praise for The Lost Storyteller''A powerful novel about . . . how stories connect us all'' Jenny Colgan''A warm, immersive read that weaves folklore through a story of self-discovery'' Kate Sawyer''A moving story and vivid characters. But it also has that special indefinable something. One of my books of the year'' Tracy Rees