Cape May

'BRILLIANTLY UNSETTLING' Paula Hawkins

'SO, SO GOOD' Stylist (The Top 10 Books of 2019)

'DEVASTATING... A HEADY COCKTAIL' Mail on Sunday

'The beaches were empty, the stores were closed and after sunset all the houses on New Hampshire Avenue stood dark'

September 1957.

Newlyweds Henry and Effie arrive in Cape May, New Jersey, for their honeymoon.

Young, naive and already disappointed by the unexpected dullness of married life, they soon fall prey to a decadent and glamorous set - beautiful socialite Clara, wealthy playboy Max and his mysterious half-sister Alma.

As the torrid summer comes to an end and the empty beach town becomes their playground - sneaking into abandoned summer homes, sailing, making love and drinking a great deal of gin - Henry and Effie slip from innocence into betrayal, with devastating consequences that reverberate through the rest of their lives.

“What a treat. Glamorous and nostalgic and very sexy , Cape May is a novel about marriage, lust, shabby seaside towns and lots of gin. Brilliantly unsettling - one of those books that stays with you.”

Glamorous and nostalgic and very sexy - one of those books that stays with you. - Paula Hawkins

Shades of F Scott Fitzgerald, Revolutionary Road and even Mad Men. - Stylist

An atmospheric tale of sexual longing and loss in 1950s America that nods to classics like The Great Gatsby and Revolutionary Road - Independent (30 Best New Books for 2019)

Gorgeous, seductive storytelling and martini-dry prose. I loved it.

The atmosphere of this torrid Fifties psychodrama lingers long after the final page... Cheek's deft way with characters and consequence makes for a heady cocktail. - Mail on Sunday (Best New Fiction)

Superb prose, acute psychological insights, and a riveting narrative... Impossible to put down. - Lit Hub

Eminently readable... Cheek's novel has an atmospheric nostalgia similar to the debuts of Jess Walter and Lisa Klaussmann. - Irish Times

CHIP CHEEK's stories have appeared in the Southern Review, Harvard Review and Washington Square, among others. He's been awarded scholarships to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Tin House Summer Writers' Workshop, and the Vermont Studio Center. CAPE MAY is his debut novel.

'BRILLIANTLY UNSETTLING' Paula Hawkins' SO, SO GOOD ' Stylist (The Top 10 Books of 2019) 'DEVASTATING... A HEADY COCKTAIL' Mail on Sunday 'The beaches were empty, the stores were closed and after sunset all the houses on New Hampshire Avenue stood dark' September 1957. Newlyweds Henry and Effie arrive in Cape May, New Jersey, for their honeymoon. Young, naive and already disappointed by the unexpected dullness of married life, they soon fall prey to a decadent and glamorous set - beautiful socialite Clara, wealthy playboy Max and his mysterious half-sister Alma.As the torrid summer comes to an end and the empty beach town becomes their playground - sneaking into abandoned summer homes, sailing, making love and drinking a great deal of gin - Henry and Effie slip from innocence into betrayal, with devastating consequences that reverberate through the rest of their lives.

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