Sunstruck: Shortlisted for The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2025
May 2025 · Random House
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***SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2025***
AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST 2025
WINNER OF THE #MERKY BOOKS 2022 NEW WRITERS' PRIZE
'This summer's hottest read'
SUNDAY TIMES
'Beguiling . . . elegant and surprising'
OBSERVER
'You won't want to put it down'
BRITISH VOGUE
'Sticky, twisting and dangerous'
REBECCA K REILLY
It’s summer and a young man walks through the gates of a luxurious mansion in the South of France. At the dinner table, the Blake siblings await him: Lily, his carefree friend from university; Dot, the rebellious younger sister; and Felix – handsome, charismatic and guarded.
Between sun-drenched days spent lounging by the pool and nights blurring into endless, opulent parties, the man is captivated by Felix’s restless allure. As his desire grows, the chance to become part of the family and their world of money and power starts to feel within reach.
But the idyllic haze of summer fades as they return to London and the cracks in the Blakes' careful façade begin to show. With the two men tormented by demons of their own, their bond is increasingly tested and pulled apart at the seams. Their secrets and the choices they make will change not only their lives, but the future of those around them.
Sunstruck is a dazzling and poignant exploration of race, status and the parts of ourselves we risk losing when we fall in love.
'Beautifully written and well-paced . . . builds tension as it approaches an exciting revelation'
JACQUELINE CROOKS
'There’s plenty of plot; the novel’s brisk pacing, together with its shrewd blend of emotional sincerity, brooding intrigue and political overtones, make for a lively beach read'
GUARDIAN
'Very hard to put down . . . A truly gripping story about privilege and perspective from a writer with a sharp pen and a wicked sense of humour whose incredible career is only just beginning'
ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS
'Smart, bracing, sexy . . . I was completely gripped'
JACK PARLETT
‘A stunning and tender debut. Sultry and compulsive. Full of heart’
SOULA EMMANUEL
'Poignant, tender, and wonderfully honest'
CHLOE MICHELLE HOWARTH
AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST 2025
WINNER OF THE #MERKY BOOKS 2022 NEW WRITERS' PRIZE
'This summer's hottest read'
SUNDAY TIMES
'Beguiling . . . elegant and surprising'
OBSERVER
'You won't want to put it down'
BRITISH VOGUE
'Sticky, twisting and dangerous'
REBECCA K REILLY
It’s summer and a young man walks through the gates of a luxurious mansion in the South of France. At the dinner table, the Blake siblings await him: Lily, his carefree friend from university; Dot, the rebellious younger sister; and Felix – handsome, charismatic and guarded.
Between sun-drenched days spent lounging by the pool and nights blurring into endless, opulent parties, the man is captivated by Felix’s restless allure. As his desire grows, the chance to become part of the family and their world of money and power starts to feel within reach.
But the idyllic haze of summer fades as they return to London and the cracks in the Blakes' careful façade begin to show. With the two men tormented by demons of their own, their bond is increasingly tested and pulled apart at the seams. Their secrets and the choices they make will change not only their lives, but the future of those around them.
Sunstruck is a dazzling and poignant exploration of race, status and the parts of ourselves we risk losing when we fall in love.
'Beautifully written and well-paced . . . builds tension as it approaches an exciting revelation'
JACQUELINE CROOKS
'There’s plenty of plot; the novel’s brisk pacing, together with its shrewd blend of emotional sincerity, brooding intrigue and political overtones, make for a lively beach read'
GUARDIAN
'Very hard to put down . . . A truly gripping story about privilege and perspective from a writer with a sharp pen and a wicked sense of humour whose incredible career is only just beginning'
ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS
'Smart, bracing, sexy . . . I was completely gripped'
JACK PARLETT
‘A stunning and tender debut. Sultry and compulsive. Full of heart’
SOULA EMMANUEL
'Poignant, tender, and wonderfully honest'
CHLOE MICHELLE HOWARTH
About the author
William Rayfet Hunter is a British-Jamaican writer from the North West of England. They now live and work in East London. Their non-fiction writing has been published by VICE, Dazed, and the Evening Standard. Sunstruck, their debut novel, won the #Merky Books New Writers' Prize 2022.
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