SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood

Thomas Flett is a weary “shanker” who goes out twice a day at the Irish Sea’s low tide with a cart and horse to harvest shrimp.  He’s a twenty-year-old bookworm who had to drop out of school at fifteen to help support his unwed mother.  His is a hard life, but he yearns to become a musician and hides his guitar in the horse’s shed.  The slow pace of this book accelerates to hyperspeed when American movie director Edgar Acheson shows up with a lucrative offer for Thomas.  Edgar wants to film a movie on the beach that Thomas knows extremely well, and Thomas will serve as Edgar’s shore guide, making sure that they avoid deadly sinkholes.  The ominous cold, rainy, and foggy atmosphere provides a strong sense of foreboding and portends of catastrophes to come.  Not only is this a quick read after the dread sets in, but the action all takes place over the course of roughly 24 hours.  Another plus is that there are only about half a dozen characters to keep track of.  The feeling of impending doom propels this novel forward, as does Thomas’s longing for a different life that he seems destined never to experience.