Sunstruck

De: William Rayfet Hunter

Narrado por: William Rayfet Hunter

Brought to you by Penguin.

WINNER OF THE #MERKY BOOKS 2022 NEW WRITER'S PRIZE

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 Blakes are waiting for him: Annie, the family matriarch and world-famous singer, her inscrutable husband David and their children, Dot, aloof and rebellious, Lily, the man’s carefree university friend, and their enigmatic older brother Felix.

Between sun-drenched days spent lounging by the pool and nights blurring into endless, opulent parties far from the reality of life in London, a restless attraction grows between Felix and the man. The possibility to be part of a family – and an entire world – in which he doesn’t belong is suddenly within reach.

But the idyllic haze of the summer slowly fades as they return to the city. While the man struggles with his troubled past and the challenges of navigating Felix’s world as a black, working-class person, Felix is tormented by demons of his own. As their lives spiral out of control, the couple’s bond will not only be tested but pulled apart at the seams, altering the course of their lives and 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.

©2025 William Rayfet Hunter (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

Sticky, twisting and dangerous: Sunstruck compels, unravelling the fraught strings that keep the elite class together and asking if an outsider can ever truly belong in their fold (Rebecca K Reilly)

Hunter's debut skilfully follows the journey of an aspiring Black musician drawn into a world of privilege and excess. Beautifully written and well-paced . . . builds tension as it approaches an exciting revelation (Jacqueline Crooks)

A stunning and tender debut. Sultry and compulsive. Full of heart (Soula Emmanuel)

Poignant, tender, and wonderfully honest (Chloe Michelle Howarth)

Sunstruck is a book that is very hard to put down, full of lovable and equally hatable characters whose lives - much like the protagonists - are both displayed and withheld from the reader, perfectly mimicking the realities of how we relate to those around us, even those we believe are closest to us. A truly gripping story about power, 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)

A smart, bracing, sexy novel about privilege and desire, full of indelible images and beautiful writing. Rayfet Hunter evokes the dream-like allure of power and the nightmare it soon becomes. I was completely gripped (Jack Parlett, author of Fire Island)

Gorgeous and heartbreaking. I loved it (Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed)

A masterful debut, full of elegance, suspense, and wit. Sunstruck is a razor-sharp dissection of race, class and love (Owen Jones)