Skip to Main Content

About The Book

NOW A MAJOR BBC TV SERIES STARRING COLIN FARRELL, JACK O'CONNELL AND STEPHEN GRAHAM

A ship sets sail with a killer on board . . .

1859. A man joins a whaling ship bound for the Arctic Circle. Having left the British Army with his reputation in tatters, Patrick Sumner has little option but to accept the position of ship's surgeon on this ill-fated voyage. But when, deep into the journey, a cabin boy is discovered brutally killed, Sumner finds himself forced to act. Soon he will face an evil even greater than he had encountered at the siege of Delhi, in the shape of Henry Drax: harpooner, murderer, monster . . .

'A tour de force' Hilary Mantel

'Riveting and darkly brilliant' Colm Tóibín

'One of my favourite books ever' Richard Osman

About The Author

Ian McGuire grew up near Hull and studied at the University of Manchester and the University of Virginia, USA. In 2007 he co-founded the University of Manchester's Centre for New Writing. He is the author of Incredible Bodies and the 2016 Man Booker-longlisted novel, The North Water, for which he won the Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award. The Abstainer is his third novel. 

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner UK (January 26, 2017)
  • Length: 352 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471151262

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

'A stunning novel that snares the reader from the outset and keeps the tightest grip until its bitter end'

– Financial Times

'A novel that takes us to the limits of flesh and blood. Utterly convincing and compelling, remorselessly vivid and insidiously witty.'

– Martin Amis

'Horrifically gripping'

– Independent on Sunday

'Full of twists, turns, period detail and strong characters'

– The Times

'The North Water has exceptional power and energy'

– Sunday Times

'Terrific – seamed with pitch-black humour and possessed of a momentum that's kept up to the final scene'

– Daily Mail

'A superbly compelling suspense narrative'

– Irish Times

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Ian McGuire