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Adrift
‘To be all at sea. To feel adrift. To drift apart. We managed all those things in landlocked Manchester. What did we have to lose by exchanging terra firma for the ocean?’
When Leighton and Serena flee Covid-ravaged ‘broken’ Britain on the CS Sea Witch they are also trying to escape their past, but it soon catches up with them in the form of a murderous US businessman and the teenage schoolfriend who tried to kill him.
Like his previous novel, Hong Kong Rocks (Proverse, 2019), Peter Humphreys’ Adrift is told from multiple viewpoints and features strong female leads, satirical elements, a page-turning plot and pitch-black humour.
Praise for Adrift:
‘Brilliant premise. Ticks the boxes of a classic thriller.’ Cheshire Novel Prize Team.
Praise for Hong Kong Rocks:
‘Funny and twisted, in Humphreys’ spirited novel a garrulous band of expats are caught in the shifting societal landscape of Hong Kong.’ Maria Roberts, author of Single Mother on the Verge (Penguin)
‘I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much – compelling and very, very funny – I laughed out loud throughout. The mystery at the centre of this novel keeps its pace right to the end, and the ensemble of main characters are so convincing, you feel like you know them.’ Stuart Walker, author of Design for Resilience (MIT Press)
When Leighton and Serena flee Covid-ravaged ‘broken’ Britain on the CS Sea Witch they are also trying to escape their past, but it soon catches up with them in the form of a murderous US businessman and the teenage schoolfriend who tried to kill him.
Like his previous novel, Hong Kong Rocks (Proverse, 2019), Peter Humphreys’ Adrift is told from multiple viewpoints and features strong female leads, satirical elements, a page-turning plot and pitch-black humour.
Praise for Adrift:
‘Brilliant premise. Ticks the boxes of a classic thriller.’ Cheshire Novel Prize Team.
Praise for Hong Kong Rocks:
‘Funny and twisted, in Humphreys’ spirited novel a garrulous band of expats are caught in the shifting societal landscape of Hong Kong.’ Maria Roberts, author of Single Mother on the Verge (Penguin)
‘I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much – compelling and very, very funny – I laughed out loud throughout. The mystery at the centre of this novel keeps its pace right to the end, and the ensemble of main characters are so convincing, you feel like you know them.’ Stuart Walker, author of Design for Resilience (MIT Press)
341 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2025
About the author
Peter Humphreys
5 books8 followersWriter of speculative fiction and poetry; editor and podcaster based in Lancaster, UK.
New novel Adrift (2025) sees couple Leighton Tiding and Serena Brinks torn between Covid-ravaged 'broken' Britain and a new life in South America before their lives are upended by an old schoolfriend and the US businessman he tried to kill. Released on Pine Goat, 13 March '25.
Buenos Aires-set 'Justice' longlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2021.
Satirical thriller Hong Kong Rocks (Proverse, 2019), shortlisted for the Proverse Prize and released as an audiobook in 2023.
First novel The Blaggard (2004) won the Dawson Jackson Prize. Other novels include Oblivious (2016) and In English (Please!) (2006).
Regular reader at poetry events in northwest England. 'Anti-Algorithm Technique' appeared in Wordarium Journal (2024). More poems in Lancaster Textures (2025).
Co-editor of fiction anthologies Another Hong Kong (2014) and Hong Kong Future Perfect (2016). Short fiction has been published by Comma Press, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal and Far Enough East.
Humorous podcast First Impressions combines conversation with music and beats. Letter-writing podcast Monkey Scribbling with Richard Pye reflected on student days in the 1990s. New for 2024: Pet Projects - interviews with creative types about their beloved animals and latest project.
New novel Adrift (2025) sees couple Leighton Tiding and Serena Brinks torn between Covid-ravaged 'broken' Britain and a new life in South America before their lives are upended by an old schoolfriend and the US businessman he tried to kill. Released on Pine Goat, 13 March '25.
Buenos Aires-set 'Justice' longlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2021.
Satirical thriller Hong Kong Rocks (Proverse, 2019), shortlisted for the Proverse Prize and released as an audiobook in 2023.
First novel The Blaggard (2004) won the Dawson Jackson Prize. Other novels include Oblivious (2016) and In English (Please!) (2006).
Regular reader at poetry events in northwest England. 'Anti-Algorithm Technique' appeared in Wordarium Journal (2024). More poems in Lancaster Textures (2025).
Co-editor of fiction anthologies Another Hong Kong (2014) and Hong Kong Future Perfect (2016). Short fiction has been published by Comma Press, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal and Far Enough East.
Humorous podcast First Impressions combines conversation with music and beats. Letter-writing podcast Monkey Scribbling with Richard Pye reflected on student days in the 1990s. New for 2024: Pet Projects - interviews with creative types about their beloved animals and latest project.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 3, 2025
Twisted, funny. It took me a couple of chapters to engage but once in, I was glad I pushed through. I laughed out loud several times. The story line was easy to follow, and because Leighton and Serena are on a cruise ship, leaving behind COVID, there aren’t too many characters to overwhelm the story line. The characters, I still remember; the past reflections don’t get lost or confused with the present time line. I liked it.
Disclaimer - I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
Disclaimer - I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
June 8, 2026
Really fun read. Fully of whimsey and humour. Also, having lived in the northwest of England for a couple years, this book captures a certain "feel" of the region which is lovely.
March 10, 2025
Worldwide epic thriller blended with political satire
Balances adventure with the mundane.
What’s interesting about Humphrey’s work is that it stars ordinary people, with common or garden flaws, being flung into exceptional circumstances and conspiracies… so the tone veers wildly between suburban character drama and very intricately plotted political intrigue. The story of this book spans about 40 years and is told in a non-linear order, and that helps to create the feeling of being “Adrift”, both geographically and within the narrative, wondering how it will all tie together or get home, and then wondering if it even will? Without going into specifics, there’s a bubbling anger and righteousness towards injustice, corruption and inequality (and a lot more), has a very grand scope to it where it encompasses several genres and feels as if it commits to them all, just enough, without pigeonholing itself into any. It’s weird as it’s both plot heavy but also features a lot of mood, and reflecting on life, the choices that take us where we are, and the mistakes we’ve made and the people we disappoint. Peppered with scenes which keep it real and grounded: such as the main character Leighton getting bullied at a bus stop by his old English Teacher for not going to a good university, and also at least two harrowing death (or dying) scenes of friends and family. And somehow, despite it feeling brilliantly disparate, it does all cascade together at the end.
Balances adventure with the mundane.
What’s interesting about Humphrey’s work is that it stars ordinary people, with common or garden flaws, being flung into exceptional circumstances and conspiracies… so the tone veers wildly between suburban character drama and very intricately plotted political intrigue. The story of this book spans about 40 years and is told in a non-linear order, and that helps to create the feeling of being “Adrift”, both geographically and within the narrative, wondering how it will all tie together or get home, and then wondering if it even will? Without going into specifics, there’s a bubbling anger and righteousness towards injustice, corruption and inequality (and a lot more), has a very grand scope to it where it encompasses several genres and feels as if it commits to them all, just enough, without pigeonholing itself into any. It’s weird as it’s both plot heavy but also features a lot of mood, and reflecting on life, the choices that take us where we are, and the mistakes we’ve made and the people we disappoint. Peppered with scenes which keep it real and grounded: such as the main character Leighton getting bullied at a bus stop by his old English Teacher for not going to a good university, and also at least two harrowing death (or dying) scenes of friends and family. And somehow, despite it feeling brilliantly disparate, it does all cascade together at the end.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews