"A complex anatomy of a murder. Bethan Roberts is a fearless writer. . . . A compelling debut."-Louise Welsh


"A cool and relevant novel . . . an urban Cold Comfort Farm . . . expertly crafted."-Sunday Express


Middle England, mid-1980s: the kind of place where nothing ever happens. Except something has happened: A fifteen-year-old boy called Robert has died down by the pools. And half a dozen lives will come unraveled. The Pools subtly reveals the tensions and terrors that underpin apparently ordinary lives, causing them to spiral suddenly out of control.


Bethan Roberts lives in Brighton in the south of England. The Pools is her first novel.