Francine Toon follows up her McIllvanney prize-winning debut, Pine, with Bluff, another gothic thriller, this time set in the fictional coastal town of St Rule, inspired by St Andrews. We spoke to Francine about Bluff.

Bluff
By Francine Toon
Published by Transworld

Congratulations, Francine, on the publication of your new novel, Bluff. Tell us what you wanted to explore in writing it? 
 
I think we all have that one friend we lost touch with from school. I wanted to explore the idea of trying to look them up online and finding nothing. When my main character, Cameron, returns home to Fife for Christmas, he starts to become worried when no one seems to know what happened to his friend Joanie, last seen at a post-exam party, ten years ago.  
I also wanted to explore the area of north east Fife where I spent my teenage years, and how things that happened in the past can create a butterfly effect in the present.  
 

Your debut, Pine, had a fantastic reception. Did you have the difficult second novel syndrome when you were writing Bluff? 
 
I think I did, yes. It was a learning process for me, finding my way into the story. Bluff took on a number of different forms before this one, which I think is the most compelling and satisfying – I really hope readers enjoy it.  
 

Though Bluff isn’t quite dark academia, the social perils of life at that late-teenage stage is a key component to the plot. Why do you think the dark side of university life and the university town is proving so popular to readers just now? 
 
The world is quite a daunting and often scary place right now. I think there is something comforting about being cloistered away in a medieval university town, like the one in Bluff, even if there are dark histories to explore. I definitely felt that way actually living in St Andrews, which I’ve reimagined slightly differently as the town of St Rule in my novel. Who doesn’t want to puzzle over an ancient manuscript with a cup of tea in the university library? We could all do with a bit of escapism. It’s also an environment that can become claustrophobic and intense, even ritualistic – which definitely captures the imagination. 
 

Your settings are always atmospheric and add that sense of gothic menace to your novels. What is it about the Scottish landscape that inspires this in your writing?  
 
I feel lucky to have spent my formative years surrounded by sprawling pine forests, windswept beaches, crumbling castles and gothic architecture. How could I not write about them? Some writers are inspired by the landscape to write romance but I have always been drawn to darker mysteries, influenced by stories I heard growing up of ghosts, witches and Viking burial sites.  
 

Bluff is written with a dual-timeline narrative. How do you manage to keep on top of the challenge of maintaining the suspense and providing the reveals at the rights times? 
 
Well, it certainly was a challenge to get two timelines to sync up and interact with each other, at least at first. At one stage I had a list of plot beats and mapped out how the chapters would all work together. Towards the end of the editing process, making changes such as moving a chapter or taking one out altogether meant that it had a knock on effect for the whole book!  
 

Were there any books and/or authors that inspired your writing this time round? 
 
Iain Banks was definitely looming in the background of the writing process. My main character Cameron was inspired in part by Prentice McHoan, the protagonist of The Crow Road. I was drawn to his easy going, sometimes humorous narration as he returns home and tries to piece together clues from the past. The dark academic setting of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History also played on my mind.  
 

We’re coming to the end of 2025, so we’re asking what has been your favourite Scottish book you’ve read this year? 
 
That’s a really hard question as I have read so many great Scottish books this year! I think it would have to be Ootlin by Jenni Fagan, which is beautifully written and incredibly moving. I raced through it. I also really enjoyed One Came Back by Rose McDonagh and Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford. 

Bluff by Francine Toon is published by Transworld, priced £16.99.