'Oscar is dead because I watched him die and did nothing' is the opening line of a beautifully crafted 100-page novella called Heatwave.

Leonard is an outsider, a 17-year-old uncomfortable in his own skin and forced to spend the summer camping with his family. On the final night of the holiday he can't sleep and decides to go for a walk. As he wanders, he sees Oscar, one of the cooler kids, hanging from a swing. Frozen into inaction he watches as Oscar struggles and dies.

Told over the space of a weekend when the temperatures reach record levels, this is a very intense and sometimes challenging read. Leonard is traumatised by what he has seen and did but also more by what he didn't do. He isn't always an easy character to like or sympathise with as he is so troubled, but the author skilfully keeps you hooked as Leonard works his way through to redemption.

Does contain some descriptions that some readers may find upsetting.