Golden Boy

At an ancient Scottish university where neo-Gothic spires claw at grey skies and fog settles thick around granite walls, eighteen-year-old Felix arrives hoping to outrun the shadows of his past. He quickly falls under the spell of five strangers who will change the course of his life forever: fierce Jess, who becomes his anchor; quiet Julian, with his cutting truths; the Sarah duo, one magnetic, one thoughtful; and Colin—golden-haired, impossible, the kind of boy who makes Felix forget his own name. For a brief, shimmering moment, it feels like home: Late nights and shared secrets, cheap wine and the dangerous comfort of being chosen. One reckless night that changes everything. A budding connection with Filip, a teaching assistant who notices what others miss. But as Felix learns about the darkest corners of the human mind under renowned Professor Lorna Baird, the world outside grows darker too—the Aberdeen Ripper, a serial killer who terrorised the city years ago, has returned. When Jess becomes his next victim, her death sends fractures splintering through everything Felix thought he understood. The friends he trusted. The boy he wanted. The person he was trying to become. In the wreckage, Felix begins to realise the danger was never only out there in the dark. Her final gift: a lighter and three words, "Keep shining bright." But in the clock tower that becomes his sanctuary, Felix will discover that not every murder is what it seems. And sometimes the real monsters are the ones we let closest.