David Whitehouse discusses his new book Saltwater Mansions, which unravels the strange case of a missing Margate woman and other untold stories

7:00pm-9:00pm Fort Road Bar

A compulsive mix of true crime, memoir and reportage, writer David Whitehouse's new book Saltwater Mansions centres on the mystery of an 'ordinary' Margate woman named Caroline Lane, who one day completely disappeared leaving no trace. Nobody had seen or heard from her for 13 years, nor had anyone really come looking. And so Whitehouse began his own investigation, speaking to the other residents of her seaside block of flats and becoming as fascinated by their stories as with Lane's own. Saltwater Mansion is an astonishing work of creative non-fiction that explores the stories we tell, the secrets we keep, the impact of grief and the dangerous allure of amateur sleuthing.

David Whitehouse is the author of another acclaimed work of non-fiction, 2022's About a Son, and the novels Bed, Mobile Library and The Long Forgotten. He is also a scriptwriter and an award-winning journalist. He'll be discussing Saltwater Mansions in conversation with Margate-based writer, curator, artist and historian Dan Thompson.