Oh......... how I enjoyed this book. I was lucky enough to win a copy from the lovely people at Readers First and sorry to say that it took me a bit to get around to reading it.
The original synopsis reminded me of The Island by Victoria Hislop (this is also mentioned on the front of the book) which I had read some years ago but had very fond memories of.
The story is mainly set in Crete where the author, Patricia Wilson had lived and I adored her descriptions of this throughout the book. It starts with a woman, Angelika eager to meet her family that her mother Poppy had run away from to England and had been estranged from for nearly 40 years, as she is due to marry.
Angelika meets her grandmother Maria for the first time and we are transported back to the Second World War and the German occupation of Crete through the memories of Maria. This storyline was so well written and utterly heartbreaking but it is a story that needs to be told to find out what happened all those years ago to Poppy, Maria and the rest of the family.
A brilliant debut novel that I just couldn't put down.
The original synopsis reminded me of The Island by Victoria Hislop (this is also mentioned on the front of the book) which I had read some years ago but had very fond memories of.
The story is mainly set in Crete where the author, Patricia Wilson had lived and I adored her descriptions of this throughout the book. It starts with a woman, Angelika eager to meet her family that her mother Poppy had run away from to England and had been estranged from for nearly 40 years, as she is due to marry.
Angelika meets her grandmother Maria for the first time and we are transported back to the Second World War and the German occupation of Crete through the memories of Maria. This storyline was so well written and utterly heartbreaking but it is a story that needs to be told to find out what happened all those years ago to Poppy, Maria and the rest of the family.
A brilliant debut novel that I just couldn't put down.