The Summer House by Christobel Kent

 

         Italy in Books - Reading Challenge 2011

       

Paperback: 373 pages

Genre: Mystery Fiction

Publisher: Penguin 2005

Source: Purchased Oxfam Bookshop in UK

First Sentence : ‘Genova sprawls on the northern Mediterranean between two mountainous spurs that dip into the sea, a snarl of industrial steel, bridges, tunnels and peeling tower-blocks.’

Review Quote: ‘Well drawn, Kent manipulates her transplanted inglesi and loquacious locali with unfussy authority’

My Opinion : Realistic Italian background.

                              

 

The September post with a list of books that the other people taking part are reading this month has already been posted. September Reviews.

Another thriller with a realistic Italian background for this months choice, a different author though, but one I have read for this challenge before back in February.  A Party in San Niccolo

The story centres around Rose Fell a divorcee who left a secure job in journalism and family in London to move to a beautiful but isolated village in Italy near Genoa. After a year there she is still finding it a struggle to integrate, however when she is asked by a colleague from the UK if she can write an article about another local her life changes. At about the same time a young girl is found dead on a local beach and another young local woman disappears. Rose finds herself embroiled in this local mystery. Ania, the young woman that is missing was until the time of her disappearance working for the once famous model and film star Elvira Vitale that Rose is due to interview. Elvira and her younger British husband whom she no longer seems able to trust spend every summer in Italy and winters in the UK, hence the British press interest in the couple. The danger that is lurking closer than either of them realise throws these women together.

To repeat what I said about the last novel I read by this author, there is enough suspense skilfully built into the story that kept me turning the pages to make this a very quick and entertaining read.

Christobel Kent was born in London in 1962 and now lives in Cambridge with her husband and four children; in between she lived in Florence. She worked in publishing for several years, most recently as Publicity Director at Andre Deutsch. Her debut novel A Party in San Niccolo, was published in 2003. The about the author section in the book I have just read states they have five children. I have not been able to confirm which information is correct.

This list of titles by her may well be of interest to those of you taking part in the Italy in Books - Reading Challenge 2011

 

  

 

Biographical and other information including photos and videos are courtesy of the following websites and from the paperback itself.

Goodreads - Christobel Kent

Amazon Author Page

I also post these ‘Italy in Books’ reviews on my other blog.

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