- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (7 April 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141023732
- ISBN-13: 978-0141023731
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 10.6 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,471,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Rose Fell's friends think she's taking a big risk when she leaves the security of home and career to move to the beautiful but isolated village of Grosso, near Genoa. But after a year of emotional turmoil Rose no longer has any ties back home, and she relishes the challenges of a new start. Making a home, however, in the ravishing, haunted landscape of Italy's Riviera coast, turns out to be lonelier than Rose had anticipated. And it is only when she is asked to write a profile of one of her reclusive neighbours, the once-glamorous film star Elvira Vitale, that Rose feels her new life is really beginning. But when a young girl's body is found on the local beach, and the following day Elvira's hardworking migrant cleaner, Ania, goes missing, Rose finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation that threatens the idyll she has worked so hard to establish.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Christobel Kent was born in London in 1962 and now lives in Cambridge with her husband and four children; in between she has lived in Modena, in northern Italy, and in Florence. Her previous novels, A Party in San Niccolo and Late Season, are both published by Penguin.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
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. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was an impulse buy, but it is one of the most enjoyable books I have read so far this year. The author writes in a contemplative and descriptive style, which is very successful at evoking a feel of this area of Italy, and her observation of her characters is detailed and believable. The underlying plot is exciting and pulls you along inexorably toward the finish. Brilliant.
27 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anna-Maria Villemartin had taken the train. Commissario Leo Cirri knew this much because her train ticket had been found. A young girl, travelling from Genova to Levanto in the early hours of the morning. Cirri pictured a half empty train, ill lit, the travellers dozing against their backpacks, the odd homeless person, the strangers, African Traders and an array of more sinister looking characters, travelling through the night. Had she met someone or was she on her way to meet an acquaintance? Why was she on that train at all, had she missed another connection? Between the time of leaving Genova and before Levanto, one thing Cirri knew - Anne-Maria Villemartin got off that train, she was dead - Murdered.
Rose Fell has had a whole year of emotional turmoil. With a messy divorce behind her, suddenly London Life is bearing down hard and it's time for action.
Rose decides it's time to cut ties, a change of direction - after all she was a writer and a writer could write anywhere and some new challenge is what she really needs. Rose leaves the security of her home & friends and moves to the isolated village of Grosso, near Genoa on the beautiful Italian Riviera.
Full of her own insecurities Rose sets about making a new home, had she made the right decision? However beautiful that Italian coast may look, Rose turns out to be lonelier than anticipated. Apart for a few friends (Englishman Richard Bourn - a very wealthy man and Gennaro her friendly neighbour) there was nobody she could relate to.
A phone call from London is suddenly her salvation, Rose is asked to write a piece but this time it's a profile on one of her more reclusive neighbours a - once-glamorous film star named Elvira Vitale. Elvira started out with bit-parts in films and then a central starring role as Giulia, the eponymous heroine in a Fellini Movie. More renowned for her old party circuit lifestyle (which was now over), Elvira spent her days battling phases of memory loss and dealing currently with her third husband. Londoner Jack Robbins owns a gallery in Mayfair, never carries cash and comes with his own bad habits. He is also quite the ladies man. They also have a cleaner, Ania but today Ania did not turn up for work - this is very unlike her, she would normally call.
Somewhere in the shadows - was it all their own paranoia or was someone watching over them? Everyone in this small town knew a young girl had been murdered, but what did it have to do with them? People's lives suddenly veer into one.
Fantastic Christobel Kent manipulates her descriptive style and it's simply wonderful to read, I loved it for this reason alone. Kent has used her observation of characters of people in Italy and the surrounding areas to her advantage and I found these very believable. This is the first novel I have read of hers although this is Kent's third Novel; I will be backtracking and giving the other two novels a go. This novel had the edge of excitement and stays in that flow right until the finish. Congratulations to Kent, gripping story,wonderful style.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book at a villa we rented in Italy and once opened, I could not put it down.
This is a book for anyone who is fascinated by Italy and enjoys a tightly plotted thriller packed with careful detail and deft characterisation. Kent shows a real love of her subject and has great insight into the workings of Genovese life. The Summer House will delight and satisfy anyone who has visits Italy and wants to probe beneath the surface of this most beguiling of cultures.
Highly recommended.
This is a book for anyone who is fascinated by Italy and enjoys a tightly plotted thriller packed with careful detail and deft characterisation. Kent shows a real love of her subject and has great insight into the workings of Genovese life. The Summer House will delight and satisfy anyone who has visits Italy and wants to probe beneath the surface of this most beguiling of cultures.
Highly recommended.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
