Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
BOOK OF THE WEEK with Linda Jennings. Summer at the Lake, Erica James, ISBN 9781409145974 (Orion). BD4.500 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
Another delightful romantic story by bestselling author Erica James: this time she whisks you away from Bahrain to the dreamy spires of Oxford and the enchanting shores of Lake Como.
When a young woman, Floriana, is knocked down by a car whilst reeling from shock having just received a wedding invitation from the love of her life (unfortunately now getting married to another woman), two people passing by rush to her assistance.
An unlikely friendship develops between all three as Erica James weaves her magic, building sympathetic and credible characters via flashbacks and stories. We get to know and care about Adam Strong, a property developer suffering from a broken heart, and Esme, now in her 80s and living a solitary life.
So could a trip to Lake Combo together be exactly what they need?
As the story develops, we find ourselves caught up in the rapture and despair of each character as they find their way through this beguiling drama about lost love, fate and second chances.
Erica James has written yet another heart-warming, witty and delightful novel with Summer in the Lake. It is the perfect book to curl up with one afternoon and just be swept along with the narrative. The only criticism would be that even after 400 pages, it will leave you wanting more.
* Read it now in paperback
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt, ISBN 9780349139630 (ABACUS) BD5 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members.
Aged 13, Theo Decker (think Pip in Great Expectations), son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend but remains tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother and clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld.
Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph – a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate and a worthy winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014.
* My favourite read-of-the-week
Face Off, David Baldacci, Little Brown, 978075537789 BD7.300 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members.
When I heard about this book I thought it was a brilliant and novel thing to publish and now that I have read it, I wasn’t disappointed.
In this unprecedented collaboration, 23 of the world’s favourite crime writers bring you original, co-written short stories featuring their much-loved series characters.
Face Off includes the first meeting of Ian Rankin’s Rebus and Peter James’ Roy Grace; a case for Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, as well as a page-turning mystery starring Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and Joseph Finder’s Nick Heller. Edited by international bestseller David Baldacci, this exclusive page-turning collection is one of a kind and would make a fantastic gift for any crime lover.
