Review: Unexpectedly wonderful.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
Thank you to the author for the review copy.**4.5 stars***A young couple arrive on the Greek island of Crete and begin prying into the execution of a beautiful English woman during the German occupation sixty years before. They enter a labyrinth of forbidden love, betrayals, murder, greed and vendettas, old and new.So I wasnt quite sure what to expect going into this one – what I found was a wonderfully addictive story (I read it off and on in a single day), an absolutely tremendous sense of place (I feel like I have actually been to Crete) with some brilliantly drawn characters and an absolutely compelling premise.I do love a novel where past seeps into present and there is much to discover lying just beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives. Sixty years ago a young woman, Marianna, is hanged as a spy, her baby left to starve. Move to current times and a visitor to the island, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Marianna, sparks off an expansive tale of vengeance, love and betrayal.It is a beautifully woven multi stranded story, cleverly plotted to keep you turning the pages, with a high level of characterisation and one of those that it is extremely difficult to review without spoilers – beautifully written, emotional often, horrific sometimes and with an ending that made me draw a sharp breath, there was a great depth here that was somewhat unexpected.Sometimes a novel comes along for me, that I am expecting to enjoy, but then surpasses that and ends up surprising and delighting me. This was one of those books and I was sorry to leave it behind me, I will certainly be reading more from this author.Happy Reading Folks!