Description
Book Synopsis'Poetic, atmospheric' Daily Mail
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Discover the perfect heatwave read, threaded with fading seaside glamour and simmering heat, from the bestselling author of The Temple House Vanishing
A summer of change. A lifetime of regret.
The summer Natasha Rothwell turns fifteen, strange dancing lights appear in the sky above her small town, lights that she interprets as portents of doom.
Natasha leads a sheltered life with her beautiful, bohemian mother in a crumbling house by the sea. As news of the lights spreads, more and more visitors arrive in the town, creating a feverish atmosphere of anticipation and dread. And the arrival of a new lodger, the handsome Mr Bowen, threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium between mother and daughter.
Then Natasha's fears seem to be realized when a local teenager goes missing, and she is called on to help. But her actions over that long, hot summer will have unforeseen and ultimately tragic consequences that will cast a shadow for many years to come...
Trade ReviewA brooding, gothic-tinged coming-of-age tale... Deftly evokes a simmering summer...
There is a gentle lyricism to Donohue's prose that brushes everything with a dreamy heat haze - but the emotions roiling beneath are sharp and cutting * The Times *
Poetic, atmospheric * Daily Mail *
An
elegant, coming-of-age novel that has touches of Françoise Sagan's
Bonjour Tristesse as well as LP Hartley's
The Go-Between ... the atmosphere and characters Donohue creates linger long after finishing. * Sunday Independent *
Haunting and compelling * Emma Rous *
Brims with atmospheric, eerie tension * Irish Independent *
Donohue looks to be the latest name to join the ranks of Ireland's proud female thriller-writing tradition. * Irish Independent on Rachel Donhue *
A dark magic tale which summons the eerie, ominous mood of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, or Picnic at Hanging Rock...
Donohue writes with an apparently effortless grace * Big Issue *
Donohue's language is sharp, mature and occasionally quite beautiful. There is a poetic lilt to the prose... * Sunday Business Post *
Donohue is a master of clean, sharp prose * Irish Times on Rachel Donohue *
Eloquent, lyrical prose ... fascinating and thought-provoking * NB Magazine *
Donohue's writing is crisp and
frequently elegant ... the novel's moving ending feels earned and real. * Irish Times *
