In the Summertime by Maeve Haran #Review

Travel today to the South Downs for Maeve Haran's latest novel, In the Summertime which was published by Pan on 8th June. 

Filled with wit, warmth and sunshine, In the Summertime by Maeve Haran has all the things we love about a seaside England in the sun making us realize you don’t have to go abroad to find romance and adventure.

 With her marriage falling apart and her longed-for holiday cancelled, Georgina Greenhills gets an unexpected offer: a holiday in the small seaside town nestling in the beautiful South Downs where she grew up. There is only one catch: she must try and solve the mystery of the valuable antiques disappearing from the remote manor house belonging to an old lady called Maudie.

Gina gathers her childhood friends, scatty Ruth and feisty Eve, to help her. In the middle of a blazing summer they swim, sunbathe and share cocktails as they watch the sun sparkling on the sea, and Gina realizes how much she missed them and how happy she is to be back here in the summertime. Not least because of bumping into Daniel Napier, her shy and awkward teenage dancing partner, now an alarmingly attractive man. Although there is the small problem of his annoying girlfriend.

As Gina tries to solve the mystery at the manor and wonders how to get rid of the girlfriend, an even bigger secret emerges that will take all their skill and experience to resolve.

 My Thoughts

This is a lovely mixture of romance, mystery and humour. Set in a provincial coastal town, there is a warm and uplifting tone throughout. The characters are varied and delineated so that each emerges with their own personality intact.  

    Gina returns to her hometown and is surprised at the changes which she can see but also the feeling of familiarity and safety she senses. Romance in middle age is under the microscope as some of the characters try to tread a path through family dynamics. I can see potential for future books, with Gina’s friends able to carry their own story. I am sure that this will be a good addition to any summer holiday reading list.

In short: friends and lovers

About the Author

 

Maeve Haran is an Oxford law graduate who worked in television and journalism before writing her worldwide bestseller Having It All which was translated into 26 languages. She has since written fourteen contemporary and two historical novels plus one work of non-fiction extolling life’s small pleasures. Two of her novels have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year award.

She has three grown-up children and divides her time between North London and a cottage in the lovely Cuckmere Valley in East Sussex.

You can follow Maeve here: Twitter

Book link:  Amazon UK

Thanks to Maeve Haran, Pan and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Check out these great bloggers!