Emylia Hall

Beth Lowe receives a scrapbook from her long-estranged mother entitled The Book of Summers which is filled with photographs and mementos recording the seven glorious childhood summers Beth spent in rural Hungary before it all came brutally to an end when she turned sixteen

The Book of Summers

Welcome to the coastal paradise of Porthpella, where murder lurks among the dunes... Late one night, a distraught young man knocks on the door of Ally Bright's remote home on the Cornish coast. But before she can make sense of his confused words, he's gone--not to be seen again until he's found the next morning at the foot of the nearby cliffs. In an instant, the peace of Ally's beachcombing life is shattered. Feeling responsible for the young man's fate, she wants to help find answers--as does ex-cop Jayden Weston, whom Ally meets at the scene. He shares her certainty that there's more to the story than attempted suicide. When it emerges that the man is newly released ex-offender Lewis Pascoe, and that Helena, the wealthy new owner of his grandmother's home, has subsequently disappeared, the tight-knit community of Porthpella is thrown into turmoil. Driven by their need to know more, the duo decide to investigate the mystery together. Is there a connection between the Pascoe family's tragic history and Helena's disappearance? And if there is a killer stalking Porthpella, do Ally and Jayden have what it takes to catch them?

The Shell House Detectives

The perfect beach read for summer 2018 . . . set in idyllic Italy, for fans of Harriet Evans and Ruth Hogan. When Kit loses her mother in tragic circumstances, she feels drawn to finally connect with the father she has never met. That search brings her to the Thousand Lights Hotel, the perfect holiday escape perched upon a cliff on the island of Elba. Within this idyllic setting a devastating truth is brought to light: shaking the foundations upon which the hotel is built, and shattering the lives of the people within it. A heartbreaking story of loss, betrayal, and redemption, told with all the warmth and beauty of an Italian summer.

The Thousand Lights Hotel

As The Shell House Detectives try to solve a family mystery, their investigation runs dangerously close to a murder case. Are the two linked? It's December in Cornwall, and Mousehole harbour is illuminated with its famous Christmas lights. Ally Bright is among the crowd listening to the carol singers--and then to the piercing screams that rip through the darkness. A body has been found, brutally murdered and dumped in a fisherman's boat. The victim is chef JP Sharpe and there is no shortage of people who might have wanted him dead. Eager for a new case for The Shell House Detectives, Ally calls ex-cop Jayden, but he's keen to leave it to the police--until a letter in Sharpe's pocket draws them into a seemingly unconnected family mystery. As they take on this highly charged mission, the duo can't help scrutinising the murder suspects. Who among the close-knit community has reason to kill, and how far will they go to protect themselves? As fear spreads, Ally and Jayden need answers--fast. Could the letter offer a clue to the murder case or will it reveal a terrible truth? And when a new witness comes to light, Jayden closes in on a desperate killer...but can he warn Ally in time?

The Harbour Lights Mystery

A stunning Cornish house, a shocking death--can The Shell House Detectives catch a killer hiding in plain sight? Music legend Baz Carson is ready to welcome his closest friends and family to celebrate his seventieth birthday at Rockpool House, his stunning mansion set high on the cliffs on the Cornish coast. But the festivities come to an abrupt end when Baz is found dead, floating fully clothed in his infinity pool. Tallulah, a boho-chic Californian and Baz's first love, is convinced that his death wasn't an accident. He's just published his tell-all memoir, and the list of those who might wish him harm is long. But with just eight guests at Baz's luxury, gated home, who could have killed him--and why? Tallulah hires Ally Bright and ex-cop Jayden Weston to uncover the truth. It's a case that becomes a race against time, and one that will push Ally and Jayden to their limits as they draw ever closer to a killer. A killer who's hiding in plain sight and feels they have nothing to lose...

The Rockpool Murder

For nine-year-old Beth Lowe, it should have been a magical summer—sun-kissed days lounging in rickety deck chairs, nights gathered around the fire. But what begins as an innocent vacation to Hungary ends with the devastating separation of her parents. Beth and her father return home alone, leaving her mother, Marika, behind. Over the next seven summers, Beth walks a tightrope between worlds, fleeing her quiet home and distant father to bask in the intoxicating Hungarian countryside with Marika. It is during these enthralling summers that Beth comes to life and learns to love. But at sixteen, she uncovers a life-shattering secret, bringing her sacred summers with Marika abruptly to an end. Now, years later, Beth receives a package containing a scrapbook, a haunting record of a time long forgotten. Suddenly, she is swept back to the world she left behind, forced to confront the betrayal that destroyed her—and to search her heart for forgiveness.

In a remote Cornish cove, on one of the last days of summer, Robyn Swinton is drowning. She is saved - just - by local boy Jago Winters, and it is a moment that will change both of them forever. Over the next seven years, Robyn and Jago's paths lead them in different directions, to city streets and foreign shores. Will the bond forged that day Jago dragged Robyn in from the sea be strong enough to bring them back to one another, or has life already pulled them too far apart?

The Sea Between Us

Studying in Lausanne, Hadley Dunn makes friends with a Danish student, Kristina, but after Kristina is mysteriously killed, Hadley finds herself entangled with two different men who may know the truth about Kristina's death.

The Swiss Affair

De zee die ons scheidt

Beth Lowe får en pakke i posten. I den finner hun informasjon om at moren Marika, som Beth ikke har hatt kontakt med på mange år, er død. Pakken inneholder et fotoalbum, kalt Somrenes bok. Somrenes bok er en hyllest til syv somre som Beth tilbrakte i Marikas fødeland, Ungarn. Disse somrene fikk en brå slutt det året Beth fylte seksten. Fotoalbumet Somrenes bok får minnene til å komme tilbake.

Somrenes bok

A snow-filled paradise is the scene for A Heart Bent Out of Shape from Emylia Hall, author of the Richard and Judy book club pick The Book of Summers. Readers of Patrick Gale and Esther Freud will adore this moving and evocative story of a first love, a terrible tragedy and a year that will never be forgotten. For Hadley Dunn, life so far has been uneventful - no great loves, no searing losses. But that's before she decides to spend a year studying in the glittering Swiss city of Lausanne, a place that feels alive with promise. Here Hadley meets Kristina, a beautiful but elusive Danish girl, and the two quickly form the strongest of bonds. Yet one November night, as the first snows of winter arrive, tragedy strikes. Hadley, left reeling and guilt-stricken, beings to lean on the only other person to whom she feels close, her American Literature professor Joel Wilson. But as the pair try to uncover the truth of what happened that night, their tentative friendship heads into forbidden territory. And before long a line is irrevocably crossed, everything changes, and two already complicated lives take an even more dangerous course...

A Heart Bent Out of Shape

El libro de los veranos

Una novela sobre el pasado y los recuerdos en la que acompañaremos a Beth por los rincones más oscuros de su infancia. El brillante y conmovedor debut de Emylia Hall. Beth Lowe recibe un paquete postal. En su interior, una carta la informa de que su madre, a la que hace mucho tiempo que no ve, ha fallecido. También hay un álbum con el título El libro de los veranos. Solo contiene fotografías: recuerdos reunidos por su madre que sirven para narrar los siete maravillosos veranos que Beth pasó en la campiña húngara durante su niñez. En ese tiempo tuvo que mantenerse en equilibrio, en la cuerda floja entre sus padres, recientemente separados, y entre dos países muy diferentes. Su arrebatadora aunque imperfecta madre húngara frente a su amable y reservado padre inglés; la deslumbrante finca de un artista y una casa vacía en pleno Devon. Esa épocatuvo un final desgarrador cuando Beth cumplió los dieciséis. Desde entonces, no se ha permitido recordar sus años de infancia. Pero la llegada de El libro de los veranos precipita el pasado sobre el presente, tan vívido, doloroso y profundo como lo había sido siempre. Reseñas: «Una primera novela preciosa e inolvidable [...]. Todos los personajes son auténticos, y Hall equilibra las historias a las mil maravillas. Ambientada en la exuberante campiña húngara, la historia agridulce de Beth embelesará a los lectores.» Publishers Weekly «Un libro adictivo y un asombroso debut para Emylia Hall.» Cosmopolitan «Con pulso firme, Hall evoca el paso de Beth a la adolescencia y entonces, con un ritmo dramático, revela una mentira de la que Beth, al igual que el lector, es poco probable que se recupere.» Mail on Sunday «Desde el primer capítulo, los lectores saben que la ruptura entre madre e hija es inevitable, pero el motivo es al tiempo sorprendente y devastador. En su debut, absolutamente encantador, Hall hechiza con su historia de la llegada a la mayoría de edad.» Booklist «Una conmovedora historia de una hija dividida entre sus padres y de los silencios y secretos que destruyen a las familias.» Kirkus «Un imaginado regreso a una infancia y adolescencia divididas, muy bien escrito y entretejido.» Daily Mirror «Un debut enérgico y brillante.» Foyles «Maravillosamente escrito, con una trama estimulante y desgarradora y una ambientación que tiene el potencial de hacer por Hungría lo que Peter Mayle hizo por la Provenza.» Bristol Evening Post «Me ha gustado la novela debut de Hall; me ha gustado mucho. [...] La prosa es bella y puedo imaginarme a muchos lectores enamorados de este libro.» Big Issue «El impresionante debut de Hall es tan conmovedor como poético.» Lancashire Evening Post «Una preciosa historia sobre relaciones familiares, amor y llegada a la madurez que hará que el corazón cante.» Northampton Chronicle & Echo «Hace un año los editores peleaban por conseguir los derechos de la primera novela de Emylia Hall. [...] Sentida y evocadora, ahora solo necesitamos que llegue el verano.» Week Out

Cada verano era perfecto. Hasta el último

In dem abgelegenen, wildromantischen Küstennest Merrin in Cornwall genießt Robyn Swinton die letzten Sommertage und stürzt sich mit ihrem Surfbrett in die Fluten. Doch es geschieht ein Unglück. In allerletzter Sekunde wird sie gerettet. Dieser Moment verändert ihr Leben für immer, und nicht nur ihres, auch das von Jago Winters, der sie gerade noch aus den Wellen ziehen konnte. In den folgenden sieben Jahren führen Robyns und Jagos Wege sie in unterschiedliche Richtungen, in pulsierende Großstädte und verträumte Küstenorte, kreuzen sich aber dennoch immer wieder. Wird das Band, das beide seit dem Tag am Meer verbindet, stark genug sein, um sie zusammenzuführen? Oder hat das Leben sie bereits zu weit voneinander entfernt?

Emylia Hall

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