Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lecoat returns with a spellbinding story about secrets and lies in a small community recovering from war, and the two young women at the center of a volatile mystery. The German soldiers called it Summerland, more of a holiday playground than a strategic wartime stronghold, with its beautiful beaches, rocky coves and endless sunshine. The irony wasn't lost on the residents of Jersey in the Channel Islands. But though the occupation is over and the Germans have gone, tensions rise as the small coastal community looks to punish any locals suspected of collaborating with the enemy.
Nineteen-year-old Jean Parris is still adjusting back to normal life when news of her father's death in a German prison for having an illegal radio reaches her and her mother in Jersey, but grief turns to rage when a description of the informant points to a woman named Hazel, whose apartment overlooked her dad's shop. Although Hazel denies her involvement in Philip Parris's arrest, she had reasons for wanting Jean's father gone.
Soon the groundswell of anger over Hazel's rumored betrayal takes on a life of its own, but as much as Jean initially wants to blame her, clues start to suggest there were other more sinister factors at play. Then when Hazel discovers Jean's own ruinous secret, the women's stalemate becomes an unexpected bond in the face of frenzied calls for justice from their families and neighbors. But Jean's need to know the truth about her father may destroy everything she once believed.
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lecoat has crafted a spellbinding story about secrets and lies in a small community recovering from war, and the two young women at the center of a volatile mystery. The German occupation is over. The Channel Islands, the only captured territory within the British Isles, are finally liberated. But the people of Jersey are left as scarred as the landscape. No longer a "summerland" holiday paradise, the island now boils with tension as locals seek revenge on anyone suspected of collaborating with the enemy during the war.
Nineteen-year-old Jean Parris, still adjusting to this fractious peace, is shocked to learn that Hazel, a teacher who lives over her dad's shop, may be responsible for her father's wartime arrest and subsequent death in custody. Hazel denies all accusations but has reasons to conceal what really happened.
As rumors of Hazel's guilt swell to a fury, Jean discovers new clues that suggest there were other, more sinister factors at play. When Hazel learns of Jean's own ruinous secret, the women form an unexpected bond that sets them apart from the rest of Jean's family and the frenzied demands for retribution. But in the end, Jean's need to know the truth about her father may consume everything she once believed about her home, her family and herself.