The Girls of Summer

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

'That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.'

Rachel has been in love with Alistair since she was seventeen. Even though she hasn't seen him for sixteen years and she's now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her. She's found it impossible to forget their summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island. Until now.

When Rachel unexpectedly reconnects with a girl that she knew back then, she is forced to re-examine her memories of that golden summer and confront the truth about her relationship with Alistair and about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man on the island. And when Alistair returns, the pull of the past could prove impossible to resist...

The Girls of Summer is a compulsive and searching exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.

© Katie Bishop 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Critics Review

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girlfriends pack for their holidays this summer
Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CASTAWAYS
This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose
The Times
Poignant and striking, this coming-of-age novel barrels towards its shocking yet inevitable conclusion and examines the insidious nature of abuse and grooming through the eyes of the victim.
Heat
This debut should be on every summer reading list... THE GIRLS OF SUMMER explores consent, the power discrepancies in relationships, control, and the intoxication of lust in a gripping read that is visceral and raw. Buy it
Glamour
Reminiscent of HBO's hit The White Lotus... The obvious read-alike is My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell, and the plot-driven tension will appeal to fans of psychological suspense
Booklist
A mesmerising, unsettling and gripping debut
Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of RUN TIME
Lures you in then shakes you up. A very timely read about consent and control. LOVED IT
Nikki May, author of WAHALA
Thought-provoking, timely and gripping, The Girls of Summer is the book of the summer
Sarah Turner, author of STEPPING UP
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is visceral, deeply sensory and urgent. An unsettling and vital book
Hazel Barkworth, author of SUNSTROKE
Atmospheric and powerful, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is a propulsive examination of the line blurring trauma and love in a relationship, a distinction which - in a post #MeToo world - is more important than ever
Carola Lovering, author of TELL ME LIES

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