Under the Sun

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What to expect

'Has all the hallmarks of a classic summer read' The Times

Anna’s friends and family think she is living the dream in her beautiful finca under the Spanish sun. But the reality is far from perfect. The handsome, complicated man she was building a life with has left with little more than a note to say goodbye and the future she imagined has crashed around her ears. Anna has secretly embarked on an ill-advised affair and lives above the dingy bar she runs in the sleepy beach town of Marea, surrounded by British expats as homesick and stuck as she is.

When Simon, a local businessman, offers to rent the finca, Anna hopes it will pave the way for her escape. But there is more to him than meets the eye, and when a body washes up on the beach in mysterious circumstances, Anna realizes she may be the only one with the power to unravel the truth. But how can she prove that Simon is connected, and how can she reclaim her house? Anna is prepared to risk everything to get home – even though she’s no longer sure where home really is.

Urgent, gripping and brilliantly observed, Under the Sun by Lottie Moggach is an exhilarating novel about heartbreak, identity, migration and finding a place to call home.

Critics Review

In her beautifully written novel, Lottie Moggach gives rare insights into human relationships and the appalling things we can do to each other. Subtle, insightful and utterly compelling
Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of SISTER
Brilliantly atmospheric and creepy . . . I loved the heat of it, the writing, and the pulse of disappointment and hope. It's very, very clever
Sabine Durant, author of Lie With Me
Under the Sun has all the hallmarks of a classic summer read . . . the pages fly by . . . Moggach’s readers will relish the sparkle of a perfect summer story that is intelligent, steamy and has great interiors
The Times
Gripping and intense, it’s a great read
Best
A beautifully observed, enthralling read
Woman & Home
A brilliantly atmospheric, claustrophobic look at heartbreak, identity and the notion of home.
The Pool
A must-have summer accessory. The way Moggach shoes the extent to which the British expat dream lives cheek by jowl with a burgeoning migrant crisis makes this a superior thriller. Surely a contender for read of the summer. A lushly written novel that combines a smouldering plot with impressive nuance.
The Metro
The scope of this is ambitious — what begins as a universal story about a love affair gone sour quickly becomes something much more political, a searching social commentary about displacement and institutional racism. Moggach’s setting, much like the work of Man Booker-nominated Deborah Levy, allows her to explore how behaviour can change abroad — in this case, how the British community views itself and others ... what, if anything, separates the definition of expats from that of immigrants ... A reminder that this is a true reflection of poverty in a post-recession world, of hopes dashed and borders tightened.
Financial Times
Moggach lets rip a tale that is gripping and conscientiously attuned to the queasy dynamic between expats and immigrants in a place where everyone is “learning to live somewhere between the life [they] wanted and the one [they] have.
Sunday Times
An enjoyable, well-observed book, and Moggach’s description of a dying love affair is particularly effective.
Mail on Sunday
Gripping, edge-of-your-deckchair stuff
Saga
A pertinent tale for our times . . . This is a book that keeps the reader, and the protagonist, guessing until the very end.
The Guardian
The joy of this novel is in the description – from the accurate portrayal of the death throes of a relationship, to the drab reality of a dream gone sour. Compulsively readable.
Sunday Mirror
Compulsively readable and brilliantly entertaining.
People
An unnervingly brilliant success
i
A pageturner ... Lottie Moggach’s wry exploration of British expats on the Costa del Sol follows Anna, who has invested everything in her relationship with her boyfriend and their shared dream of restoring a finca. Needless to say, things quickly unravel. It’s enough to make you scurry back to Blighty.
Sunday Times

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