Escape the Winter Blues

Well the sun’s come out for five minutes so perhaps this Friday the 13th won’t be unlucky after all. Oops, spoke too soon, it’s pouring again.

Sitting here on a grey, changeable November day and thinking of the long winter months ahead my mind has drifted off to warmer climes. Already this year I’ve travelled to Lake Como, Venice (twice) and the South of France. Not in reality unfortunately, but through the books I’ve read. Erica James, Suzette A. Hill,  Nicky Pellegrino and Catherine Alliott have been my travel agents extraordinaire. If you want to escape the winter blues, why not give them a try? I wholeheartedly recommend them all.

Erica James – Summer at the Lake

It was a wedding invitation that changed everything for Floriana. If she hadn't been so distracted at the thought of having to witness the love of her life get married, she would have seen the car coming and there would have been no need for elderly spinster Esme Silcox and local property developer Adam Strong to rush to her aid. If she hadn't met them she would never have had the courage to attend Seb's wedding in Lake Como. 

For Esme, Lake Como awakens memories of when she stayed at the lake as a 19-year-old girl and fell in love for the first time. So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart all those years ago, a man who changed the course of her life.

A tale of lost loves set in the beautiful Italian lakes.


Suzette A. Hill – The Venetian Venture

Rosy Gilchrist is sent to Venice to find a rare book. Rosy jumps at the chance to fit some sightseeing around business, but the holiday plans go on hold when she learns that there is a significant bounty prize for anyone who locates this valuable work. Finding herself in the midst of a cat-and-mouse chase, Rosy's rivals will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get their hands on the book.

A murder mystery complete with eccentric characters and plenty of humour.

Nicky Pellegrino – One Summer in Venice

Addolorata Martinelli knows she should be happy. She has everything she thought she wanted - her own business, a husband, a child. So why does she feel as if something is missing? When her restaurant, Little Italy, is slated by a reviewer, she realises she has to get away. So Addolorata heads to Venice to spend a summer alone, aiming to find the ten things that make her happy. Once she's found them, she'll build a new life around them, but will they include her life in London?

Food and Venice, what could be better?


Catherine Alliott – Wish You Were Here

There's nothing like getting away from it all ... a chateau in the south of France, a family holiday and a summer party. What could be nicer? What could possibly go wrong?

An idyllic summer spent in a French chateau, that’s the stuff of dreams. Dreams can sometimes turn into nightmares however. 

Pure Escapism