One Fateful Summer A Travel Thriller Vanessa Star 9780692508978 Books
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When Lisa, a small business owner from Los Angeles, arrives to the Mediterranean isle of Cyprus on a summer vacation, she marvels at the welcoming beaches and warm sea, tasty local food and wine, and hospitable local people. However, she soon gets unwillingly involved in a series of dramatic mysterious events. She notices that someone is following her, then Lisa and her friend Elena narrowly escape tragedy when a part of a building collapses on them. Lisa suspects that several brushes with death that happen to her and her friend Elena are not accidental. In fact, both of them become targets of a group of well-organized criminals based in Turkish Northern Cyprus. They use Elena’s lover Nikos in this dangerous game, blackmailing him with the secrets of his past. Now Lisa and her new friend Steve from British Secret Service need to outplay the intricate plot created by criminal masterminds in order to survive. The rapidly moving action of One Fateful Summer, layered with details of local bountiful nature, culture, history, and cuisine, takes us from Los Angeles to Mediterranean Cyprus, London, and Istanbul, from 1974 to 2009.
One Fateful Summer A Travel Thriller Vanessa Star 9780692508978 Books
I read this book on a recommendation, but it's very much a diversion from my usual pantheon of thick Russian novels and post-post modern American lit.So, I didn't think I would enjoy this travel thriller as much as I did, or I expected it to be a guilty pleasure... Like the occasional historical smut I read. Yet, once I got past the linear straight forward prose that says what it means, as opposed to trying to trick a reader (I'm looking at you Nabokov), it was a delightful unfolding of numerous characters, their families, and their faults amidst an exotic and very historically weighted back drop. I think it's more akin to War and Peace than to your standard paperback thriller.
It's smart and ambitious, with a female protagonist who learns as much about herself as she does about the world surrounding her. At times this world is daunting, with such a long string of characters and a historical event that Americans tend to know nothing about - the Turkish/Greek trouble in Cyprus. I really recommend checking out the book's website if you're struggling with the logistics of the island. It gave me a helping hand with all of those Greek names. [...]
My favorite aspect of the novel though was the history. It's rich and interesting going back to the medieval and even Biblical era, before hustling into the 20th century turmoil that befell the island. In addition to being palpably tasty, it provided the crux of the story, which is that these characters, flawed though they may be, very much mean well (mostly). Had it not been for the deeply penetrating events around them, they would have led very different lives.
Genre is usually code for bad writing and flat characters, but this novel challenges that idea. While it is eventful, it's going after the human condition and experience as much as the thrills.
My favorite passage of the novel that shows this reads, "Lisa was thinking how human life was transient compared to eternity. She was also thinking how everything could have turned out differently had it not been for the war in 1974. How Panayotis could be happy with Miriam, and Nikos and Elena could know and love each other as brother and sister. How Grandpa Andreas would love them both, and they would help him in business. How Panayotis would make peace with his father, and his wife, Maria, would meet another man who would really love her. But none of this was fated to happen because history ruled otherwise."
Check it out if you're into history, travel, or just need a break from novels about chilly St. Petersburg. It's a scrumptious treat of a book.
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Tags : One Fateful Summer: A Travel Thriller [Vanessa Star] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. When Lisa, a small business owner from Los Angeles, arrives to the Mediterranean isle of Cyprus on a summer vacation,Vanessa Star,One Fateful Summer: A Travel Thriller,MBI Publishing,069250897X,FICTION Mystery & Detective International Mystery & Crime
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One Fateful Summer A Travel Thriller Vanessa Star 9780692508978 Books Reviews
I really loved this book. I loved the feeling like I was working on a tan in Cyprus right alongside Lisa for the summer. I loved the excitement and twists, turns and loop de loops of the book. Vanessa Star is an excellent plot weaver and storyteller. I could relate with the relationship Elena and Lisa had, thinking of some of my college friends and roommates.
Not understanding everything about the culture was a bit rough for me sometimes -- I mean, why were they all so trusting??! I just wanted Lisa to trust her gut and premonition every time! I wanted Steve to save her. I wanted someone else to realize the red flags Lisa was seeing.
This was one of those books I couldn't get enough of. Sure, some parts were long, but it's that way with any story. You need the subtext to appreciate the roller coaster moments (I'd relate it to the filler episodes of Downton Abbey building up to the big scenes). Star had obviously done enough research and travel to make you feel like a local and understand a bit of the political and historical scene.
I'm recommending this book to anyone with a few days to settle into a Mediterranean vacation full of surprises and excitement. My mom would looooove it! I don't typically reread books, but this might be one I have to, just to see it in a different perspective.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is very interesting, especially if you enjoy traveling. I really enjoyed the details about Greek cuisine and the Isle of Cyprus. I could really relate to Lisa and issue with her friend. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
This was very difficult to read. English is not the author's first language, and that comes through in odd phrasing and grammar. The characters are inconsistent, with two of the primary characters having some significant personality changes about half-way through. There are times when a character's motivation is unclear, and I was offended by some of the stereotypes and labels. (Just because two characters might be gay, they don't need to be labelled as such every time they're mentioned. There are no other Arabs, so you don't need to specify "gay Arabs" every few sentences.)
The book would have benefitted a lot from a good editor.
To her credit, the author clearly loves the setting and her descriptions of the scenery are vivid. The overall story was interesting, and I kept reading because I wanted to see how it turned out. Still, when one of the characters makes a comment about how he feels like he's in a bad made-for-TV movie, and the reader agrees, that's telling.
A very interesting story. It is a mixture of history, travel, adventure & love mixed together in a very talented way. There is also a good amount of psychology. I learned a lot from this novel. The author is obviously very well traveled, and has a deep understanding of the human nature. I loved her vivid description of the scenery, the food, the wine and her attention to all the details. The talent of the writer showed in her ability to make me connect to the main characters. I felt while reading the book that I was watching a movie, I felt I was in the middle of the events and not just sitting at home reading a book. I would definitely be looking for other books for that gifted writer.
I read this book on a recommendation, but it's very much a diversion from my usual pantheon of thick Russian novels and post-post modern American lit.
So, I didn't think I would enjoy this travel thriller as much as I did, or I expected it to be a guilty pleasure... Like the occasional historical smut I read. Yet, once I got past the linear straight forward prose that says what it means, as opposed to trying to trick a reader (I'm looking at you Nabokov), it was a delightful unfolding of numerous characters, their families, and their faults amidst an exotic and very historically weighted back drop. I think it's more akin to War and Peace than to your standard paperback thriller.
It's smart and ambitious, with a female protagonist who learns as much about herself as she does about the world surrounding her. At times this world is daunting, with such a long string of characters and a historical event that Americans tend to know nothing about - the Turkish/Greek trouble in Cyprus. I really recommend checking out the book's website if you're struggling with the logistics of the island. It gave me a helping hand with all of those Greek names. [...]
My favorite aspect of the novel though was the history. It's rich and interesting going back to the medieval and even Biblical era, before hustling into the 20th century turmoil that befell the island. In addition to being palpably tasty, it provided the crux of the story, which is that these characters, flawed though they may be, very much mean well (mostly). Had it not been for the deeply penetrating events around them, they would have led very different lives.
Genre is usually code for bad writing and flat characters, but this novel challenges that idea. While it is eventful, it's going after the human condition and experience as much as the thrills.
My favorite passage of the novel that shows this reads, "Lisa was thinking how human life was transient compared to eternity. She was also thinking how everything could have turned out differently had it not been for the war in 1974. How Panayotis could be happy with Miriam, and Nikos and Elena could know and love each other as brother and sister. How Grandpa Andreas would love them both, and they would help him in business. How Panayotis would make peace with his father, and his wife, Maria, would meet another man who would really love her. But none of this was fated to happen because history ruled otherwise."
Check it out if you're into history, travel, or just need a break from novels about chilly St. Petersburg. It's a scrumptious treat of a book.
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