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| Sarnia Books June 2015 |
Charlotte Townsend returns to the
peace and tranquility of the health clinic at La Folie, on the beautiful
island of Guernsey. She feels that a few
days of total rest and recuperation will be just the tonic she needs to
recharge her batteries in the wake of her father's death and worry over her
mother's ongoing illness. She hopes that it will also give her the time and space she needs to
overcome severe writers block. Whilst at La Folie, Charlotte meets up with her
friends Louisa and Paul, both health therapists at the clinic, who introduce
her to Andy Batiste, whose ongoing family feud over a WW2 inheritance threatens
to destroy his family. When Charlotte volunteers to help in researching Andy’s
family history, she little realises how much this will impact on her own life.
This is the fourth book in the excellent
Guernsey series of novels which Anne Allen writes with such fine attention to
detail. The island really comes to life and she paints such a vivid picture of both the place and its people that the more you read about them, the more you want
to discover. A Family Divided takes
some of the characters we have met before in previous books, and weaves them skilfully
into the narrative, so that it really is like meeting up with old friends. We first
met Charlotte Townsend in the third novel in the series, Guernsey Retreat, so it was nice to have a whole story dedicated to
her. The ongoing mystery of the effect that WW2 had on the island adds a nice
historical touch and helps to maintain continuity. The mystery at the heart of the
novel is well explained, although perhaps better appreciated if you have read
the series sequentially as some of the jigsaw pieces of the story will fit better
if you have some prior knowledge of what has gone before.
Anne Allen has really made this a
compelling series of stories. The light and easy style of writing and the way in
which the characters come alive in your imagination make this a series I want
to see endure for a long time. I am delighted that the ending of The Family Divided lends itself really nicely
into a continuation of the story and I really can’t wait to see
what happens next.
Find Anne on her website
Find her on Facebook
Follow her on Twitter @AnneAllen21
My thanks to the author for sharing this lovely book with me.
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Thanks, Jo, for your lovely review. I'm so glad you're enjoying The Guernsey Novels. Have you booked a holiday in Guernsey yet?! If you do pop over you should know your way around quite well☺
ReplyDeleteHi Anne - thanks for another lovely story. I always feel thoroughly refreshed when I have finished one of your Guernsey books - rather like being on holiday.
DeleteI agree Guernsey is definitely on my places to visit list !