The Girls of Summer

Author Katie Bishop
Narrator Annabel Scholey
Publisher Transworld
Publish Date 25 May 2023
Run Time 10 hours and 30 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Dark romance, Family life fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Social issues, Psychological thriller, Romantic suspense, Sexual abuse and harassment, Society and Social Sciences, Thriller / suspense fiction.

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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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