The Last Days of Summer

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What to expect

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Last Days of Summer by Vanessa Ronan. Read by Stuart Milligan, Barbara Barnes, Kristin Atherton and Becca Stewart.

'Vivid storytelling. ... makes your fingers tremble when you turn the pages. The terror and the pity of it will stay with you for a long time.' Sunday Times

Mid-July in Texas. Cicadas shed their dry summer skins, the scent of roses hangs heavy in the still air, and a woman sits alone on her porch at dusk, watching the empty, merciless prairie, its light falling to darkness. He's coming home.

Upstairs, Lizzie knows, her daughters are safe in their beds. Joanne, still young enough to smile at strangers, one last summer of childhood left in her. Katie, already a beauty, the first flush of womanhood blooming on her skin. Both sleeping soundly. But out beyond the boundary of their land, the townspeople sleep fitfully. Too many have heard that Jasper is coming back - folk who know him of old, who remember what he did - men who will make it their business to see he doesn't stay too long round these parts ...

'With a blistering ending that leaves you racing to its conclusion ... an exciting new talent' Stylist

'A tense, atmospheric, intriguing read' Liz Nugent, author of Richard and Judy Spring Book Club 2017 winner, Lying in Wait

Critics Review

  • Opens Vanessa Ronan’s literary career the way dynamite opens a safe … beautiful and invigoratingly shocking

    Irish Times

  • A tense, atmospheric, intriguing read

    Liz Nugent, author of Richard and Judy Spring Book Club 2017, Lying in Wait

  • Shades of In Cold Blood and Truman Capote, shades of Harper Lee … very tense and there’s constant mystery hovering over every page

    Ryan Tubridy, RTE

  • A powerful, formidable debut … what a gripping, dark, compelling story this is

    Donal Ryan

  • Refreshing, vivid and full of suspense … it’s exciting to come across such a great new talent

    RTE Guide

  • Full of dark tension … extraordinarily accomplished

    Irish Examiner

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