Summer in Greece

Could these crystal clear waters hide the secrets of her past?Present dayFor years Shelly Summer has buried herself in her work, trying to forget her past. The only time she feels truly herself is when she's diving in the Mediterranean - the calm and stillness of the clear waters help her forget.Back home, Shelly stumbles across the belongings of her great-grandmother, Gertie Smith including a recording of Gertie's memoirs. As Shelly listens to it, she starts to uncover the secrets of Gertie's past, which might just hold the key to letting go of her own.1916When trainee nurse Gertie Smith signs up for the war effort, she is thrilled to learn that her destination will be Greece. With a head full of blue skies and handsome men, she boards the Titanic's sister ship, the ill-fated hospital ship Britannic. Unprepared for the horrors of war, she heads for the Greek island of Lemnos on a mission to rescue three thousand wounded British soldiers.But tragically, the Britannic never reaches its destination.When rescued, Gertie is taken to the Greek island of Kea, where she meets and falls in love with a Greek fisherman, Manno - but she finds herself torn between him and her duty to an English soldier. Gertie cannot shake the guilt she feels from that tragic night the ship sank and is afraid her past will eventually catch up with her.Escape to paradise this Christmas with an irresistible tale of love and loss.

This book would for me have been a perfect beach read. Instead it made a great lockdown read as I sat in my garden with a glass of rose, imagining I was on holiday, We race to the end with our hearts thumping. Full of local colour and tradition this is a little slow to start but certainly builds to unexpected conclusions. Terrific stuff, Full of raw emotion, One for the suitcase - whether real or imaginary. You'll feel you're in Greece as soon as you start reading, Packed with intrigue, danger and romance, Wilson's passion for the classics and an endless fascination with foraging into the vibrant corners of history, this is a poignant and beautifully written story best read on a sunlounger with a glass of chilled ouzo

Patricia Wilson was born in Liverpool, has lived on Crete and is now settled on Rhodes. She was first inspired to write when she unearthed a rusted machine gun in her garden - one used in the events that unfolded during World War II on the island of Crete. The now elderly women involved in those events told Patricia their story, and her celebrated debut Island of Secrets (170k copies sold) was the result.