Combining the atmosphere of BEAUTIFUL RUINS with the intriguing historical backstory of THE ORPHAN TRAIN, Deborah Lawrensons mesmerizing novel transports readers to a sunny Portuguese town with a shadowy pastwhere two women, decades apart, are drawn into a dark game of truth and lies that still haunts the shifting sea marshes.
A mesmerizing novel that transports readers to a sunny Portuguese town with a shadowy past— where two women, decades apart, are drawn into a dark game of truth and lies that still haunts the shifting sea marshes. Traveling to Faro, Portugal, journalist Joanna Millard hopes to escape an unsatisfying relationship and a stalled career; Faro is an enchanting town, and the seaside views are enhanced by the company of Nathan Emberlin, a charismatic younger man. But Joanna soon realizes that behind the crumbling facades of Moorish buildings Faro has a seedy underbelly, its economy compromised by corruption and wartime spoils. And Nathan has an ulterior motive for seeking her company: he is determined to discover the truth involving a child’ s kidnapping that may have taken place on this dramatic coastline more than two decades ago.
Joanna’ s subsequent search leads her to Ian Rylands, an English expat who cryptically suggests she will find answers in The Alliance, a novel written by American Esta Hartford. The book recounts an American couple’ s experience in Portugal during World War II, and their entanglements both personal and professional with their German enemies. Only Rylands insists the book isn’ t fiction, and as Joanna reads deeper into The Alliance, she begins to suspect that Esta Hartford’ s story and Nathan Emberlin’ s may indeed converge in Faro— where the past not only casts a long shadow but still exerts a very present danger.
Praise for 300 Days Of Sun
“ With its lush settings, high-stakes suspense, and novel-within-a-novel, 300 Days of Sun is a feast for fiction lovers. Lawrenson delivers a labyrinth of complex relationships the reader is both breathless to solve and eager to return to upon completion. Haunting. ” — Erika Robuck, author of Hemingway’ s Girl and The House of Hawthorne
Praise for Deborah Lawrenson
“ Deborah Lawrenson’ s writing is delicious. Her stories are atmospheric, intoxicating, and impossible not to get lost in. ” — Sarah Jio, author of Goodnight June and Blackberry Winter
“ [Lawrenson has a] gift for bringing the senses to life. When she writes, ‘ you could open an envelope . . . and find it contained no words at all, just a handful of lavender with a ribbon of dried grapefruit skin, or a sprinklingof vanilla seeds, ’ you wish the pages were scratch-and-sniff. ” — People
“ Offers a vivid escape to an intriguing place, with location playing as much a role as those who dwell there. ” — Washington Post
“ Think Graham Greene with a dash of Poe. ” — Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress
