The Winter Guest by Karen Swan

The Winter Guest

 by Karen Swan





The Winter Guest by Karen Swan
is published by Bantam.
My thanks to Karen and Bantam for sending me a copy to review and to 
Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the Book Tour.




Synopsis

In a grand villa on the shores of Lake Geneva, Dulcie’s grandmother nears the end of her glamourous and eventful life. The days pass quietly to the reassuring tick of the Swiss clock

 until a visitor comes to their door…


1961


In the streets of Paris, Lise Erlach is in love. Twenty-two years old, the beautiful young Ambassador’s wife enjoys the very best the city has to offer: glittering receptions, a magnificent residence and an address book filled with the numbers of the Parisian elite. She is wanted at every party…and by one man above all. Their affair dazzles them both but in a distant sea, a crisis is brewing that will change their paths forever.

Present day


As snow falls upon the Alps, Dulcie sits by her grandmother’s bed, undisturbed until the visitor arrives. He says he must tell her grandmother something urgently - something that will make Dulcie realise the beloved old woman before her is a complete stranger... With deep family secrets unlocked, can she get the answers she needs before time runs out?







My Thoughts

Where to start with this wonderful book. I absolutely loved it from start to finish. All the characters were gripping, each being a piece of the puzzle as the story , or stories developed. This is a dual timeline novel that is set with Lise in Paris in 1961 centred around the Swiss Embassy and in the Alps with Dulcie in the present day. 

This is the second  book I have read by Karen, the first being Three Summers and she really does have a style of writing that appeals to me , and many others judging by the reviews she receives. She has a subtle way of pulling you into the plots without it seeming onerous . 

The different characters are picked up and absorbed seamlessly into your memory so that by the time that you are half way through the book you feel as though you have known them for ever, though are they all whom they purport to be is another question entirely and I am not going to say anymore as I do not want to give away any spoilers !!!! Combine this with the chapter lengths which move easily backwards and forwards between the two timelines and you have all the ingredients for a really good, easy to read, novel that will keep you engrossed from start to finish.

If you haven’t read any of Karen’s books before this is a good one to start with and hopefully you will enjoy what I consider a 5 star read as much as I have.


About Karen 



Karen Swan is the Sunday Times and international best-selling author of twenty-nine books which have sold over 5 million copies around the world. A prolific author, she writes two novels a year and her books are known for their evocative locations. Karen sees travel as vital research, and likes to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.

A former fashion editor, she lives in Sussex, England with her family and three dogs.


www.penguin.co.uk
f: @KarenSwanAuthor
IG: @karenswanauthor


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