Swallowtail Summer: This summer escape to the country with this bestselling story of love and friendship

Alistair Lucas is a 60 year old retired lawyer, he inherited a gorgeous old house in the country from his Aunt Cora and he and his two best friends, their wives and children have spent idyllic weekends and holidays at Linston End. After Alistair's wife Orla dies tragically Alistair left England to travel, but now he has returned and his plans will shock and disturb his friends. Sorrel and Simon Wyatt and their two children Rachel and Callum have spent every holiday at Linston End, except one disastrous summer when Sorrel insisted they went to Brittany, it was an unmitigated disaster and since then there has been no further dissent. But Sorrel bears grudges against Alistair and Orla and the way in which her family has idolised the two of them. Danny and Frankie Fielding and their daughter Jenna make up the third family. Danny and Frankie have a perfect marriage but after Danny's recent heart attack and enforced retirement their marriage has become a minefield of fear and secrecy. As the families gather for one last weekend together secrets are spilled, and a catalyst threatens to destroy a friendship that has lasted for fifty years. This novel was reminiscent of the novel Rebecca, or at least Alistair's wife Orla and the stranger that comes to Linston End both remind me of the first Mrs de Winter, callous, self-absorbed, the life of the party, needy. I also can say that I pretty much disliked every character in this novel, their so-called lifelong friendship seemed based on nothing more than self-interest. Overall, I thought this novel meandered slowly through the twists and turns of this weird group of so-called friends but the outcome was fairly obvious right from the start and frankly the destination wasn't worth the journey and I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Such a glorious read! When I reached the end of this book I felt happy and very content at a story so enjoyed. Linston End is a wonderful, large home set on the side of the Norfolk Broads with enough space for three families to holiday there together each summer. All of them have the most marvellous memories of the time they spend there every year; this year, however, things are different. Will life ever be the same again? A superbly created novel which, on the surface, is a smooth gentle read about families, friendships, love and happiness. Linston End sounds idyllic and is described beautifully - who wouldn't want to relax their annually? But you can't have a large group congregating on a regular basis without undercurrents and slowly, bit by bit, more than a few niggles rise to the surface followed by secrets and lies which have been hidden for decades. There is a bit of everything between the pages of this fabulous novel and I absolutely adored everything about it. I have read several books by this author over the years and if you like a cleverly created, well-structured book with lots going on and never a dull moment, then you can't go wrong with Erica James. Highly recommended and definitely a five star read!

Loved it. Her books are always great.