When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy.
In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past.
Many years ago I remember reading The Island by Victoria Hislop and it well and truly left its mark on me as it was a remarkable story that opened my eyes and gave me an insight into the history of Spinalonga and how leprosy suffers were treated.
Fast forward and I am now on holiday in Crete and thought what a better time to reconnect with the characters we met in The Island in the sequel One August Night.
A cure has now been found and the surviving patients are ready to leave the island but the thought of Maria’s return is unsettling for both Anna and Marteau who have kept a secret romance all this time.
But the day of Maria’s turn sparked a dramatic change for all our characters.
The storyline bounces between our characters as Maria spends time building her life in Crete with her new family but also but fulfilling what she feels is her duty visiting the prison whilst Manolis escapes to Athens to find a new life and come to terms with his loss.
This author has such a wonderful writing style that brings our characters to life but also creates such awareness and intrigue into the places she writes about and issues that are faced and she has done such a great job of piquing my interest that after finishing this book I have now booked on a trip tomorrow to visit Spinalonga.
I was once again enraptured by this storyline, maybe not so much as The Island but none the less it held my attention the whole way through and is certainly one I would recommend.
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