Beyond Summerland explores secrets, lies, and rebuilding on Jersey (Channel Islands) immediately after WWII.

Beyond Summerland by Jenny Lecoat

Genre/Categories/Setting: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Mystery, Secrets, post WWII, Jersey (Channel Islands)

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary of Beyond Summerland:

Thanks #NetGalley @HTPBooks @GraydonHouse for a complimentary e ARC of #BeyondSummerland upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Once a summer paradise, Jersey on the Channel Islands is now recovering from German occupation during WWII. Tensions rise as retributions are threatened and accusations of collaboration surface. While Jean Parris searches for the truth about her own father, her path crosses with Hazel, a teacher who lives over her dad’s shop. Secrets that affect the entire family emerge.

My Thoughts:

Post War

It’s interesting to think about post-war Jersey and the period of rebuilding. The residents of the island felt abandoned and unprotected during the war. After the war ends, allegations of collaboration feel personal on a small island where everyone knows everyone or knows someone who knows someone. Residents are hungry, angry, and want revenge against those who collaborated or profited from dealing with the enemy. Effects of the war are evident, and Jersey is no longer the beautiful island getaway it was before the war.

Mystery

The mystery of why Jean’s father was arrested and dies while imprisoned and the tenuous relationship between Jean and Hazel drive the plot as secrets are revealed.

Lingering Effects of War

The relationship between Jean and Hazel is more complicated than it first appears, and this adds an extra layer of intrigue. How will their conflict be resolved? Is Hazel responsible for Jean’s father’s arrest and imprisonment? What other secrets, betrayals, or alliances will be revealed?

Content Consideration: Remembrances of war

Recommending Beyond Summerland

If you appreciate books set on the Channel Islands and WWII histfic, add Beyond Summerland to your TBR. Fans of World War II will appreciate this multilayered story of rebuilding after war.

Related: Another WWII story by Lecoat you might enjoy is The Girl From the Channel Islands.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Meet the Author of Beyond Summerland, Jenny Lecoat

Jenny Lecoat was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. Her parents were raised during the islands’ Nazi Occupation of 1940-1945, and her great aunt Louisa died at Ravensbrüch for sheltering a Russian slave worker. Lecoat moved to England aged eighteen to take a degree in Drama, then became one of the first female stand-up comics on the new Alternative Cabaret circuit. She presented programmes for TV and radio and wrote for newspapers and magazines, before becoming a full time TV writer in the mid 90s. After many years working in drama, sitcom, children’s and sketch shows, she wrote her first feature film ‘Another Mother’s Son’ which told the story of her Jersey family. Her debut novel ‘The Girl From The Channel Islands’ was a New York Times bestseller in 2021 and sold in thirteen territories under different titles. Her second novel is ‘Beyond Summerland’, published July 2024. She is married and lives in East Sussex, UK.

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QOTD:

Have you been to the Channel Islands?

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