Beyond Summerland

Jenny Lecoat

Jul 2024 · Harlequin Audio · Narrated by Hannah Curtis

About this audiobook

"From the explosive opening to the profound ending, Beyond Summerland is a wonder of storytelling. With a rich setting and secrets shimmering at the core of the narrative, Jenny Lecoat offers up everything we seek in historical fiction."--Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

In her spellbinding new novel, New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lecoat explores the secrets and lies in a small community recovering from war, and the two young women at the center of a volatile mystery.

The German occupation is over. The Channel Islands, the only captured territory within the British Isles, are finally liberated. But the people of Jersey are left as scarred as the landscape. No longer a “summerland” holiday paradise, the island now boils with tension as locals seek revenge on anyone suspected of collaborating with the enemy during the war.

Nineteen-year-old Jean Parris, still adjusting to this fractious peace, is shocked to learn that Hazel, a teacher who lives over her dad’s shop, may be responsible for her father’s wartime arrest. Hazel denies all accusations but has reasons to conceal what really happened.

As rumors of Hazel’s guilt swell to a fury, Jean discovers new clues that suggest there were other, more sinister factors at play. When Hazel learns of Jean’s own ruinous secret, the women form an unexpected bond that sets them apart from the rest of Jean’s family and the frenzied demands for retribution. But in the end, Jean’s need to know the truth about her father may consume everything she once believed about her home, her family and herself.

About the author

Jenny Lecoat was born in the Channel Islands where, only sixteen years earlier, Nazis had deported members of her family to concentration camps for resistance activities. Following an early career in stand-up comedy and writing features for magazines and newspapers, she became a screenwriter. Her feature film Another Mother's Son, about her family's experiences during the Occupation, was released in the UK in 2017. The Girl from the Channel Islands is her first novel.