LEGEND PRESS (EBOOK), 2013
225 PAGES
When nineteen-year-old Davey finds himself drunk, beaten and alone, he is rescued by the oddly-assorted inhabitants of an abandoned and beautiful house in the West Country. Their only condition for letting him join them is that he asks them no questions.
More than thirty years ago in that same house, burned-out rock star Jack Laker writes a ground-breaking comeback album, and abandons the girl who saved his life to embark on a doomed and passionate romance with a young actress. His attempt to escape his destructive lifestyle leads to deceit, debauchery and even murder.
As Davey and his fellow housemate Priss try to uncover the secrets of the house's inhabitants, both past and present, it becomes clear that the five strangers have all been drawn there by the events and the music of that long-ago summer.
This Thursday, in the middle of August, had been the most terrible, apocalyptic day of Davey's nineteen years on earth. Getting drunk seemed the only possible response.
The Summer We All Ran Away is a great book. I thought the characters were excellent. I really liked Davey; he's the kind of guy you immediately feel sympathy for. He's gone through a lot and you can't help but want to wrap him in cotton wool and cuddle him. I loved Priss. She acted really tough but she was actually a lost, messed up little girl. I wanted to hug her as well. The other characters living in the house are suitably mysterious. This book is well written and drew me in from the very first page. I really liked the way the author used flashbacks in the book to reveal what happened in the house thirty years ago and how this is linked to the present and to reveal the characters back story. I love books with time shifts when they're done really well. I thought what happened thirty years ago would be much darker but I was pleasantly surprised when all is revealed. I had a hell of good time with this book. I've got the author's novel, The Beach Hut on my kindle and well and can't wait to read it now.