kells30 's review for:

Summer Heat by Defne Suman

5.0

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I just love this author, she writes such compelling stories. This novel sees the protagonist, Melike, delving into a mysterious family past she knew nothing about, travelling from Istanbul to Athens and on to Cyprus to uncover family roots she didn’t know existed. Melike is married and successful but somewhat unsatisfied with her life, when Petro shows up under the guise of being a producer scouting locations in Istanbul. Really, he was sent by the father she hasn’t seen in over 30 years, who abandoned her and her family when she was 11. The family mystery is an interesting one and beyond that, one thing I have consistently admired in Defne Sunam’s writings is the rich details evoking the Turkish background - the descriptions of food in particular are numerous and stimulate the senses in a way that give you a real feel of the time and place.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher, Head of Zeus, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.