That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel by Adrienne Vaughan #FridayReads

An old house in an estate on the beautiful east coast of Ireland is a perfect setting for romance and mystery.  Mia Flannagan is summoned to Galty House by the sad news of the imminent death of Archie Fitzgerald, a celebrated Hollywood actor who took the place of a father for most of her troubled childhood.  During a rather distant relationship with her mother, stunning actress Fenella Flannagan, Mia was nurtured by Archie’s family and friends, but even they would never reveal the identity of her father.

 

Leaving the set of a disastrous film where she is in charge of the wardrobe, she is relieved to find Archie is in good form despite being weak and tiring easily.  He maintains a good relationship with his new neighbour, American hotel manager, Ross Power’ but Mia is more interested in a friendship with Pearl, the lonely, neglected niece.  Just as Mia was, she is an imaginative, talkative child and the two have adventures together visiting the mysterious island just off the coast.

 

As Archie declines, Mia’s life begins to fall apart. The film is abandoned and when she returns to London she finds her dastardly boyfriend/fiancé in the arms of another woman.  There is great humour in this scene and also in the way that the women of Galty House conspire to deal with the cad.  It seems inevitable that Mia will be drawn to Ross, but she discovers he too seems to be involved in sharp practice.  Thus, the revelation that the Fitzgerald family have kept a conspiracy of silence about her father can only make matters worse.

 

This is a tortuous tale of love, leading to passion and envy.  The characters have substance and strong personalities and there is a little bit of Irish magic in the conclusion.  Definitely a book that is difficult to put down.

That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel is available at Amazon UK or Amazon US

Adrienne Vaughan

Adrienne Vaughan has been making up stories since she could speak; initially to entertain her sister Reta, who never allowed a plot or character to be repeated – tough audience. As soon as she could pick up a pen she started writing them down.

It was no surprise that Adrienne grew up to be a journalist, diving headfirst into her career after studying at the Dublin College of Journalism. These days she is recognised as a talented author and poet, having published The Heartfelt trilogy of acclaimed novels and an award-winning collection of short stories and poetry. Her fourth novel That Summer at the Seahorse Hotel was published in February 2018 by The Paris Press.

Adrienne lives in rural Leicestershire with her husband, two cocker spaniels and a rescue cat called Agatha Christie. She still harbours a burning ambition to be a ‘Bond girl’.