Press/Publicity

‘I absolutely loved this novel.  It hooked me in immediately with the extraordinary alligator attack, and kept me hooked throughout.  It is rare to read something with such emotional intensity AND such exciting pace.  I think she’s so so clever to do both.  I ached for several of them, actually ached, and cried too.  And had to keep reading to find out what happened, and it was such a satisfying, well resolved ending.  It’s a brilliant fictionalising (is that a word?!) of a real historical event I had been completely unaware of…  Forgive my obvious comparison to The Help, but it is every bit as good, in my view.     It deserves to be a great success, and I hope it will be…’ Elizabeth Noble

‘A taut and powerful novel that I found deeply moving. A riveting piece of social history, it’s also a love story and a devastating account of what it’s like to experience such a disaster.’  Daily Mail

‘LOVE Summertime. Wow, what a novel. Almost hurts to read because you can feel the danger and the possibility of things going wrong all the time. So powerful. Exquisitely written and so evocative.  She is an amazing writer.’  Cathy Kelly

“Under a Dark Summer Sky is a tender love story, an unflinching look at racial tension, and a gripping account of what it’s like to survive a powerful hurricane on the Florida Keys in the 1930s. A haunting debut novel!” Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of The Plum Tree and What She Left Behind

‘This is Vanessa Lafaye’s debut novel, and what a writer she is! She has a talent with words that enables her prose to glide across the page.’ Tripfiction

’15 BRILLIANT BOOKS TO READ IN FEBRUARY:  Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye is part love story, part eye-opening insight into a tumultuous time in American history.’ Good Housekeeping

“In Vanessa Lafaye’s extensively researched novel, set during the Great Depression, a hurricane exposes the horrific prejudice and hate that lie beneath the placid surface of an upscale town on the Florida keys…a fast-paced page-turner.” Anna Jean Mayhew, author of The Dry Grass of August

‘American novelist Vanessa Lafaye’s impressive debut melds social history, crime noir, romance, and disaster fiction.’ Sunday Times

‘I was given an advance reader copy of this book…At times I found this book hard to read because the tension was so high I almost couldn’t bear it and yet I couldn’t put it down. It kept me awake reading last night until I finished it in the small hours. Gripping, compelling and simply un-put-downable.’ Liz Fenwick

This is an incredibly powerful story, with deep and very detailed characters. The terrifying and powerful storm is described so well, with details that are both violent and heartbreaking…A novel of small town America, of racial divide, of the strength of nature and ultimately a love story. Summertime is an exquisite piece of writing; rich, satisfying and beautiful.  Anne Cater

 

Bookseller magazine profile 3 October 2014