300 Days of Sun

March 15, 2016

British journalist Joanna Millard has come to Faro in the Algarve region of southern Portugal to escape an annoying boyfriend. There, she meets engaging Nathan Emberlin, who asks for help in finding a man who traffics in children. Nathan has just learned that he was adopted and might have been abducted in Portugal. Joanna's research leads to Ian Rylands, a retired British civil servant with ties to the intelligence community. Rylands tells Joanna to read Esta Hartford's 1954 novel, The Alliance, a true story, he claims, with names changed. Presented in excerpts, the novel describes the flight of an American couple from Paris to Lisbon during the early years of World War II and the later kidnapping of their son, who was returned, and then a nephew, their daughter's two-year-old boy, never seen again. Was Nathan that child? VERDICT As in The Lantern and The Sea Garden, Lawrenson merges past and present, doubling identities and events to dazzling (and sometimes dizzying) effect. Set against the lush but corrupt coastal resorts of southern Portugal, the novel's shadowy deeds seem only more dangerous in this sunny clime. While not as intense as Robert Wilson's Portuguese thrillers, this novel is sure to please those who relish the untangling of crimes in exotic locales.--Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2016
Journalist Joanna Millard has traveled to the Portuguese town of Faro to escape an unhappy love affair and a stalled career. While attending language school, she meets Nathan Emberlin, a charming young man with a mysterious past. Nathan's recent discovery of his adoption has led him to believe he is one of several children abducted from the area more than two decades ago. With Joanna's help, the two embark on an odyssey that will take them deep into Portuguese history, particularly the dark years during WWII, when Portugal was under Nazi influence and its economy was overrun by corruption and the ravages of wartime. Joanna's discoveries lead her to Ian Rylands, an English expat who insists the solution to the puzzle is to be found in The Alliance, a novel written by Esta Hartford that recounts her personal and professional experiences in Portugal during the war. As Joanna delves deeper into the mystery, she begins to suspect the novel and Nathan's story may be one and the same. Lawrenson (The Sea Garden, 2015) has written a deeply satisfying novel, a rich story with a strong feeling for time and place and the expert pacing of the best thrillers. Readers will appreciate Lawrenson's ability to combine stunning atmosphere with a fascinating historical backstory.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)