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Barbara Whitnell
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The View From The Summerhouse: A WWII mystery set in Cornwall (Barbara Whitnell Cornish Novels) Kindle Edition

by Barbara Whitnell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
A dramatic historical saga! Perfect for fans of Rosamunde Pilcher, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Liz Fenwick and Kate Morton.

Some secrets are best left where they were buried…

Newly retired and mourning the death of his wife, David Holt finds himself reminiscing about his time in Cornwall, where he was stationed as an American GI in the last weeks before D-Day.

Befriended by the famous broadcaster Caleb Carne and his family, he became a plaything for Carne’s beguiling daughter, Trish. David has never forgotten those days of friendship, first love and heartbreak.

Nor has he forgotten the terrible events that occurred on his last night with the Carnes … events which he is still trying to make sense of nearly forty years later.

When David’s journalist son Simon is commissioned to write an article as part of Caleb Carne’s ninety-fifth birthday celebrations, David sees an opportunity to get to the bottom of things at last.

He travels to England to meet with Carne again, and to try to understand what happened on that terrifying last night in Cornwall…

But can David persuade Carne to tell the truth? And will his search for answers bring him the peace he seeks?

Or could digging up the past have terrible consequences for all concerned?

Set in picturesque Cornwall, THE VIEW FROM THE SUMMERHOUSE is a dual timeline saga of first love, heartbreak and dark secrets set during the Second World War and the 1990s.

‘The lyrically rendered settings of WWII and contemporary Cornwall highlight this well-paced novel from Whitnell’ – Publishers Weekly
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  1. Part of series
    Barbara Whitnell Cornish Novels
  2. Print length
    393 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    September 19, 2022
  5. File size
    2.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 6 books in this series.
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The lyrically rendered settings of WWII and contemporary Cornwall highlight this well-paced novel from Whitnell (Charmed Circle). Recently widowed and newly retired from a New York ad agency, David Holt is knocking around home, wondering when he will stop seeing his wife in every corner of the garden he's unsuccessful at tending. He's ripe, then, for adventure when his journalist son Simon calls from London to say that he's been commissioned to write an article on legendary radio broadcaster Caleb Carne, whose stirring panegyrics to Britain garnered great fame during the war. Carne is a name out of David's past. As a 19-year-old American soldier, David had practically been adopted by the Carne family after a chance meeting with the youngest Carne daughter, Pen. Pen's sisters, Trish and Caro, are also potent figures in David's memory?especially Trish, who broke his heart. But that was nothing compared to the horror he experienced in a small boat off the Cornish coast with Caleb Carne and an ill-explained corpse. Meaning to get answers, David accepts Simon's offer to visit him with the Carnes; he also means to correct his original mistake and explore the possibility of a relationship with the right Carne sister this time around. While Simon has his own stormy relationship with Laura, the granddaughter of old Carne's former mistress, the puzzle of Carne's life and career is slowly put together through the flashbacks of the older generation and the investigations of the younger one. Still, despite a plausible plot, intriguing characters and romance, the surprising answer to the central mystery doesn't fully engage and, in the end, it all seems a bit too facile.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Cornwall, a Cornish village occupied by Allied forces awaiting D-Day, holds a magical spell for young GI David Holt, which is broken when he is asked to help Caleb Carne, a famous BBC commentator and Cornwall resident, dispose of a body. Told that the dead man was a spy, Holt wondered for decades about the truth of the matter. Finally, he is drawn back into the past when his son Simon is commissioned to write an article on Caleb Carne, and Holt accepts an invitation to participate in a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the BBC commentator's ninety-fifth birthday. At the same time that Holt's son is writing a story on the famous commentator and sorting out the direction of his professional and personal life, Holt is looking for the truth of the past and romance for the present. Within her multifaceted, contemporary fiction, Whitnell adroitly intermingles historical events and romance. Denise Perry Donavin

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BFXKR87K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (September 19, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 19, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 393 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

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Barbara Whitnell

Barbara Whitnell

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
16 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • 2002Tiifan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Too bad they're out of print
    Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I have loved every Barbara Whitnell book I've read. Unfortunately her books are now out of print. Just about every one that I have purchased has come "used" from a library in Great Britain. If you enjoy books by Maeve Binchey, you will lover Whitnell's also.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars An old mystery on the English coast
    Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2000
    I have recently discovered Barbara Whitnell's books and am very disappointed that so many of her titles are out of print. Her books are a combination of Rosamund Pilchers charming English country side family dynamics with a bit of Mary Higgins Clark's wonderful mysteries added.
    The View From the Summer House is a wonderful read with down to earth and likable characters. The mystery is superbly crafted.
    If you are making a list of "summer reads" I recommend that you at A View From the Summer House to your list.
    11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Satisfied customer.
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read.
    Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    The story, set in Cornwall, comes to life in parallel settings, and brought together as the tale unfolds in mystery and romance. The characters are many, but not complicated, full of personality. The narrative is often humorous, not overly done, with thought described in good detail. Enjoyed the book.
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