Publication Date: July 2, 2024
In her spellbinding new novel, New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lecoat explores the secrets and lies in a small community recovering from war, and the two young women at the center of a volatile mystery.
The German occupation is over. The Channel Islands, the only captured territory within the British Isles, are finally liberated. But the people of Jersey are left as scarred as the landscape. No longer a “summerland” holiday paradise, the island now boils with tension as locals seek revenge on anyone suspected of collaborating with the enemy during the war.
Nineteen-year-old Jean Parris, still adjusting to this fractious peace, is shocked to learn that Hazel, a teacher who lives over her dad’s shop, may be responsible for her father’s wartime arrest. Hazel denies all accusations but has reasons to conceal what really happened.
As rumors of Hazel’s guilt swell to a fury, Jean discovers new clues that suggest there were other, more sinister factors at play. When Hazel learns of Jean’s own ruinous secret, the women form an unexpected bond that sets them apart from the rest of Jean’s family and the frenzied demands for retribution. But in the end, Jean’s need to know the truth about her father may consume everything she once believed about her home, her family and herself.
For five years, Jean and her mother have managed to survive the German occupation of their community on the Channel Islands.
However, freedom can’t give them back the family patriarch, arrested and thrown into a German prison. Author Jenny Lecoat shares Jean’s story in Beyond Summerland and delves into the mystery of who turned her father into the Germans.
In a community once bustling with tourists, the impact of the German occupation is evident not only on the physical structures but also on the faces of the residents who suffered with barely enough food and heat to survive.
The drama within the storyline comes after Jean discovers that a teacher might be responsible. As the accusations increase, Jean finds much deeper secrets, as well as having to deal with one of her own.
It’s a twisty story full of historical relevance in the post-World War II era. While revenge may have initially been Jean’s motivation, a better understanding of the facts alters her perception.
Beyond Summerland depicts life interrupted by war and the struggle to move forward.
Jenny Lecoat was born in the Channel Islands where, only sixteen years earlier, Nazis had deported members of her family to concentration camps for resistance activities. Following an early career in stand-up comedy and writing features for magazines and newspapers, she became a screenwriter. Her feature film Another Mother’s Son, about her family’s experiences during the Occupation, was released in the UK in 2017. The Girl from the Channel Islands is her first novel.
