Let TripFiction help you find your holiday novels: Summer 2013

We have been asked on so many occasions to help people choose their holiday reading - books that aren't too onerous but will keep the reader gripped. We shall therefore share some of our favourites, very often they are not mainstream, but always evocative of location; by combining our suggestions with the titles currently readily available at your local bookshop, you will hopefully find the perfect combination for your holiday. It would be great if you would add your suggestions, too, in the Comments Box. Click on the covers to find out more or if you are looking for something specific, contact us via BookButler

"Sometimes travelling alone can be murder".... Backpack by Emily Barr opens with Tansy burying her Mother, the end of a lifetime of care that frees her up to leave her job and go travelling. Young Tansy is not a likeable character as she jets off to Vietnam, her demons plague the prose - alcoholism, drug-taking...you name it. To begin with she is a hugely self-referring character, critical of others, desultory about events, and just plain angry. It is a struggle to stick with her. But stick with her you must, because she takes her readers to all kinds of wonderful places on the backpacker trail, and introduces us to the obvious places like the Khao San Road in Bangkok, and amazing Lao and the Plain Jars (and what their purpose was, nobody knows) as well as China and Tibet. So, enjoy the read as she develops her sense of self in exotic surroundings, as the pathos builds with the backstory of the murders of young women, all of whom bare a resemblance to her.

Tigers in Red Weather by Lisa Klaussmann set in Martha's Vineyard. Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summers at Tiger House, the glorious old family estate on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. As World War II ends they are on the cusp of adulthood, the world seeming to offer itself up to them. Helena is leaving for Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is to be reunited with her young husband Hughes, due to return from London and the war. Everything is about to change. Neither quite finds the life she had imagined, and as the years pass, the trips to Tiger House take on a new complexity. Then, on the brink of the 1960s, Nick’s daughter Daisy and Helena’s son Ed make a sinister discovery. It plunges the island’s bright heat into private shadow and sends a depth-charge to the heart of the family. Summer seemed to arrive at that moment, with its mysterious mixture of salt, cold flesh and fuel. Magnificently told from five perspectives, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut: a simmering novel of passion, betrayal and secret violence beneath a polished and fragile facade.

A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry. The journey of a lifetime from London to Venice. For one group of passengers settling in to their seats and taking their first sips of champagne, the journey from London to Venice is more than the trip of a lifetime.

A mysterious errand; a promise made to a dying friend; an unexpected proposal; a secret reaching back a lifetime...As the train sweeps on, revelations, confessions and assignations unfold against the most romantic and infamous setting in the world.
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What about Your Saucepans by Lindsay de Feliz - the author walked away from an enviable lifestyle - marriage, successful career, expensive holidays, designer clothes, fast cars - to pursue her dream of being a SCUBA diving instructor. She could not have predicted the journey ahead when she arrived in the heat, sunshine and vibrant culture of the Dominican Republic. She found love, a ready-made family and - despite being shot in a bungled robbery - a desire to help the Dominican people, many living in abject poverty. She supported her husband as he ran for political office and with Lindsay by his side they were a formidable team. As the campaign gathered momentum, they learnt the hard way what happens when you oppose those in power. Fighting corruption, double-dealing and with their lives at risk, they were forced into hiding. Their incredible story is stranger than fiction and twice as menacing. The dark underbelly of the Dominican Republic is exposed, from the tourist beaches to the soaring mountains of the interior. Lindsay tells it how it is, but in the telling her deep love for the Dominican Republic, its culture and its people shines through.


The Rent Collector by Camron Wright is set in Cambodia, on a waste dump, just outside Phnom Penh. This is the story of people who pick over the rubbish at Stung Meanchey - they make their homes from rubbish, they pick up their cooking implements and pots from the dump, their very existence is underpinned by the dump. Sang Li makes her living on the dump, and this is her world. Her son Nissay is constantly sick with diarrahoea and can't keep any food down so he doesn't grow.

The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown set in Valencia, is a lovely story of life, love and loss and the art of perfume. Set in modern day with a backstory set in the period of the Spanish Civil War, Emma begins to explore her roots and herself. Beautifully evocative of Valencia

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The Lake House by Marci Nault is set in New England. Enter this thoughtful novel full of romance, friendship, jealousy, tragedy, and above all hope. The community of Lake Nagog is small and secluded and provides a beautiful backdrop for the storyline.

The Son-in-Law by Charity Norman is set in Yorkshire, UK On a sharp winter's morning, a man turns his back on prison. Joseph Scott has served his term. He's lost almost everything: his career as a teacher, his wife, the future he'd envisaged. All he has left are his three children but he is not allowed anywhere near them. This is the story of Joseph, who killed his wife, Zoe. Of their three children who witnessed the event. Of Zoe's parents, Hannah and Frederick, who are bringing up the children and can't forgive or understand Joseph. They slowly adjust to life without Zoe, until the day Joseph is released from prison...Our Blogpost

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Cafe by Mary Simses is set in fictional Beacon, Maine: Manhattan lawyer Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish - to find the hometown boy she once loved and give him her last letter. Beacon, Maine, home to blueberry fields and eccentric locals, is the last place she wants to go so close to her upcoming wedding. Hoping to be in and out in 24 hours, Ellen ends up the talk of the town when a tumble into the ocean introduces her to Roy Cummings, the carpenter who saves her life. Roy happens to be the nephew of Ellen's grandmother's lost love, and the one person who can bring closure to her quest. But as Ellen learns what Beacon has to offer and what her grandmother left behind, she may find that a 24 hour visit will never be enough...



Happy reading from all of us at TripFiction. Plenty more novels evocative of location on the TripFiction Website We now feature over 880 locations "see a location through an author's eyes" and combine that with a good storyline!