LJ Ross Picks a 'Wonderful, Clever Story' For September's Book Club

September 2023

Reading time 3 Minutes

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Northumberland-born LJ Ross is the bestselling author of the DCI Ryan murder mystery series. Each month, she shares an exclusive Book Club pick with Living North readers

This month's LJ Ross Book Club selection is Rebecca Serle's New York Times bestselling novel, One Italian Summer. Described by the author Jill Mansell as 'an extraordinary, beautiful, magical book', it tells the tale of Katy, who is left heartbroken when her beloved mother Carol dies unexpectedly.

More than a mother, Carol was her best friend, and they’d planned a mother-daughter trip to picturesque Positano in Italy that summer, a trip of a lifetime where Carol could show her daughter the town where she’d spent a summer before meeting Katy’s father. Deciding to embark on a solo adventure, soon after her arrival on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit and, buoyed by the beautiful surroundings, she feels herself coming slowly back to life.

Then, Carol appears, looking healthy and tanned—and only 30 years old…

LJ’s Thoughts:

‘This book is a wonderful summer read, but its storyline is far more than sunshine and sunbeds; it’s a carefully crafted, flowing story dealing with themes of loss and split timelines, charting the journey through grief in a wonderful, glowing and evocative story framed as the summertime exploits of two young women who become the best of friends, as they always were. It’s a clever story, at once heart-breaking and heart-warming, but don’t let the first part put you off. If you enjoy films such as The Notebook, this one is for you!’