Angel at the Paradise Hotel
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley April 17, 2023
Author Teresa O'Driscoll
Distributor: Roundfire Books
ISBN: 978-1-78904-885-8
Publisher: John Hunt Publication
Release Date: April 2023
Website: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com
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Gentle and nicely presented this enjoyable tale, Angel at the Paradise Hotel, tells of good, bad and the choices people make. Set on the lovely Greek Island of Corfu, in the little resort town of Korkyra, where the Paradise Hotel is located, it is the favourite small town of Bethany Griffiths; divorced and set on writing her first novel.
She has taken a year away from work and intends to spend the first six months on Corfu, the following six in New York, researching for her book. But all is not well in her little slice of paradise, as she soon discovers on her return. There are some very nasty demons on the loose which will make for a very different summer, for not just Bethany, but also the families who have lived there for centuries.
Jason, the Manager of the Paradise Hotel, is determined to make as much money as he possibly can over the summer, regardless of the damage along the way. He is in love and has promised to marry Katarina, daughter of Spiro, who owns and runs one of the small local shops.
Aeron has arrived from America facing serious depression. He has been there before with his family and loved the tranquillity and friendliness of the small town. He has come there to heal, perhaps find some summer work and try and find a pathway through his troubled life.
Clare, newly separated and hurting also arrives in town looking for a summer job and unintentionally finds she is falling in love with Jason, but puts it down to a summer fling, nothing more; but is it.
An interesting, if somewhat disturbing summer in Korkyra is set to unfold, which will keep the Angel of Greece, Gabriella and her cohorts very busy indeed and will have a long lasting effect on the small community.
For anyone who has spent time at a summer resort, they will easily recognise they characters in the people they have met or observed. Teresa O’Driscoll brings them alive on the pages so they seem like people you know or have probably met on your summer idle.
She has also captured the very essence of the people in the many small communities who live along the coastlines of the Greek Islands perfectly, in Spiros, Yiorgos, Katerina, Soula and others, along with the traditional beliefs and hatreds that can run for generations.
Angel At The Paradise Hotel makes a charming summer read for time at the beach or simply curled up with a book taking time out.