El último verano de Silvia Blanch / The Last Summer of Silvia Blanch
The last person to see Silvia Blanch – disappeared without trace in the summer of 2017 – is now dead. Alex, a young journalist is sent for a weekend to a village in the Montseny mountains where Silvia lived, to talk with her family and to write a commemorative article a year after the disappearance. She becomes so involved in the case that she decides to spend the summer in the village to get the answers. However, she realizes soon enough that her presence annoys the inhabitants of the village, especially Silvia’s cousin, Jan with whom she falls in love with despite the disturbing secrets he hides.
It has been a year since Silvia Blanch disappeared. Her car, a white mini, was found in one of the bends of a winding road that leads to her beloved village in the mountainous Montseny region whereas she, her mobile phone and the rest of her personal belongings disappeared without trace. Some still hope that she is alive and did not go away of her own free will. The less optimistic speculate that a stranger who was passing by kidnapped her but in spite of a most thorough search nothing is found, not even the slightest trail to help find out what happened to Silvia Blanch on that night. As of this very day, her disappearance is still a mystery. 27th July 2018
What a way to toy with the characters and the readers. What dynamism. What descriptive aptitude. How ably Lorena Franco keeps the secret of The Last Summer of Silvia Blanch until the last pages.
It is the first book of this author which I read and I truly enjoyed it. I have related perfectly to the plot, the setting and the atmosphere, its vivid characters and it got me hooked from the beginning to the end. Dynamic and unputdownable, it keeps you in suspense until the end. It has left me with a desire for more.
The Last Summer of Silvia Blanch grips the reader from the very first page. The author knows how to entertain and, before you realise it, she takes you to a different place, wanting you to have a look around. Searching for the truth has been a challenge. Go and read it because Lorena Franco has delivered an awesome thriller. What happened to Silvia Blanch?
I have enjoyed it even more because, while reading the story, nothing turned out to be as I expected. It is a bold novel with well-intertwined characters and well-kept secrets… Unputdownable from the very first page.
