Book info

• Title The Summer We All Ran Away
• Author Cassandra Parkin
• Year 2013
• Genre Contemporary

When nineteen-year-old Davey finds himself drunk, beaten and alone, he is rescued by the oddly assorted inhabitants of an abandoned and beautiful house in the West Country. Their only condition for letting him join them is that he asks them no questions. More than thirty years ago in that same house, burned-out rock star Jack Laker writes a ground-breaking comeback album, and abandons the girl who saved his life to embark on a doomed and passionate romance with a young actress. His attempt to escape his destructive lifestyle leads to deceit, debauchery and even murder. As Davey and his fellow housemate Priss try to uncover the secrets of the house's inhabitants, both past and present, it becomes clear that the five strangers have all been drawn there by the events and the music of that long-ago summer.

Thoughts

I knew nothing about this book when I picked it up to read, I suspect even it might have been the cover that tempted me to buy it. I’m so glad I did, though, because it’s an intriguing little mystery of a book full of bizarre but fascinating characters.

The story mostly follows Davey, who runs away from home and ends up being taken in by a group of squatters in a large house. Gradually, we find out the history of the house itself, and how the rest of the group found their way to their current situation.

It all feels a bit like a dream, the way the narratives wind in and out of each other, and gradually the pieces slot together, and the presence of a terrifying wild animal doesn’t help to ground it! But I really enjoyed the story and read it through almost in one sitting.

Rating: 4 / 5