SHE CAME TO STAY
By Eleni Kyriacou
London in the 50s might seem a long time ago for many readers but this page-turning book brings it back to life in full technicolour. The story is told through the eyes of our heroine, Dina, who arrives in the capital from rural Cyprus to make a new life for herself. She is shackled to her no-good brother Peter and the mysterious yet glamorous Bebba.
Londoners will love the beautifully written descriptions of the city, from Soho’s sooty, foggy alleyways to the dive bars where a fur coat, red lipstick and an elegant cigarette holder were de rigueur.
If you need a book that will whisk you away to another world, some real escapism, this is the perfect choice – a great new thriller from a new author whose Greek lineage gives an immigrant’s story a different dimension. I love crime novels and London so it was the perfect book for me and I loved the way it was written in a very cinematic form.
Vicky Mayer