The Last Days of Summer
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  • Published: 15 August 2017
  • ISBN: 9780241974971
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $26.00

The Last Days of Summer

Formats & editions
EBook
5 May 2016
Audiobook
5 May 2016
Paperback
15 Aug 2017
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'Beautiful and invigoratingly shocking' Joseph O'Connor, Irish Times

Mid-July in Texas. Cicadas shed their dry summer skins, the scent of roses hangs heavy in the still air, and a woman sits alone on her porch at dusk, watching the empty, merciless prairie, its light falling to darkness. He's coming home.

Upstairs, Lizzie knows, her daughters are safe in their beds. Joanne, still young enough to smile at strangers, one last summer of childhood left in her. Katie, already a beauty, the first flush of womanhood blooming on her skin. Both sleeping soundly.

But out beyond the boundary of their land, the townspeople sleep fitfully. Too many have heard that Jasper is coming back - folk who know him of old, who remember what he did - men who will make it their business to see he doesn't stay too long round these parts ...
  • Published: 15 August 2017
  • ISBN: 9780241974971
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $26.00
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Praise for The Last Days of Summer

Vivid storytelling. ... makes your fingers tremble when you turn the pages. The terror and the pity of it will stay with you for a long time

Sunday Times

With a blistering ending that leaves you racing to its conclusion ... an exciting new talent

Stylist

A powerful, formidable debut ... what a gripping, dark, compelling story this is

Donal Ryan

Opens Vanessa Ronan's literary career the way dynamite opens a safe ... beautiful and invigoratingly shocking

Joseph O'Connor, Irish Times

Shades of In Cold Blood and Truman Capote, shades of Harper Lee ... very tense and there's constant mystery hovering over every page

Ryan Tubridy, RTE

Refreshing, vivid and full of suspense ... it's exciting to come across such a great new talent

RTE Guide

Full of dark tension ... extraordinarily accomplished

Irish Examiner

Phenomenally atmospheric ... beautifully written and very very gripping

Marian Keyes

Each word is weighted with dread and laden with drama ... impressive

Sunday Independent

A tense, atmospheric, intriguing read

Liz Nugent, author of Richard and Judy Spring Book Club 2017 winner, Lying in Wait

Beautifully crafted and dark family drama

Heat

A novel of vengeance. Texas under a merciless sun. A criminal comes home. Can his neighbours forget what he did? Can his sister forgive it? Can her daughters survive the hatred?

From the Publisher's Description