Under a Dark Summer Sky (Thorndike Press Large Print Historical Fiction) - Tapa dura

"A storming debut novel [that] captures the racial and social tensions in southern America after the First World War. Part social history and part love story, this features the hurricane as a forceful, malevolent character in its own right, whipping through the pages." - The Bookseller

""Under a Dark Summer Sky" is a tender love story, an unflinching look at racial tension, and a gripping account of what its like to survive a powerful hurricane on the Florida Keys in the 1930s. A haunting debut novel!" - Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of The Plum Tree and What She Left Behind

"A taut and powerful novel....deeply moving. A riveting piece of social history, it's also a love story and a devastating account of what it's like to experience such a disaster." - The Daily Mail

"In Vanessa Lafaye's extensively researched novel, set during the great depression, a hurricane exposes the horrific prejudice and hate that lie beneath the placid surface of an upscale town on the Florida keys. The historic 1935 storm hits a shabby camp housing WWI veterans, shattering their hopes of a better life. Henry, one of the vets, is a home-town boy who has returned with the slim hope of reclaiming his life as it was before the war; he is surprised and heartened to find the enduring love of Missy, a lovely young woman who has never forgotten him. A fast-paced page turner." - Anna Jean Mayhew, author of The Dry Grass of August

"Lafaye's debut novel succeeds on the merits of its well-drawn characters, its sense of place, and on the tragic events it details. The author keeps the reader at a distance from the characters, but this serves a greater purpose: a focus on the big picture of a town struggling under the weight of the past. Readers of historical fiction will find this book rewarding." - Library Journal

"Part love-story, part eye-opening insight into a tumultuous time in American history - the years after the First World War, when veterans tried to rebuild their lives and racial tensions ran high." - GOOD HOUSEKEEPING UK

"In one night nature changes this small town more than ever before ... If you love The Help, you'll love this." - CLOSER

"This is Vanessa Lafaye's debut novel, and what a writer she is! She has a talent with words that enables her prose to glide across the page, there are no superfluous words, and each paragraph eases the story along. She is a natural creator of atmosphere and suspense, and with a deft hand she creates credible, yet humanly flawed characters. She also creates a very palpable setting, the heat, the oppressive temperatures and the gurgling, sulphurous swampland all assault the reader's senses.(5 STARS) " - TRIP FICTION

"Lafaye brilliantly depicts one of the worst disasters in Florida's history, as well as a turbulent era of segregation and hostility. Her prose makes it feel as if you were in the eye of the storm. Lafaye is a powerful writer and a talent to watch." - RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars