Summer of '76 - Softcover

'A fabulous coming-of-age novel that's saturated in '70s nostalgia.' - Glamour magazine 'Summer of '76 did not disappoint. Evocative of that hot, dry summer - book groups will have a lot to discuss.' - NewBooks Magazine 'Ashdown always manages to capture a real sense of Britain's past without resorting to rose-tinted glasses.' - Bella Magazine 'Isabel Ashdown is adept at portraying the bickering normalcy of ordinary family life ... [she] effortlessly transports you back to the seventies - a world of Abba, flares, punk and David Bowie.' - Press Association 'Isabel Ashdown writes with an incredibly perceptive style, her characters are well-rounded- at times amusing and at times intense...Just when you think you know what is going to happen, Ashdown subverts your expectations. The novel's denouement is a compelling whodunit, with twists and turns to grip until the very end, making Summer of '76 a great book for summer holiday reading.' - We Love This Book 'Isabel Ashdown handles big themes and period details with heart.' - The Simple Things Magazine 'The author paints a beautiful picture of a classic British summer, and has created characters that are likeable and interesting, flawed but real.' - The Chichester Local 'A thought-provoking novel, funny as well as moving, and extremely difficult to put down. Isabel Ashdown writes with clarity and grace.' - Jane Rusbridge, author of Rook and The Devil's Music

In this intense novel of secrets and simmering passions the acclaimed author of Glasshopper and Hurry Up and Wait takes us back to the legendary heatwave of 1976. It's the start of one of the hottest summers on record with soaring temperatures and weeks without rain; the summer of Abba, T-Rex, David Bowie and Demis Roussos; of Martinis, cheesecake and chicken chasseur; of the Montreal Olympics and the Notting Hill riots - the summer Big Ben stopped dead. Luke Wolff is about to turn eighteen and is all set to enjoy his last few months at home on the Isle of Wight before leaving for college. Life is looking good; his job at a holiday camp promises new friendships, even the possibility of romance, and his parents are too preoccupied with their own lives to worry much about their son's growing independence. But with windows and doors constantly open and life increasingly lived outside, secrets become hard to hide. As Luke listens in, his parents' seemingly ordered lives come unstuck. Soon the community is gripped by scandal, and everything Luke thought he knew about family and trust is turned on its head. With her fine eye for the drama of everyday life, Isabel Ashdown perceptively unravels the complexity of her characters' lives - and reveals what really lies beneath the deceptively smooth surface.