Editorial Content for High Season
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Imagine having a home in the south of France to escape to each summer. The Draytons have such a place, a grand old house overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a mansion the locals call the pink house.
Evelyn Drayton, a one-time “it” girl who is aging now, loves throwing lavish parties and collecting boyfriends. She always invites more people to her bashes at the pink house than she knows and makes each of her soirees a huge deal. But the focus of this story is a party she threw there 20 years ago, when a terrible tragedy occurred at her birthday celebration. Her teenage daughter, Tamara, ended up in the pool, floating in bloody water. They fished her out, but she died later in the hospital. Worse yet, Evelyn’s five-year-old daughter, Nina, claimed that she saw the whole thing and that her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water.
Who wouldn’t believe Nina? Despite her tender age, which easily could make her story subject to question, she came from privilege. Josie, however, came from the other end of the social scale.
"Along with a superb story, HIGH SEASON has fully realized characters of all ethical and moral fibers.... This is a deeply layered novel with chapter after chapter promising intrigue and entertainment. And sometimes a bit of heartbreak."
Josie had a somewhat rough childhood. But she had a great friend in Hannah, another local youth. The girls worked at whatever jobs they could scrape up, including occasional babysitting or serving at parties like Evelyn’s. As teens, it was impossible not to see the Drayton twins, Blake and Tamara, around the French seaside village. It was easy to become a little envious. And for Hannah, Blake represented the dream boyfriend. He was rich, gorgeous and confident --- and, best of all, he seemed to like her. This ended up being a lethal cocktail that formed a wedge between the best friends and blinded Hannah as only young love can do. However, this time, that young love came with consequences far beyond what anyone could have imagined, especially for one of them.
Twenty years later, as adults, the friends and one-time lovers cross paths again. They discover long-buried truths and lies. They learn that some of the people they knew back then were not who they believed them to be. And even some who are in their lives now they see in a different light. When truths are exposed, lives are changed. For better or for worse. But it’s time to put things right.
HIGH SEASON explores how society treats people from different classes in vastly different ways. It demonstrates how easy it is to believe that someone of a lesser status might be guilty of a crime even though little or no real evidence exists, and how easy it is to dismiss the truth even when it presents itself because of who it involves. Nina was the youngest person to testify in a French court, yet few questioned the veracity of her story. The authorities already had the guilty party, so the facts had to be made to fit their theory. We all want to believe that this does not happen, but Katie Bishop did not write this fictional story based on nothing. It does happen. All too often, unfortunately.
Along with a superb story, HIGH SEASON has fully realized characters of all ethical and moral fibers. They make their own journey here, and either they learn or they don’t. This is a deeply layered novel with chapter after chapter promising intrigue and entertainment. And sometimes a bit of heartbreak.
Teaser
On a beautiful summer’s night 20 years ago, troubled 17-year-old Tamara Drayton was found floating face down in the pool of her family’s idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, golden-boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family. Also left behind was their sister, Nina; at six years old, she became the youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. She’s the only one who saw what happened --- who watched as her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water and held her there until she stopped breathing. Didn’t she? Twenty years later, Nina's memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister’s murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out.
Promo
On a beautiful summer’s night 20 years ago, troubled 17-year-old Tamara Drayton was found floating face down in the pool of her family’s idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, golden-boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family. Also left behind was their sister, Nina; at six years old, she became the youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. She’s the only one who saw what happened --- who watched as her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water and held her there until she stopped breathing. Didn’t she? Twenty years later, Nina's memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister’s murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out.
About the Book
Never speak of that summer.
On a beautiful summer’s night 20 years ago, troubled 17-year-old Tamara Drayton was found floating face down in the pool of her family’s idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, golden-boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family.
Also left behind was their sister, Nina; at six years old, she became the youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. She’s the only one who saw what happened --- who watched as her babysitter, Josie Jackson, pushed Tamara under the water and held her there until she stopped breathing.
Didn’t she? Twenty years later, Nina's memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister’s murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out.
But the truth always comes at a cost. Who will pay the price?
Set over two unforgettable summers two decades apart, HIGH SEASON is a dark, tense exploration of the nature of memory, the enduring power of truth, and all the gray areas in between.
Audiobook available, read by Alix Dunmore
