The Observer

“The writer is seeking an assistant” — this is the ad that Lya, a young Englishwoman who has fled to Paris from the gray London routine, sees in the newspaper. The famous writer Michael Young entrusts her with the transcription... of his diaries and invites her to spend the summer in the south of France with his family. On the seaside, Lya gives herself with all the passion of youth to fun, new acquaintances, and enjoys complete freedom. But the deeper she dives into the memories of Young's tumultuous youth, spent in Soho in the 1960s, the more the boundaries of the past and present, truth and deception blur for her. One thought does not leave Lya alone: why did Michael Young assign the job to her? In her provocative novel, Francesca Reece boldly explores male and female perspectives on the nature of desire and ambition and how far people are willing to go for them.