Skin Deep

Author/Guide: Liz Nugent

Why a Booktrail?

2018: Escapism of the darkest order..

ISBN: 978-0241979730
Genre: Psychological, Thriller

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What you need to know before your trail

Cordelia Russell has been living on the French Riviera for twenty-five years, passing herself off as an English socialite. But her luck, and the kindness of strangers, have run out.

The arrival of a visitor from her distant past shocks Cordelia. She reacts violently to the intrusion and flees her flat to spend a drunken night at a glittering party. As dawn breaks she stumbles home through the back streets. Even before she opens her door she can hear the flies buzzing. She did not expect the corpse inside to start decomposing quite so quickly . .

Locations

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Ireland
C: Inishmore

Travel Guide

Cote d’ Azur

Cordelia heads to Nice to start life over – or at least to adopt someone else’s. She sets herself up on the Côte d’Azur using her looks and her charm to get by. However, her age is catching up with her and so she is not getting the attention of men she is used to. Beauty is, ironically, only skin deep.

Appearances can be deceptive. Wherever you are, you can pretend to be someone else:

I could probably have been an actress. It is not difficult to pretend to be somebody else. Isn’t that what I’ve been doing for most of my life?

“I wanted to live a life with open sky and the sound of waves to soothe me to sleep. I wanted isolation”.

From the glamour of the Promenade des Anglais to the Negresco hotel which plays a major role in the story, the rich and wealthy location contrasts nicely with the Island of Inishcrann.

Island of Inishcrann (fictional)

Oh the tiny Island of Inishcrann , which translated from the Irish language means The Island of the Tree. This is the second location of the book and fits well with the change in Cordelia’s character.

It’s bleak, lonely and cold. In Delia’s mind, she was the Queen of Inishcrann and the world was her oyster. Her father is largely to blame for this character trait. He tells her folklore tales of the islands and how one day she will be Queen of Inishcrann.

These island stories are peppered throughout the novel. An island which means danger, isolation and an untameable nature.