Words leave imprints in your mind like footprints in the sand...
beach reading
starry skies to read under
reading in nature
  • Location: New York City, Saronic Islands

The Greek Escape

The Greek Escape

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: Can you really escape from the thoughts in your head?

  • ISBN: 978-1509838110
  • Genre: Fiction, Romance

What you need to know before your trail

Running from heartbreak, Chloe Marston leaves her old life in London for a fresh start in New York. Working at a luxury concierge company, she makes other people’s lives run perfectly, even if her own has ground to a halt. Following an accident, Chloe is asked to take on the demands of charismatic Joe Lincoln, so when he asks her to find him a secluded holiday home in the Greek Islands, she sets about sourcing the perfect retreat.

But when Tom, her ex, unexpectedly shows up in Manhattan and the stability of her new life is thrown off-balance again, she jumps at the chance to help Joe inspect the holiday house; escaping to Greece will give her the time and space to decide where her future truly lies.

But whatever her heart is telling her, she’s in over her head – another client’s wife has mysteriously disappeared and serious allegations about Joe threaten more than just her happiness. Who can she trust?

Locations

Reset

Travel Guide

New York

The story starts here in the city that never sleeps and it’s the buzz of activity which keeps Chloe busy from day one! Working for a concierge service, you have to be expected to do anything and everything at any time and Chloe has some demanding clients!

Lucky for her that there’s the lovely Strand Books which makes an appearance in the novel. This shop saves the day for many a New Yorker but in this novel its also the place where two of the characters meet.

Greenwich village is the popular setting for other parts of the book from Perry Street, where Chloe lives to the feel and atmosphere in the novel as a whole.

Coming from Northumberland in Engand, she realises she misses the sheep and cows and is instead woken up by the noise of the streets. Still, the city energises her and the pulse of the city has pulled her from the doldrums into a new rhythm of living.

Greece

Hydra

Part of the Saronic Islands unreachable by planes or helicopters! So like the characters in the book, you have to land on an outcrop of land nearby and take a boat the rest of the way. There’s no cars or scooters allowed on the island either so it really does sound idyllic – no wonder Joe wants to find a place here! The only method of transport….is the humble donkey!

The harbour

It was only a short hope to the port and both she and Joe straightened up, impressed and excited, as they came into the handsome harbour. It was crescent shaped and endlessly flanked by tall,robust houses, while-hulled local fishing boats tethered outside cafes and tavernas, deep-draught gin palaces and yachts moored in the deeper water.

Limnioniza

They head here, to the bay and head straight for the tiny taverna, led by their noses and the wonderful aroma of freshly grilled fish.

The island here as elsewhere is  made p of craggy hillsides and landscapes ideal for a bootcamper’s dream. The water is a deep and inviting turquoise and so clear you can see the fish and rocks below. The beaches seem to be fine shingle as opposed to sand but the whole scene is still one of paradise and sunshine!

Streetview Maps

A) America - New York - East 10th street
E) Greece - Hydra Island- Harbour

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

If you’ve ever wanted to know about the concierge business for the rich and famous, then this novel wil make you gasp and if you know a lot about it – it’ll still make you gasp. It’s outrageous some of the demands made upon the staff. I wouldn’t have the patience to bite my tongue as some of these characters do.

Anyway, this is a fun summer read. A bit Housewives of (insert city name here) but full of sun, plastic people and an insight into how the other half live. The grass is not greener here – it’s fake!

The New York strand of the novel is a story of craziness and working hard. Once we get to Greece (and it’s quite late in the book) there’s a sense of calm and serenity. Of course if you happen to fall in love with the man you’re supposed to be working for, that feeling is not going to last for long.

Greece is the place to be here and once there, this novel transports you to a bout a house hunting and a dream that that could be you. A beach read as much is set in a very nice whitewashed coastal area

Booktrail Boarding Pass:  The Greek Escape

Destination : New York City, Hydra, Limnionza  Author/Guide: Karen Swan  Departure Time: 2000s

Back to Results

Featured Book

The Royal Librarian

1940, 2000s:  A royal palace. A closed book. A betrayal that will echo through generations…

Read more