Mystery set in Tangier – An Echo of Scandal by Laura Madeleine

Submitted: 13th September 2019

Travel to Tangier in An Echo of Scandal

Mystery set in Tangier – An Echo of Scandal by Laura Madeleine : There’s a visit like no other to Tangier in this novel. A woman flees from Spain, ends up in Morocco dressed as a man – she’s in grave danger and her life from now on will never be the same again….

The heat and humidity dance from the page. Once they mix with the intrigue, the historical allure and the story of a writing satchel with secrets from time long ago……this is historical fiction gold right there.

Oh and did I mention the luscious locations?

BookTrail the locations in An Echo of Scandal

Setting: Hot and humid Tangier!

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I’m not sure what the best thing is about this novel – does the mystery entice as much as the location? It’s the story of a mystery writing satchel and its contents set in Tangier. Back in the 1970s, when writers wrote in houses with balconies and shutters, on typewriters and had satchels. Maybe they still do, but you are transported back to that time where the authenticity of that time shimmers like the Moroccan desert.

The novel’s structure is particularly clever as this mystery deserves. Its twists and turns like a snake in the sand from one POV to another, from one direction to the next so you never really know where you are going to end up. And when that ending comes – the snake’s tongue of the story if you will – watch out!

We start off in Cordoba Spain, where a woman has to flee and so although there is only a fleeing glimpse of this place, the Hosteria Del Potro is hot, deadly and very memorable. That strong beginning sets the reader up for a lot more intrigue to come. And boy does it come.

BookTrail the locations in An Echo of Scandal

…all the way to Tangier where we find the woman integrating herself into the life of a posh English gentleman, Arthur Langham. Fast forward to 1978 and we meet Samuel Hackett, a down on his luck writer who has a writing case with the initials A L on it. The mystery of the case and what lies within is deliciously unravelled. As you find out the links between the two stories, you can almost see and smell the writing case, feel it between your fingers as you search the pages for the truth as you read. I was almost tempted to go out and buy a satchel when reading this – and an old fashioned typewriter too to be honest.

The twists and turns of Tangier add power to the twisty mystery. Add to that, the idea of such a story taking place in the middle of the dusty desert makes you smile as you dust off the clues from this mystery. I felt like that woman in the Galaxy chocolate advert – sinking into a world of indulgence and pure escapism reading this and would advise you to lock the door and turn off your phone to truly savour the Moroccan Moments.

Glorious and wonderfully written. I shall now sink into a chair and not move until this book’s magic has worn off. Which I suspect will be quite a while. I don’t want to read anything else to take me away from that satchel and Tangier.