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Prisidengusi nakties glūduma ir slėpdama krauju suteptas rankas ji galiausiai ištrūko.
Alechandra, už akių vadinama mišrūne, nepažinojo savo tėvų ir augo prižiūrima viešnamio šeimininkės. Nepatyrusi šilumos ir atjautos, saugų prieglobstį rado tik viešnamio virėjo Ifrahimo kompanijoje – jis išmokė merginą įvairiausių gudrybių, kaip pamaloninti įnoringų klientų gomurius. Deja, toks gyvenimas ilgai tęstis negalėjo ir, įvykiams pasisukus netikėta linkme, mergina yra priversta bėgti.
Leisdamasi į Ispanijos pietus Alechandra susiduria su nepritekliumi ir skurdu. Neturėdama kur prisiglausti, ant kiekvieno kampo tykant įvairiausiems pavojams ir negalėdama rodyti savo tikrojo veido, ji apsimeta jaunu vaikinu. Netikėtas susidūrimas su turtingu ir, rodos, viską gyvenime turinčiu Artūru pakeri merginą. Ji trokšta to, ką turi jis. Todėl nusekusi paskui jį į Tanžerą Alechandra pasiryžta pradėti naują gyvenimo etapą ir įsigudrina įsidarbinti turtuolio virėja. Tačiau visa tai turi savo kainą – naujieji draugai nori žinoti, nuo ko Alechandra bėga, kas ji iš tiesų yra ir ar gali ja pasitikėti.
Po penkiasdešimties metų jaunas amerikiečių rašytojas Semas klajoja Tanžero gatvėmis, ieškodamas įkvėpimo. Netikėtai jo rankose atsidūręs lagaminėlis, pažymėtas paslaptingais inicialais, įtraukia Semą į skandalų, meilės ir pavojų kupiną istoriją, kuri, pasirodo, dar toli gražu nesibaigė...
Alechandra, už akių vadinama mišrūne, nepažinojo savo tėvų ir augo prižiūrima viešnamio šeimininkės. Nepatyrusi šilumos ir atjautos, saugų prieglobstį rado tik viešnamio virėjo Ifrahimo kompanijoje – jis išmokė merginą įvairiausių gudrybių, kaip pamaloninti įnoringų klientų gomurius. Deja, toks gyvenimas ilgai tęstis negalėjo ir, įvykiams pasisukus netikėta linkme, mergina yra priversta bėgti.
Leisdamasi į Ispanijos pietus Alechandra susiduria su nepritekliumi ir skurdu. Neturėdama kur prisiglausti, ant kiekvieno kampo tykant įvairiausiems pavojams ir negalėdama rodyti savo tikrojo veido, ji apsimeta jaunu vaikinu. Netikėtas susidūrimas su turtingu ir, rodos, viską gyvenime turinčiu Artūru pakeri merginą. Ji trokšta to, ką turi jis. Todėl nusekusi paskui jį į Tanžerą Alechandra pasiryžta pradėti naują gyvenimo etapą ir įsigudrina įsidarbinti turtuolio virėja. Tačiau visa tai turi savo kainą – naujieji draugai nori žinoti, nuo ko Alechandra bėga, kas ji iš tiesų yra ir ar gali ja pasitikėti.
Po penkiasdešimties metų jaunas amerikiečių rašytojas Semas klajoja Tanžero gatvėmis, ieškodamas įkvėpimo. Netikėtai jo rankose atsidūręs lagaminėlis, pažymėtas paslaptingais inicialais, įtraukia Semą į skandalų, meilės ir pavojų kupiną istoriją, kuri, pasirodo, dar toli gražu nesibaigė...
384 pages
First published September 19, 2019
51 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
About the author
Laura Madeleine
5 books114 followersLaura Madeleine is the bestselling author of The Confectioner’s Tale, Where the Wild Cherries Grow, The Secrets Between Us and An Echo of Scandal.
As Lili Hayward she is also the author of The Cat of Yule Cottage and A Midwinter's Tail.
She lives in Bristol, but can often be found visiting her family in Devon and plotting with her sister, fantasy author Lucy Holland. You can find her on twitter @lauramadeleine or @lilihayward and instagram at lauramadeleineauthor and @lilihaywardauthor.
Laura is represented by Meg Davis at Ki Agency.
As Lili Hayward she is also the author of The Cat of Yule Cottage and A Midwinter's Tail.
She lives in Bristol, but can often be found visiting her family in Devon and plotting with her sister, fantasy author Lucy Holland. You can find her on twitter @lauramadeleine or @lilihayward and instagram at lauramadeleineauthor and @lilihaywardauthor.
Laura is represented by Meg Davis at Ki Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 22, 2022
Abandoned as a baby, Alejandra grows up living in a hosteria in Cordoba, Spain, and here she helps the cook in the kitchen. When she’s accused of a murder she didn’t commit and she's forced to flee the only home she's known. In 1920’s Spain, there's not a lot of choices for poor young women, many are made to work on the streets and Alejandra needs to hide. By chance Alejandra meets Arthur Langham and his lady friend Hilde and they live across the border in Tangiers.
Alejandra needs to leave Spain, she obtains false identity papers, dresses as a man and changes her name to Ale Del Potro. Arthur gave her his business card with the address of his villa in Tangiers called Dar Portuna, here she convinces Arthur to hire her as a cook, and hopefully nobody discovers she’s really a young woman and one with a bounty on her head.
Fifty years later, Samuel Hackett is an American writer, wandering the streets of Tangiers searching for inspiration for his next story and thinking about what he can hock to pay his rent. He discovers an old leather writing case, with the initials A. L. on it, inside is a calendar from the 1928, some old stationery and a key. Around the same time he meets Ellis Norton, an English diplomat and he finds himself drawn into a world of scandal, secrets, danger, corruption and deceit.
I received a copy of An Echo of Scandal by Laura Madeleine from NetGalley and Random house UK in exchange for an honest review. The dual timeline story takes you from a seedy inn in Spain, where powerful men take advantage of young girls, to exotic Tangiers during the 1920’s and 1950’s. Here Sam Hackett tries to solve the mystery of what really happened to Arthur Langham and Ale Del Potro, the locals call the abandoned villa the English House, they believe it’s haunted and cursed. Three and a half stars from me, a dual timeline historical mystery, with a plot full of suspense and unexpected twists and turns.
Alejandra needs to leave Spain, she obtains false identity papers, dresses as a man and changes her name to Ale Del Potro. Arthur gave her his business card with the address of his villa in Tangiers called Dar Portuna, here she convinces Arthur to hire her as a cook, and hopefully nobody discovers she’s really a young woman and one with a bounty on her head.
Fifty years later, Samuel Hackett is an American writer, wandering the streets of Tangiers searching for inspiration for his next story and thinking about what he can hock to pay his rent. He discovers an old leather writing case, with the initials A. L. on it, inside is a calendar from the 1928, some old stationery and a key. Around the same time he meets Ellis Norton, an English diplomat and he finds himself drawn into a world of scandal, secrets, danger, corruption and deceit.
I received a copy of An Echo of Scandal by Laura Madeleine from NetGalley and Random house UK in exchange for an honest review. The dual timeline story takes you from a seedy inn in Spain, where powerful men take advantage of young girls, to exotic Tangiers during the 1920’s and 1950’s. Here Sam Hackett tries to solve the mystery of what really happened to Arthur Langham and Ale Del Potro, the locals call the abandoned villa the English House, they believe it’s haunted and cursed. Three and a half stars from me, a dual timeline historical mystery, with a plot full of suspense and unexpected twists and turns.
August 10, 2022
Kaip gera pasiimti knygą į rankas ir pasinerti į istoriją, kuri tirpsta lyg ledai saulėkaitoje, apgaubia savo lipnumu. Nors ir už lango lijo lietus, man buvo šilta, netgi karšta, nes savaitgalį praleidau Maroko uostamiestye, Tanžere.
Atrodo rašytojos Lauros Madeleine vizitine kortele tapo dvi laiko linijos: praeitis ir dabartinis, kurias jungia plonos siužeto gijos. Ir čia, pasakojamas istorijas skiria 50 metų. Dvidešimtojo amžiaus trečiasis dešimtmetis, pamestinukė Alechandra apkaltinama nuskaltimu, kurio nepadarė sprunka iš Kordobos. Atsitiktinumas ją nuneša į Tanžerą, kur ji įsilieja į svaiginantį linksmybių, aukštuomenės ir nusikaltėlių pasaulį. Na, o po penkiasdešimties metų Tanžero gatvėmis vaikšto nevykėlis rašytojas amerikietis Semas Haketas. Jis svarsto, ar priimti siūlymą grįžti namo pas tėvus, ar likti čia, kai į rankas patenka senas lagaminėmis, talpinantis laiškų rašymo rinkinį. Šie daiktai rašytoją nuveda į paslapčių, skandalų bei pavojų kupiną nuotykį.
Įvykiai keičia vienas kitą, o pasakojama istorija vis pateikia staigmenų. Tai ir detektyvo elementai, ir praeities paslaptys. O kur dar krūva asmenų, kurie dedasi tuo, kuo nėra. Labai patiko būti vedžiojamai ne tik Tanžero gatvelėmis, bet ir pasakojimo labirintais.
Man Marokas iki šiol buvo toks egzotiškas kraštas. O čia pavyko nuskelti netgi į du laikmečius: kai siautėjo kontrabandininkai ir visokio plauko nusikaltėliai ir kai laimės ieškojo užsieniečiai gaudydami intriguojančias istorijas. Tanžeras pasižymi tarptautiškumu ir tai lyg vartai iš Europos į Afriką, saugantys paslaptis už žydinčių krūmų. Manau, kad ši istorija tikrai nepaliks abejingų. Kas nenorėtų nukeliauti į Tanžerą?
Atrodo rašytojos Lauros Madeleine vizitine kortele tapo dvi laiko linijos: praeitis ir dabartinis, kurias jungia plonos siužeto gijos. Ir čia, pasakojamas istorijas skiria 50 metų. Dvidešimtojo amžiaus trečiasis dešimtmetis, pamestinukė Alechandra apkaltinama nuskaltimu, kurio nepadarė sprunka iš Kordobos. Atsitiktinumas ją nuneša į Tanžerą, kur ji įsilieja į svaiginantį linksmybių, aukštuomenės ir nusikaltėlių pasaulį. Na, o po penkiasdešimties metų Tanžero gatvėmis vaikšto nevykėlis rašytojas amerikietis Semas Haketas. Jis svarsto, ar priimti siūlymą grįžti namo pas tėvus, ar likti čia, kai į rankas patenka senas lagaminėmis, talpinantis laiškų rašymo rinkinį. Šie daiktai rašytoją nuveda į paslapčių, skandalų bei pavojų kupiną nuotykį.
Įvykiai keičia vienas kitą, o pasakojama istorija vis pateikia staigmenų. Tai ir detektyvo elementai, ir praeities paslaptys. O kur dar krūva asmenų, kurie dedasi tuo, kuo nėra. Labai patiko būti vedžiojamai ne tik Tanžero gatvelėmis, bet ir pasakojimo labirintais.
Man Marokas iki šiol buvo toks egzotiškas kraštas. O čia pavyko nuskelti netgi į du laikmečius: kai siautėjo kontrabandininkai ir visokio plauko nusikaltėliai ir kai laimės ieškojo užsieniečiai gaudydami intriguojančias istorijas. Tanžeras pasižymi tarptautiškumu ir tai lyg vartai iš Europos į Afriką, saugantys paslaptis už žydinčių krūmų. Manau, kad ši istorija tikrai nepaliks abejingų. Kas nenorėtų nukeliauti į Tanžerą?
January 22, 2023
Dar viena įtraukianti Laura Madeleine knyga. Man jos knygos, kaip koks desertas, įtraukia, pakeri ir norisi suvartoti kuo greičiau.
Pasakojamas istorijas skiria penkiasdešimtmetis. Ir sakyčiau, kad abi istorijos įtraukiančios, nors vėlgi praeitis man patiko gal čiut labiau. Daugiau veiksmo, veikėjai ryškesni, o kur dar tai, kad pavyko mane apgauti, nes tikėjausi vienokios istorijos atomazgos, o gavau visai kitą. Bet apie viską iš pradžių.
Alechandra, gyvenimo nuskriausta pamestinukė, gyvenanti viešnamio šeimininkės prižiūrima. Mergina saugų prieglobstį randa viešnamio virėjo draugijoje, kuris merginą paverčia kulinarinių gudrybių žinove, sugebančia įtikti net įnoringiausiems klientams. Bet ištikus netikėtoms aplinkybėms, jai tenka bėgti. Ir čia istorija tik prasideda. Skurdas, nepriteklius, pavojai, paslaptys, naujas gyvenimas, nauja tapatybė, nauji draugai. Tik ar naujas gyvenimas atneš merginai taip trokštamos ramybės?
Tanžeras, alinantis karščiu, klaidinantis siaurose gatvelėse, stebinantis tautų įvairove. Jame klajoja jaunas, pasimetęs rašytojas Semas, ieškodamas įkvėpimo. Ir pasisek tu man taip, jo rankose atsiduria paslaptingas lagaminėlis, kuris įtraukia vaikiną į stulbinančią istoriją. O kas ir kaip čia susiriš ir kokios paslaptys Jūsų laukia, sužinosite tik perskaitę šią istoriją.
Pasakojamas istorijas skiria penkiasdešimtmetis. Ir sakyčiau, kad abi istorijos įtraukiančios, nors vėlgi praeitis man patiko gal čiut labiau. Daugiau veiksmo, veikėjai ryškesni, o kur dar tai, kad pavyko mane apgauti, nes tikėjausi vienokios istorijos atomazgos, o gavau visai kitą. Bet apie viską iš pradžių.
Alechandra, gyvenimo nuskriausta pamestinukė, gyvenanti viešnamio šeimininkės prižiūrima. Mergina saugų prieglobstį randa viešnamio virėjo draugijoje, kuris merginą paverčia kulinarinių gudrybių žinove, sugebančia įtikti net įnoringiausiems klientams. Bet ištikus netikėtoms aplinkybėms, jai tenka bėgti. Ir čia istorija tik prasideda. Skurdas, nepriteklius, pavojai, paslaptys, naujas gyvenimas, nauja tapatybė, nauji draugai. Tik ar naujas gyvenimas atneš merginai taip trokštamos ramybės?
Tanžeras, alinantis karščiu, klaidinantis siaurose gatvelėse, stebinantis tautų įvairove. Jame klajoja jaunas, pasimetęs rašytojas Semas, ieškodamas įkvėpimo. Ir pasisek tu man taip, jo rankose atsiduria paslaptingas lagaminėlis, kuris įtraukia vaikiną į stulbinančią istoriją. O kas ir kaip čia susiriš ir kokios paslaptys Jūsų laukia, sužinosite tik perskaitę šią istoriją.
December 28, 2019
Dual timeline novel set in TANGIER
3.75*
Tangier is exotic. It is hot, fetid, fragrant and populated by people and their secrets, it is a city “built on stories”
“In Tangiers, there is always a way in. Whether it’s a soft word or a wink, a jackboot or a sliver dollar in the palm, there is always something that will open the door” A perfect setting for a mystery that goes back half a decade.
It is 1978. Sam Hackett is on his uppers, he has no money and his family and friends are no longer willing to subsidise him and his lifestyle. He is offered a ticket home to the USA by his parents, yet he is loathe too fail at making his way in this frantic and beguiling city.. His mission to become a writer is still tantalising but the inspiration is lacking. That is until he comes across a writing case with a hidden key. Just the old aroma of history, the pen and paper, and just the mystery fuel his sense of purpose.
1920s and a second story has been unfolding. Ale is a young girl in a brothel. She hones her cooking skills at a young age and knows that secrets can be unlocked through good food. She is growing and one day she is set up as the murderer of a vile character who visits the establishment. It is clear that she had nothing to do with the murder but was merely a scapegoat but she has to run for her life. Heading from Córodoba she finds her way – now in the guise of a boy – to the coast and towards Gibralter where she falls beneath a rather expensive car. The driver and passenger scoop her up and bring her back to health.
The driver of that car departs for Tangier and once Ale is recovered she is determined to seek him out. There is an attraction fo him as a person and to what he represents and soon she too is indeed heading for Tangier.
The two stories of course dovetail and overall it is an engrossing read. The setting is a character in its own right and embraces the often far-fetched story, that is dotted with, at times, irksome coincidences which drive the story along. For example, Sam is looking for Dar Portuna (or Dar Nglîz as it is also known) and just happens upon the name plate that shows him the way, as he is picking jasmine for his landlady. An uncanny serendipitous coincidence. Tangier, with its djinns and shifting sands withstands reality that is stretched.
I very much like the cover and it would certainly catch my eye. My only quibble is that it doesn’t really reflect the content. Is that Hilde on the front, as I perhaps imagine her? Yet she is not a prominent character. Ale is in male clothing for the main part of the book, so it’s probably not her. The arch offers a view through on to what looks like the Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast. And in my quick 5 person straw poll, all mooted that the book would be set in Italy. But if it gets readers to pick up the book, I am sure they will find it very readable
3.75*
Tangier is exotic. It is hot, fetid, fragrant and populated by people and their secrets, it is a city “built on stories”
“In Tangiers, there is always a way in. Whether it’s a soft word or a wink, a jackboot or a sliver dollar in the palm, there is always something that will open the door” A perfect setting for a mystery that goes back half a decade.
It is 1978. Sam Hackett is on his uppers, he has no money and his family and friends are no longer willing to subsidise him and his lifestyle. He is offered a ticket home to the USA by his parents, yet he is loathe too fail at making his way in this frantic and beguiling city.. His mission to become a writer is still tantalising but the inspiration is lacking. That is until he comes across a writing case with a hidden key. Just the old aroma of history, the pen and paper, and just the mystery fuel his sense of purpose.
1920s and a second story has been unfolding. Ale is a young girl in a brothel. She hones her cooking skills at a young age and knows that secrets can be unlocked through good food. She is growing and one day she is set up as the murderer of a vile character who visits the establishment. It is clear that she had nothing to do with the murder but was merely a scapegoat but she has to run for her life. Heading from Córodoba she finds her way – now in the guise of a boy – to the coast and towards Gibralter where she falls beneath a rather expensive car. The driver and passenger scoop her up and bring her back to health.
The driver of that car departs for Tangier and once Ale is recovered she is determined to seek him out. There is an attraction fo him as a person and to what he represents and soon she too is indeed heading for Tangier.
The two stories of course dovetail and overall it is an engrossing read. The setting is a character in its own right and embraces the often far-fetched story, that is dotted with, at times, irksome coincidences which drive the story along. For example, Sam is looking for Dar Portuna (or Dar Nglîz as it is also known) and just happens upon the name plate that shows him the way, as he is picking jasmine for his landlady. An uncanny serendipitous coincidence. Tangier, with its djinns and shifting sands withstands reality that is stretched.
I very much like the cover and it would certainly catch my eye. My only quibble is that it doesn’t really reflect the content. Is that Hilde on the front, as I perhaps imagine her? Yet she is not a prominent character. Ale is in male clothing for the main part of the book, so it’s probably not her. The arch offers a view through on to what looks like the Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast. And in my quick 5 person straw poll, all mooted that the book would be set in Italy. But if it gets readers to pick up the book, I am sure they will find it very readable
August 11, 2024
Puiki knyga vasarai! Įtraukianti, nenuobodi, veiksmo užtektinai. O dar visas tas Maroko aprašymas 😍 Beskaitydama taip ir nusikėliau beveik dešimtmetį atgal, kai turėjom road trip’ą per šiaurinę Maroko dalį. Tiesa, pačiame Tanžere būti neteko, bet lankėmės vos už 50 km esančiame Assilah mieste, o paklaidžioti po mediną (senamiestį) galėjome Feso mieste. Ir iš tiesų, viskas ten taip, kaip ir aprašoma knygoje - mažytės parduotuvytės, turgus, kuriame maišosi kvapai ir vaizdai (dėl kai kurių kvapų net negalėdavau ilgai ten būt), nuolatinis skambantis balsas, kviečiantis maldai ir ilgi nesibaigiantys arbatos gėrimai. Kaip man jie nusibosdavo 🙈 nori susiderinti kainą nakvynei ar kelionei kupranugariais į dykumą - sėsk, išgersim arbatos ir tada apie tai pašnekėsim. O man norėdavosi vakarietišku stiliumi - ateini ir gauni aiškią kainą 😅
July 31, 2022
„Jei tik laikys plunksnakotį pakankamai tvirtai, jei rašys pakankamai greitai, galbūt pakėlęs akis išvys praeitį, kai pasaulyje siautėjo chaosas, o Tanžere knibždėte knibždėjo žmonių, tokių kaip jis: nerandančių sau vietos, išmaišiusių visą Europą ir galop atsidūrusių čia, trokštančių, kad narkotikai, šlovė bei klaidos pakeistų jų gyvenimą."
Įdomus sutapimas: pernai liepą skaičiau Lauros Madeleine „Kur sirpsta laukinės vyšnios", o lygiai po metų – šią liepą, į rankas paėmiau jos naujausią lietuviškai išleistą knygą. Vasara – kelionių metas, net jeigu tos kelionės ir knygose.
Šį kartą istorija nukelia į egzotiškąjį Tanžerą ir be maisto aprašymų ir miesto vaizdų, autorė ją papildė dar vienu ingridientu: alkoholinių kokteilių receptais.
Kordoba, Ispanija, 1928 metai.
Pasakojimas prasideda žmogžudyste, apie ką ir byloja kokteilio pavadinimas „Kraujas ir smėlis". „Kraujas — visų mano kančių kaltininkas", tokiais žodžiais prisistato pagrindinė veikėja našlaitė Alechandra. Nors jos gyvenimas atrodo pasmerktas, ji atranda ryžto pasipriešinti ir atrasti savo vietą.
Marokas, Tanžeras, 1978 m.
Jaunas amerikietis Semas irgi atsiduria kryžkelėje. Jis sprendžia dilemą: ar pripažinti, jog jo gyvenimas niekam tikęs ir viską metus grįžti pas tėvus, ar suimti gyvenimą į savo rankas.
Abi pasakojimo linijos artėja viena prie kitos ir pabaigoje susijungia. Tanžero atmosfera ypatinga: čia susikerta kelios kultūros, skamba arabų, ispanų, anglų ir prancūzų kalbos, vingiuoja siauros ir painios gatvelės, jomis zuja prekeiviai, vietiniai gyventojai bei svetimšaliai, šurmuliuoja turgūs. Čia gali užuosti druskos prisotintą jūros orą, įvairiausius prieskonius, pajusti svilinantį karštį.
Pravėrus seną lagaminėlį gali sugrįžti penkiasdešimt metų atgal, kai Tanžeras dar buvo tarptautinė teritorija tarp Europos ir Afrikos, kur galėjai prisidengti bet kokiu išgalvotu vardu, kai liejosi indiškas opiumas ir prancūziškas šampanas. Miesto pamatuose įmūryta daugybė istorijų ir ši knyga nukelia į vieną iš jų. O gerai įsiklausęs tikrai išgirsi ir skandalo atgarsius.
www.profesionalimama.wordpress.com
Įdomus sutapimas: pernai liepą skaičiau Lauros Madeleine „Kur sirpsta laukinės vyšnios", o lygiai po metų – šią liepą, į rankas paėmiau jos naujausią lietuviškai išleistą knygą. Vasara – kelionių metas, net jeigu tos kelionės ir knygose.
Šį kartą istorija nukelia į egzotiškąjį Tanžerą ir be maisto aprašymų ir miesto vaizdų, autorė ją papildė dar vienu ingridientu: alkoholinių kokteilių receptais.
Kordoba, Ispanija, 1928 metai.
Pasakojimas prasideda žmogžudyste, apie ką ir byloja kokteilio pavadinimas „Kraujas ir smėlis". „Kraujas — visų mano kančių kaltininkas", tokiais žodžiais prisistato pagrindinė veikėja našlaitė Alechandra. Nors jos gyvenimas atrodo pasmerktas, ji atranda ryžto pasipriešinti ir atrasti savo vietą.
Marokas, Tanžeras, 1978 m.
Jaunas amerikietis Semas irgi atsiduria kryžkelėje. Jis sprendžia dilemą: ar pripažinti, jog jo gyvenimas niekam tikęs ir viską metus grįžti pas tėvus, ar suimti gyvenimą į savo rankas.
Abi pasakojimo linijos artėja viena prie kitos ir pabaigoje susijungia. Tanžero atmosfera ypatinga: čia susikerta kelios kultūros, skamba arabų, ispanų, anglų ir prancūzų kalbos, vingiuoja siauros ir painios gatvelės, jomis zuja prekeiviai, vietiniai gyventojai bei svetimšaliai, šurmuliuoja turgūs. Čia gali užuosti druskos prisotintą jūros orą, įvairiausius prieskonius, pajusti svilinantį karštį.
Pravėrus seną lagaminėlį gali sugrįžti penkiasdešimt metų atgal, kai Tanžeras dar buvo tarptautinė teritorija tarp Europos ir Afrikos, kur galėjai prisidengti bet kokiu išgalvotu vardu, kai liejosi indiškas opiumas ir prancūziškas šampanas. Miesto pamatuose įmūryta daugybė istorijų ir ši knyga nukelia į vieną iš jų. O gerai įsiklausęs tikrai išgirsi ir skandalo atgarsius.
www.profesionalimama.wordpress.com
March 26, 2022
Miela ir švelni knyga kaip prinokęs persikas. Labai tipiška Madeleine knyga - daug skonių, kvapų, istorijos, šiek tiek dramos. Tik viršelis labai apgaulingas - neapsigaukit.
September 13, 2019
Travel to Tangier with the locations in An Echo of Scandal
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.
June 7, 2022
3,75*
Exotic and interesting story of uncovering secrets. An engrossing read
Exotic and interesting story of uncovering secrets. An engrossing read
December 4, 2019
Orphan Alejandra is a young girl and a talented cook, working in a brothel in Southern Spain in 1928 when she is wrongly accused of murdering one of the patrons and has to run for her life. She soon realises she will be safer if she dresses as a boy. Heading towards Gibraltar she meets socialite Arthur Langham when he knocks Ale over with his car.
Ale feels an connection to Arthur and manages to get some false papers and get on a boat to Tangiers in Morocco. Still pretending to be a boy, she manages to get a job working as a cook for Arthur in his home Dar Portuna. But she is not the only one with secrets to hide.
50 years later, a young writer, Sam Hackett comes across a writing case inscribed with the initials A L and inspired by the history of the object, starts to research the owner of the case, soon realising there is a mystery that needs to be solved. I really liked that the second timeline in the book was still in a historical setting, in the days where writers still wrote using typewriters and did all their research the old fashioned way, instead of using Google!
Laura kindly offered to send me a copy of this book and knowing it was historical fiction was enough for me to say yes. The dual timeline over alternating chapters works well - I enjoyed finding our what would happen to Ale while enjoying watching Sam discover the mystery at the same time.
The descriptions of the food were amazing - so vivid I could almost taste and smell the food Ale cooked. Each of the chapters set in 1928, started with a recipe for a cocktail (I love cocktails and they all sound delicious!) I really enjoy learning about different cultures and I felt I really could imagine what Tangier must be like. I'm not sure how much time the author spent there doing research but I was convinced she must have lived a significant part of her life there to capture it so well.
Intoxicating, exotic and mysterious, I loved this book and hope to read more by this author.
Ale feels an connection to Arthur and manages to get some false papers and get on a boat to Tangiers in Morocco. Still pretending to be a boy, she manages to get a job working as a cook for Arthur in his home Dar Portuna. But she is not the only one with secrets to hide.
50 years later, a young writer, Sam Hackett comes across a writing case inscribed with the initials A L and inspired by the history of the object, starts to research the owner of the case, soon realising there is a mystery that needs to be solved. I really liked that the second timeline in the book was still in a historical setting, in the days where writers still wrote using typewriters and did all their research the old fashioned way, instead of using Google!
Laura kindly offered to send me a copy of this book and knowing it was historical fiction was enough for me to say yes. The dual timeline over alternating chapters works well - I enjoyed finding our what would happen to Ale while enjoying watching Sam discover the mystery at the same time.
The descriptions of the food were amazing - so vivid I could almost taste and smell the food Ale cooked. Each of the chapters set in 1928, started with a recipe for a cocktail (I love cocktails and they all sound delicious!) I really enjoy learning about different cultures and I felt I really could imagine what Tangier must be like. I'm not sure how much time the author spent there doing research but I was convinced she must have lived a significant part of her life there to capture it so well.
Intoxicating, exotic and mysterious, I loved this book and hope to read more by this author.
May 20, 2025
lengvai skaitomas, Maroko prieskoniais ir karščiu dvelkiantis romanas su detektyvo lašeliu
November 12, 2019
4.5 stars
An Echo Of Scandal is a dual time novel set mainly in Tangier.
It is 1978 and Sam is a destitute American who has been drifting through Western Europe and is now in Tangier. He plays at writing but he cannot find his muse, until he buys an old writing case. It leads him on a colourful journey through Tangier, both past and present as the reader is beguiled by the mysticism of the city that is a gateway between continents. See here for full review https://wp.me/p2Eu3u-f5N
An Echo Of Scandal is a dual time novel set mainly in Tangier.
It is 1978 and Sam is a destitute American who has been drifting through Western Europe and is now in Tangier. He plays at writing but he cannot find his muse, until he buys an old writing case. It leads him on a colourful journey through Tangier, both past and present as the reader is beguiled by the mysticism of the city that is a gateway between continents. See here for full review https://wp.me/p2Eu3u-f5N
November 14, 2019
Toxic, intoxicating Tangiers/Tangier (Morocco, 1928 and 1978): Laura Madeleine’s sensory prose tantalizes with the tastes of food, sweets, and atmospheric smells. In An Echo of Scandal, her fourth historical novel, she mixes in another powerful ingredient: spicy, pungent alcoholic beverages concocted for the exotic, sultry, teeming north African city Tangier, Morocco. Fabled, multicultural, and centuries old (and new), it sits “at the edge of the world,” a short ferry to Britain’s Strait of Gibraltar and Spain’s southern Andalusia region.
Formerly an International Zone (Interzone from 1912 – 1951), the city is “nothing but layers.” It’s “built on stories,” an ideal locale for Madeleine’s trademark of inventing layered stories separated by decades, one historical, one modern-day.
What’s echoing is a secret protected for fifty years the contemporary protagonist – Sam Hackett, wandering American ex-pat – stumbles upon, leading him back to the 1928 Spanish main protagonist, Alejandra del Potro. From “the Tangier of now into the Tangiers of then.”
The two spellings of the city – with or without an s – is intentional. While the Internet says the two are synonymous, the author uses these to distinguish historical periods – Tangiers for the past, Tangier for the present – to tell two stories of two very different characters who “didn’t fit in anywhere else,” until they landed in Tangiers/Tangier.
When we meet Ale and Sam they’re traveling in different worlds. Sam is an author with writer’s block who depleted his funds vagabonding around Europe searching for inspiration for a novel. Tangier is his last hope, or else he’ll have to return home. Ale is a watchful sixteen-year-old without a last name living in an inn that doubles as a brothel in Cordoba, Spain. She has no idea how she got there, either “born there, or at least left soon after,” adopting the inn’s name for her last name, Del Porto. The novel opens when she’s been assisting the cook, Ibrahim, her only friend. Tender of age but old enough to now serve as prey for garish men who take advantage of destitute girls whose survival depends on obliging their desires and those of the inn-keeper/madame, heartless Mama Morales. By page 3, something terrible happens to Ale, sending her fleeing; something she’ll have to keep secret or risk being arrested for a crime she didn’t commit. Already, we’re hooked as her fate feels sealed: she must keep running away from her past, hiding her identity.
By the time Ale reaches Tangiers, her existence is wretched – lurking on the dangerous streets scared and penniless, painfully disguised. She’s been through so much and yet her tale hasn’t really begun.
Fast forward to 1978: Sam purchases a leather writing case at one of the myriad market stalls in the old city (medina) that courses through narrow passageways. Spending precious little monies he needs for rent, he buys it from a friend, Abdelhamid, who pitches the sale as an omen, one writer to another. The case and contents contain clues that propel Sam to dig into a mystery from 1928 – Ale’s time.
The case provides enough evidence for Sam to fantasize the plot of a mystery for his elusive novel, if he can unlock the story of the case, which he imagines involves “drugs and glamour and mistakes.” The clues include the name del Potro, gold initials, and another name the reader will see as somehow linked to Ale. Sam’s imagination may sound as wild as Ale’s Tangiers, but it fits an international city with a dramatic history and one known to have inspired writers.
Sam and the case become inseparable, with serious consequences, more mysteries, and lots of twists and turns. As Ale’s and Sam’s stories unwind, they parallel each other. The reader itches for these to converge, which they do, as the novelist has done before. When they intersect, two timeframes feel like they’re happening at the same time.
You will not tire of the author’s separated-in-time intersecting style. She’s a pro at keeping the suspense going and going, along with complicated romances. In this novel, romantic tension echoes unusually.
Another familiar element are characters that are cooks and bakers of sweet things and life-saving bread. This time Ale fakes her way into being a real cook. Most of her chapters are introduced by an alluring, potent alcoholic recipe befitting the city’s seductive setting and legendary history.
The author once baked cakes from recipes she created for a UK blog she also wrote for, Domestic Sluttery. Did she create the alcoholic concoctions foretelling Ale’s world? (For the novel’s launch, she enlisted an award-winning bartender to create a “unique cocktail”.) Drink names offer hints about scenes and moods.
For instance, Ale’s story begins with Blood and Sand, so strong you “break out in a sweat . . . an experience rarely repeated.” Indeed, it’s one Ale prays she’ll never repeat. For her next chapter (the two storylines go back and forth in time) Have a Heart is the drink because it draws from critical life lessons Ifrahim taught her: being a cook cast a “kind of magic” – “stove spirit” for the “power and control that came with feeding people.” Advice Ale took to heart when she made her way into Tangiers, allowing her (at great peril) to “carve a space for myself in a world that didn’t want me.”
An Echo of Scandal sets its sights on new territory for Madeleine, whose first three novels are set in France. For those who don’t know about the intercontinental history of Tangiers/Tangier, the commingling of Arabic with French, Spanish, and English, it’s a fascinating read.
Tangiers is where Ale’s destiny is set in stone at a covered-up villa in the oldest part of the city, the Casbah. On the author’s blog, we’re told the inspiration for this hidden enclave was Dar Zero. In the late 1600s, the residence was owned by Britain’s Samuel Pepys (best known for his diaries), when the city was occupied by the British. Last year, the home was featured in Architectural Digest, where the 100th birthday of a famous French designer, Charles Sevigny, was celebrated on the rooftop of the estate overlooking the bluest of seas.
Ale ends up at its fictional version, named Del Portuno, owned by a rather mysterious, charismatic British fellow, Arthur Langham. You’ll be guessing who Arthur really is until the end. Another character, then, whose identity is concealed. His wealth and frequent disappearances are shadowy, constantly hosting lavish garden parties for questionable guests who overindulge in food, drinking, and smoking of kif in a sebsi pipe. What’s really going on here beneath the smoke and mirrors?
Ale’s recipes/chapters are “not for the faint of heart.” Like the drinks Twin Six, “smooth, and very deceptive”; None but the Brave with “bitter allure”; and the Epilogue’s Last Word, which aims to “cleanse the palate, when the day is done.”
Ale’s and Arthur’s story is not just one of danger. For a time, it was filled with the smells of “ancient rose petals,” “honey-slow heat,” when Ale’s world “was as soft as cinnamon.” At her happiest, she “wanted to drink the light. It would taste of pomegranates and cold butter, strawberries wet with dew and honey dripped from a comb.” There’s a lovely, sensual rhythm to the prose.
Roses and cinnamon are fragile. Ale’s extraordinary life is an emotional roller-coaster, since “identity can be a slippery thing.”
Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
Formerly an International Zone (Interzone from 1912 – 1951), the city is “nothing but layers.” It’s “built on stories,” an ideal locale for Madeleine’s trademark of inventing layered stories separated by decades, one historical, one modern-day.
What’s echoing is a secret protected for fifty years the contemporary protagonist – Sam Hackett, wandering American ex-pat – stumbles upon, leading him back to the 1928 Spanish main protagonist, Alejandra del Potro. From “the Tangier of now into the Tangiers of then.”
The two spellings of the city – with or without an s – is intentional. While the Internet says the two are synonymous, the author uses these to distinguish historical periods – Tangiers for the past, Tangier for the present – to tell two stories of two very different characters who “didn’t fit in anywhere else,” until they landed in Tangiers/Tangier.
When we meet Ale and Sam they’re traveling in different worlds. Sam is an author with writer’s block who depleted his funds vagabonding around Europe searching for inspiration for a novel. Tangier is his last hope, or else he’ll have to return home. Ale is a watchful sixteen-year-old without a last name living in an inn that doubles as a brothel in Cordoba, Spain. She has no idea how she got there, either “born there, or at least left soon after,” adopting the inn’s name for her last name, Del Porto. The novel opens when she’s been assisting the cook, Ibrahim, her only friend. Tender of age but old enough to now serve as prey for garish men who take advantage of destitute girls whose survival depends on obliging their desires and those of the inn-keeper/madame, heartless Mama Morales. By page 3, something terrible happens to Ale, sending her fleeing; something she’ll have to keep secret or risk being arrested for a crime she didn’t commit. Already, we’re hooked as her fate feels sealed: she must keep running away from her past, hiding her identity.
By the time Ale reaches Tangiers, her existence is wretched – lurking on the dangerous streets scared and penniless, painfully disguised. She’s been through so much and yet her tale hasn’t really begun.
Fast forward to 1978: Sam purchases a leather writing case at one of the myriad market stalls in the old city (medina) that courses through narrow passageways. Spending precious little monies he needs for rent, he buys it from a friend, Abdelhamid, who pitches the sale as an omen, one writer to another. The case and contents contain clues that propel Sam to dig into a mystery from 1928 – Ale’s time.
The case provides enough evidence for Sam to fantasize the plot of a mystery for his elusive novel, if he can unlock the story of the case, which he imagines involves “drugs and glamour and mistakes.” The clues include the name del Potro, gold initials, and another name the reader will see as somehow linked to Ale. Sam’s imagination may sound as wild as Ale’s Tangiers, but it fits an international city with a dramatic history and one known to have inspired writers.
Sam and the case become inseparable, with serious consequences, more mysteries, and lots of twists and turns. As Ale’s and Sam’s stories unwind, they parallel each other. The reader itches for these to converge, which they do, as the novelist has done before. When they intersect, two timeframes feel like they’re happening at the same time.
You will not tire of the author’s separated-in-time intersecting style. She’s a pro at keeping the suspense going and going, along with complicated romances. In this novel, romantic tension echoes unusually.
Another familiar element are characters that are cooks and bakers of sweet things and life-saving bread. This time Ale fakes her way into being a real cook. Most of her chapters are introduced by an alluring, potent alcoholic recipe befitting the city’s seductive setting and legendary history.
The author once baked cakes from recipes she created for a UK blog she also wrote for, Domestic Sluttery. Did she create the alcoholic concoctions foretelling Ale’s world? (For the novel’s launch, she enlisted an award-winning bartender to create a “unique cocktail”.) Drink names offer hints about scenes and moods.
For instance, Ale’s story begins with Blood and Sand, so strong you “break out in a sweat . . . an experience rarely repeated.” Indeed, it’s one Ale prays she’ll never repeat. For her next chapter (the two storylines go back and forth in time) Have a Heart is the drink because it draws from critical life lessons Ifrahim taught her: being a cook cast a “kind of magic” – “stove spirit” for the “power and control that came with feeding people.” Advice Ale took to heart when she made her way into Tangiers, allowing her (at great peril) to “carve a space for myself in a world that didn’t want me.”
An Echo of Scandal sets its sights on new territory for Madeleine, whose first three novels are set in France. For those who don’t know about the intercontinental history of Tangiers/Tangier, the commingling of Arabic with French, Spanish, and English, it’s a fascinating read.
Tangiers is where Ale’s destiny is set in stone at a covered-up villa in the oldest part of the city, the Casbah. On the author’s blog, we’re told the inspiration for this hidden enclave was Dar Zero. In the late 1600s, the residence was owned by Britain’s Samuel Pepys (best known for his diaries), when the city was occupied by the British. Last year, the home was featured in Architectural Digest, where the 100th birthday of a famous French designer, Charles Sevigny, was celebrated on the rooftop of the estate overlooking the bluest of seas.
Ale ends up at its fictional version, named Del Portuno, owned by a rather mysterious, charismatic British fellow, Arthur Langham. You’ll be guessing who Arthur really is until the end. Another character, then, whose identity is concealed. His wealth and frequent disappearances are shadowy, constantly hosting lavish garden parties for questionable guests who overindulge in food, drinking, and smoking of kif in a sebsi pipe. What’s really going on here beneath the smoke and mirrors?
Ale’s recipes/chapters are “not for the faint of heart.” Like the drinks Twin Six, “smooth, and very deceptive”; None but the Brave with “bitter allure”; and the Epilogue’s Last Word, which aims to “cleanse the palate, when the day is done.”
Ale’s and Arthur’s story is not just one of danger. For a time, it was filled with the smells of “ancient rose petals,” “honey-slow heat,” when Ale’s world “was as soft as cinnamon.” At her happiest, she “wanted to drink the light. It would taste of pomegranates and cold butter, strawberries wet with dew and honey dripped from a comb.” There’s a lovely, sensual rhythm to the prose.
Roses and cinnamon are fragile. Ale’s extraordinary life is an emotional roller-coaster, since “identity can be a slippery thing.”
Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
September 27, 2020
http://www.esmeraldaviaggielibri.it/i...
Accade raramente che io chieda un romanzo a Piemme e questo perché pubblicano prevalentemente thriller, genere che non mi è congeniale, così appena letta la trama di Il segreto di Alejandra la voglia di leggerlo è stata immediata e non mi sono sbagliata perché questa lettura è stata interessante e coinvolgente. La cosa che più ho apprezzato è l’ambientazione, pur non essendo mai stata in Andalusia e a Tangeri ho respirato a pieni polmoni l’aria di cui sono permeate, ho inalato i profumi della città marocchina e mi sono immersa nelle sue strade insieme ai protagonisti che la attraversano in due epoche diverse. La cosa più particolare della narrazione è che nessuno dei piani temporali è al presente, le due epoche a cinquant’anni di distanza sono il 1928 e il 1978.
Alejandra è la protagonista indiscussa della storia in entrambe le epoche in che modo lo capirete solo leggendo e vi stupirà non poco percorrere le sue vicende.
La povera Alejandra è stata abbandonata da bambina e da allora si guadagna da vivere all’Hostería del Potro la cui padrona è un essere spregevole che non ha alcun rispetto per lei. C’è solo una persona che tiene davvero ad Alejandra, un cuoco di nome Ifrahim che le insegnerà tutto ciò che sa e che le salverà la vita e l’anima. Alejandra non ha nulla a che fare coi viscidi clienti che popolano la locanda, ma viene comunque incolpata dell’omicidio di uno di loro. Il panico l’assale, non ha nessuna possibilità di difendersi e appena ne ha l’occasione fugge e cerca di raggiungere Gibilterra. Qui, travestita da uomo, viene travolta da un’auto che diventerà la sua porta per giungere a Tangeri e ripartire da zero senza il terrore di finire giustiziata per un omicidio che non ha mai commesso.
Cinquant’anni dopo Tangeri, Sam Hackett, aspirante scrittore, è alla ricerca di una storia che valga la pena raccontare. La sua ispirazione latita fino al giorno in cui i genitori gli negano l’ennesimo invio di denaro e lui si vede costretto a vendere la sua macchina da scrivere per poter stare a Tangeri ancora qualche settimana. Ed è grazie a questo gesto che arriva la svolta. Vende la sua macchina da scrivere e si ritrova con una valigetta da scrittura piena di storia e di fascino che lo invita a indagare sul precedente proprietario.
Sam inizia a scavare e pian piano molti misteri vengono a galla, ma non arriverebbe a nulla se non intervenisse un signore anziano pronto a raccontargli cosa successe tanti anni prima. Chi è quest’uomo che vive isolato dal mondo? Perché è così restio a parlare con lui e sembra nascondersi? Sono molti i segreti che permeano questo romanzo e sarà esaltante veder scoprire le carte una alla volta, senza fretta, alternando la narrazione dalla viva voce di Alejandra alle indagini di Sam.
Il segreto di Alejandra è un romanzo che cela la verità tra le sue pagine, la vita di Alejandra da donna è difficile, quasi impossibile, da uomo è complicata e nasconde parecchi segreti, ma non la mette costantemente in pericolo e questo è tutto ciò che lei desidera. Mi sono sentita rapita dalla storia ideata da Laura Madeleine un’autrice che non conoscevo e che è riuscita a coinvolgermi con la sua abilità di scrittura in grado di evocare tempi andati e luoghi che non avrei mai immaginato di attraversare. Se avete voglia di un romanzo che sappia di terre lontane in cui la cucina, coi suoi sapori, è il filo conduttore e in cui la verità è sepolta sotto tantissimi strati Il segreto di Alejandra è perfetto per voi.
Accade raramente che io chieda un romanzo a Piemme e questo perché pubblicano prevalentemente thriller, genere che non mi è congeniale, così appena letta la trama di Il segreto di Alejandra la voglia di leggerlo è stata immediata e non mi sono sbagliata perché questa lettura è stata interessante e coinvolgente. La cosa che più ho apprezzato è l’ambientazione, pur non essendo mai stata in Andalusia e a Tangeri ho respirato a pieni polmoni l’aria di cui sono permeate, ho inalato i profumi della città marocchina e mi sono immersa nelle sue strade insieme ai protagonisti che la attraversano in due epoche diverse. La cosa più particolare della narrazione è che nessuno dei piani temporali è al presente, le due epoche a cinquant’anni di distanza sono il 1928 e il 1978.
Alejandra è la protagonista indiscussa della storia in entrambe le epoche in che modo lo capirete solo leggendo e vi stupirà non poco percorrere le sue vicende.
La povera Alejandra è stata abbandonata da bambina e da allora si guadagna da vivere all’Hostería del Potro la cui padrona è un essere spregevole che non ha alcun rispetto per lei. C’è solo una persona che tiene davvero ad Alejandra, un cuoco di nome Ifrahim che le insegnerà tutto ciò che sa e che le salverà la vita e l’anima. Alejandra non ha nulla a che fare coi viscidi clienti che popolano la locanda, ma viene comunque incolpata dell’omicidio di uno di loro. Il panico l’assale, non ha nessuna possibilità di difendersi e appena ne ha l’occasione fugge e cerca di raggiungere Gibilterra. Qui, travestita da uomo, viene travolta da un’auto che diventerà la sua porta per giungere a Tangeri e ripartire da zero senza il terrore di finire giustiziata per un omicidio che non ha mai commesso.
Cinquant’anni dopo Tangeri, Sam Hackett, aspirante scrittore, è alla ricerca di una storia che valga la pena raccontare. La sua ispirazione latita fino al giorno in cui i genitori gli negano l’ennesimo invio di denaro e lui si vede costretto a vendere la sua macchina da scrivere per poter stare a Tangeri ancora qualche settimana. Ed è grazie a questo gesto che arriva la svolta. Vende la sua macchina da scrivere e si ritrova con una valigetta da scrittura piena di storia e di fascino che lo invita a indagare sul precedente proprietario.
Sam inizia a scavare e pian piano molti misteri vengono a galla, ma non arriverebbe a nulla se non intervenisse un signore anziano pronto a raccontargli cosa successe tanti anni prima. Chi è quest’uomo che vive isolato dal mondo? Perché è così restio a parlare con lui e sembra nascondersi? Sono molti i segreti che permeano questo romanzo e sarà esaltante veder scoprire le carte una alla volta, senza fretta, alternando la narrazione dalla viva voce di Alejandra alle indagini di Sam.
Il segreto di Alejandra è un romanzo che cela la verità tra le sue pagine, la vita di Alejandra da donna è difficile, quasi impossibile, da uomo è complicata e nasconde parecchi segreti, ma non la mette costantemente in pericolo e questo è tutto ciò che lei desidera. Mi sono sentita rapita dalla storia ideata da Laura Madeleine un’autrice che non conoscevo e che è riuscita a coinvolgermi con la sua abilità di scrittura in grado di evocare tempi andati e luoghi che non avrei mai immaginato di attraversare. Se avete voglia di un romanzo che sappia di terre lontane in cui la cucina, coi suoi sapori, è il filo conduttore e in cui la verità è sepolta sotto tantissimi strati Il segreto di Alejandra è perfetto per voi.
September 28, 2019
An Echo of Scandal by Laura Madeleine is packed full of mystery, intrigue, scandal and suspicion right from the opening few lines. This deep sense of needing to find answers, of uncovering secrets and solving the major enigma driving the story only deepens and increases the further you delve into the story. More specifically the more our main male protagonist Samuel Hackett begins to enquire and examine what teaser lays before him that could turn his fortunes around. If he can solve the riddle from the at first seemingly meaningless clues scattered through the city of Tangiers than maybe his last ditch attempt at writing a book won't be fruitless. Perhaps he won't have to return home to his family in America with his tail between his legs whilst attempting to ignore the comments of 'I told you so' or the looks that say I knew this would happen. There has been fifty years of silence but now the time is ripe for the full story to be told and for everything which seemed muddled and confused to hopefully make perfect sense.
From the opening few pages, the reader is sucked straight into the story and like the mystery at the heart of this book you are held in its grip until the very last page. Tangiers has lots to hide and there are still those who wish one of the greatest secrets of all to remain hidden and unspoken. Initially, Laura Madeleine takes us back in time to get to know the main female character Alejandra or Ale. It is 1928 and she has not had an easy life and has grown up in a hosteria in Cordoba, Spain having been left there as a baby. She has no mother figure in her life for the owner cannot be described in that way. She is the kitchen porter, the general dogsbody whom scant attention is paid to. But when she is taken under the cook's wing she learns all manner of recipes and ways to make the most of what is on offer in the market. But as an incident occurs and the blame is laid on Alejandra she is forced to flee and disappear. She changes her appearance and wants people to believe she is a man which leads her into some very tricky situations. The most tricky of all will be the one that defines the remainder of her life and whatever way she plays it will have devastating consequences. Ale becomes embroiled in a situation she has no control over as greater forces are at work.
Poor, destitute, homeless and on the run she finds herself attracted by the lure of Tangiers across the Mediteranean Sea. Through means she wishes she never had to engage in she finds herself in the exciting, fragrant and foreign city which sets in motion a chain of events whose ripples will be felt for well over fifty years. I thought Ale was a strong and resilient character who through no fault of her own found herself in circumstances she stood no chance of turning to her advantage to prove her innocence. But maybe that was all meant to happen for the people she meets in Tangiers provide her with a different outlook on life. Englishman Arthur Langham is very much shrouded in secrecy. Both the man himself and his lifestyle seem to draw Ale in although she must not have either of her two major secrets revealed. As we move back and forth between 1928 and 1978 the reader attempts to establish connections although you can never can quite put your finger as to how the pieces of the puzzle may eventually connect. The tension, uncertainty and unease increase with every turn of the page and you question many times just what has Ale got herself involved in? Has she gone too deep into someone else's life attract by an aura of allurement? If she discovers the truth will it prove to be her downfall?
We follow Samuel in 1978 in a Tangiers that in some ways is very different from that of the city Ale knew in 1928 but in many others it has remarkably remained unchanged. Laura Madeleine excels at bringing the setting to life. The location is so enticing and the heat, colours,flavours, hustle and bustle all add to the sense of mystery. As the title says An Echo of Scandal and these echoes still reverberate through the many corners of the city. Laura is such a visual storyteller which really helps to capture your imagination and aids with getting to know Samuel better as he wanders the lanes, alleyways and hotspots of the city. The culture is described so richly and it seems like another time and place altogether. Samuel is a man down on his luck, struggling to pay rent or to even eat. He is on the verge of admitting defeat. His dreams of producing the great novel are about to be quashed. As he sells the last remaining item of any value, his typewriter, he ends up with a writing case in its place. A mystery has been dropped right into his lap for the contents within the case inspire Samuel to get writing but to also uncover the secrets behind what he has seen. He begins to retrace the steps of someone he does not know save for one lone initial. But the clues are all there scattered throughout the city. It's whether Samuel has the where with all and the perseverance to keep going to reach the ultimate destination?
Samuel was clever, insightful and had a creative and intuitive mind. At times you felt though was he just grasping at straws. You wonder given as we are also following Alejandra's story as well how do the two strands intertwine if ever? Samuel falls deeper and deeper into the mystery and wills himself on trying to establish who owned the case and why does he now feel as if he is being watched or even taunted? Will he uncover the truth or will it all be lies, lies and more lies. Someone wants the secret to remain that way. Has Samuel stirred up a hornets nest best left undisturbed? Or is it time for the full truth to finally emerge? Samuel was certainly brave in persisting when many doors appeared closed. Would it all prove to be much or will what he discovers transform his life forever?
An Echo of Scandal was an intriguing, interesting and absorbing read that even in the end left me wondering exactly what did happen. Maybe each reader will take something different from the ending. This is a story well worth the read and I look forward to seeing where Laura Madeleine transports us to next.
From the opening few pages, the reader is sucked straight into the story and like the mystery at the heart of this book you are held in its grip until the very last page. Tangiers has lots to hide and there are still those who wish one of the greatest secrets of all to remain hidden and unspoken. Initially, Laura Madeleine takes us back in time to get to know the main female character Alejandra or Ale. It is 1928 and she has not had an easy life and has grown up in a hosteria in Cordoba, Spain having been left there as a baby. She has no mother figure in her life for the owner cannot be described in that way. She is the kitchen porter, the general dogsbody whom scant attention is paid to. But when she is taken under the cook's wing she learns all manner of recipes and ways to make the most of what is on offer in the market. But as an incident occurs and the blame is laid on Alejandra she is forced to flee and disappear. She changes her appearance and wants people to believe she is a man which leads her into some very tricky situations. The most tricky of all will be the one that defines the remainder of her life and whatever way she plays it will have devastating consequences. Ale becomes embroiled in a situation she has no control over as greater forces are at work.
Poor, destitute, homeless and on the run she finds herself attracted by the lure of Tangiers across the Mediteranean Sea. Through means she wishes she never had to engage in she finds herself in the exciting, fragrant and foreign city which sets in motion a chain of events whose ripples will be felt for well over fifty years. I thought Ale was a strong and resilient character who through no fault of her own found herself in circumstances she stood no chance of turning to her advantage to prove her innocence. But maybe that was all meant to happen for the people she meets in Tangiers provide her with a different outlook on life. Englishman Arthur Langham is very much shrouded in secrecy. Both the man himself and his lifestyle seem to draw Ale in although she must not have either of her two major secrets revealed. As we move back and forth between 1928 and 1978 the reader attempts to establish connections although you can never can quite put your finger as to how the pieces of the puzzle may eventually connect. The tension, uncertainty and unease increase with every turn of the page and you question many times just what has Ale got herself involved in? Has she gone too deep into someone else's life attract by an aura of allurement? If she discovers the truth will it prove to be her downfall?
We follow Samuel in 1978 in a Tangiers that in some ways is very different from that of the city Ale knew in 1928 but in many others it has remarkably remained unchanged. Laura Madeleine excels at bringing the setting to life. The location is so enticing and the heat, colours,flavours, hustle and bustle all add to the sense of mystery. As the title says An Echo of Scandal and these echoes still reverberate through the many corners of the city. Laura is such a visual storyteller which really helps to capture your imagination and aids with getting to know Samuel better as he wanders the lanes, alleyways and hotspots of the city. The culture is described so richly and it seems like another time and place altogether. Samuel is a man down on his luck, struggling to pay rent or to even eat. He is on the verge of admitting defeat. His dreams of producing the great novel are about to be quashed. As he sells the last remaining item of any value, his typewriter, he ends up with a writing case in its place. A mystery has been dropped right into his lap for the contents within the case inspire Samuel to get writing but to also uncover the secrets behind what he has seen. He begins to retrace the steps of someone he does not know save for one lone initial. But the clues are all there scattered throughout the city. It's whether Samuel has the where with all and the perseverance to keep going to reach the ultimate destination?
Samuel was clever, insightful and had a creative and intuitive mind. At times you felt though was he just grasping at straws. You wonder given as we are also following Alejandra's story as well how do the two strands intertwine if ever? Samuel falls deeper and deeper into the mystery and wills himself on trying to establish who owned the case and why does he now feel as if he is being watched or even taunted? Will he uncover the truth or will it all be lies, lies and more lies. Someone wants the secret to remain that way. Has Samuel stirred up a hornets nest best left undisturbed? Or is it time for the full truth to finally emerge? Samuel was certainly brave in persisting when many doors appeared closed. Would it all prove to be much or will what he discovers transform his life forever?
An Echo of Scandal was an intriguing, interesting and absorbing read that even in the end left me wondering exactly what did happen. Maybe each reader will take something different from the ending. This is a story well worth the read and I look forward to seeing where Laura Madeleine transports us to next.
August 2, 2019
Historical fiction at its very best. As the heat shimmers off the pages, travel back in time to a mystery as exotic as its location.
Set in two different times, told by two very different points of view, it takes us down two different paths, paths that ultimately end up crossing in ways that are both as unexpected as they are satisfactory.
Tangier, 1978 – Samuel Hackett, a down on his luck writer, living hand to mouth as he takes in the local culture whilst waiting for inspiration to strike. As luck would have it, fate steps in and hands him a real life mystery in the form of an old fashioned leather writing case. Needing money fast to pay his rent, his only option is to sell his prized possession, his Hermes typewriter, to his friend and shop owner, Abdelhamid, and it was this friend that sold him the writing case. From that case the only clues he has to go on are the initials A.L that are engraved on the case, a small silver key and a leather tag, both of which were tucked away inside the case and the 50 year old calendar also contained within. With some help from his local friends and a new associate, an English journalist, Ellis Norton, he starts to investigate who the case belonged to, and as he begins to uncover details it fires up his imagination, turning the case and the cases owner into a novel of his own.
1928 – Alejandra Exposita, Ale for short, a young kitchen porter, apprentice chef lives and works at the Hosteria del Potro, doing everything in her power to blend into the background. The other women that work there are paid for more than just serving drinks, so being a young, female virgin is not something she wants the punters to notice. Although life mightn’t be ideal at least she has a roof over her head and food in her belly making her more fortunate than some. That is until one evening an incident occurs at the hotel leaving one of the male customers dead at the hands of the owners daughter. With the finger of blame pointed to her she has no choice but to disappear. Disguising herself as a man, a haircut and change of name, Alejandra is reborn as Alejandro del Potro. And after an encounter with a well healed English gentleman, Arthur Langham, Ale follows him across the boarder and manages to instal herself into his life with a surprising outcome.
As the story switches between Ale and Sam, they take us on their own personal journeys and as each situation plays out it becomes apparent that their stories are interwoven with some surprising turns of events, of which keep you in the dark right up until the very last pages. This is a clever, complex, multi layered historical mystery with characters that come to life off the pages, you can feel the heat simmering as you are transported all the way to Tangier and the unlocking of the mystery surrounding the 50 year old writing case.
This is a must read for fans of historical suspenses, historical romances, women’s fiction or fans of really great stories! So in essence, for everyone!
Set in two different times, told by two very different points of view, it takes us down two different paths, paths that ultimately end up crossing in ways that are both as unexpected as they are satisfactory.
Tangier, 1978 – Samuel Hackett, a down on his luck writer, living hand to mouth as he takes in the local culture whilst waiting for inspiration to strike. As luck would have it, fate steps in and hands him a real life mystery in the form of an old fashioned leather writing case. Needing money fast to pay his rent, his only option is to sell his prized possession, his Hermes typewriter, to his friend and shop owner, Abdelhamid, and it was this friend that sold him the writing case. From that case the only clues he has to go on are the initials A.L that are engraved on the case, a small silver key and a leather tag, both of which were tucked away inside the case and the 50 year old calendar also contained within. With some help from his local friends and a new associate, an English journalist, Ellis Norton, he starts to investigate who the case belonged to, and as he begins to uncover details it fires up his imagination, turning the case and the cases owner into a novel of his own.
1928 – Alejandra Exposita, Ale for short, a young kitchen porter, apprentice chef lives and works at the Hosteria del Potro, doing everything in her power to blend into the background. The other women that work there are paid for more than just serving drinks, so being a young, female virgin is not something she wants the punters to notice. Although life mightn’t be ideal at least she has a roof over her head and food in her belly making her more fortunate than some. That is until one evening an incident occurs at the hotel leaving one of the male customers dead at the hands of the owners daughter. With the finger of blame pointed to her she has no choice but to disappear. Disguising herself as a man, a haircut and change of name, Alejandra is reborn as Alejandro del Potro. And after an encounter with a well healed English gentleman, Arthur Langham, Ale follows him across the boarder and manages to instal herself into his life with a surprising outcome.
As the story switches between Ale and Sam, they take us on their own personal journeys and as each situation plays out it becomes apparent that their stories are interwoven with some surprising turns of events, of which keep you in the dark right up until the very last pages. This is a clever, complex, multi layered historical mystery with characters that come to life off the pages, you can feel the heat simmering as you are transported all the way to Tangier and the unlocking of the mystery surrounding the 50 year old writing case.
This is a must read for fans of historical suspenses, historical romances, women’s fiction or fans of really great stories! So in essence, for everyone!
November 14, 2020
Recensione di Barbara
Carissimi disastri, oggi vi porto nella suggestiva Tangeri insieme ad Alejandra, alla scoperta del suo segreto, e a Sam e alla sua determinazione a scoprire una bella storia che possa prolungare il suo soggiorno nella città.
La storia si svolge tra il 1928 e il 1978 a capitoli alternati tra i nostri due protagonisti.
Alejandra abbandonata da piccola presso l'osteria del Potro non conosce la sua famiglia né la sua provenienza e, per evitare di essere destinata a fare altro con i clienti, oltre che servire i pasti come fanno le altre ragazze, impara a cucinare e si nasconde dentro la cucina e dietro i fornelli così da non essere notata.
Tutto fila abbastanza liscio fino alla notte in cui la nostra storia comincia.
Accusata ingiustamente dell'omicidio di un facoltoso cliente, fugge e si ritrova a Gibilterra e da li a Tangeri.
Forte, feroce, determinata a vivere in un mondo ingiusto con le donne, Alejandra cambia il suo aspetto e si trasforma in un uomo, e rischia tutto pur di poter vivere a pieno la sue emozioni. E lo fa servendosi anche del cibo e delle bevande per influenzare chi la circonda, chi potrebbe aiutarla e chi invece potrebbe farle del male.
Cinquanta anni dopo incontriamo Sam, scrittore che vive alla giornata alla perenne ricerca di ispirazione per il libro che vuole scrivere. Fino ad ora, ha vissuto grazie alla generosità della sua famiglia, ma ora gli è stato dato un ultimatum. Tutto quello che riceverà è un biglietto per tornare a casa. Non vuole assolutamente andarsene e vivere una vita noiosa, per cui vende la macchina da scrivere ed insieme ottiene un vecchio necessaire di scrittura, vecchio di cinquanta anni con le iniziali A.L. All'interno c'è una lettera, delle scuse, e una chiave che lo conduce ad una vecchia valigia abbandonata in un hotel.
Questa, questa e' la storia che stava cercando!
Inizia così la spasmodica ricerca del proprietario e della sua storia, aiutato ed ostacolato da un gruppo nutrito di vari e pittoreschi personaggi, tutti caratterizzati in maniera sublime, che catturano perfettamente l'attenzione; sono forti, duri, grezzi, resi umani e reali dalle loro imperfezioni.
Le descrizioni sensoriali rendono la storia eccezionale; gli odori della città, della preparazione dei pasti con spezie ed ingredienti freschissimi, la scoperta dell'odore del mare, il profumo del gelsomino e della brillantina...
Mi è piaciuto tutto di questo romanzo, è scritto molto bene, combinando le due linee temporali e le due storie fondendole in maniera perfetta senza rendere meno importante l'una rispetto all'altra.
E' pieno di mistero, intrighi, scandali e sospetti fin dalle prime righe.
La necessità di trovare risposte, di scoprire segreti e risolvere il grande enigma che guida la storia non fa che aumentare quanto più ci si addentra nella storia, tanto interessante e avvincente che anche alla fine ci si chiede ancora cosa sia successo esattamente!!!
Per me, questo e' un libro a cinque stelle meritatissime!
Carissimi disastri, oggi vi porto nella suggestiva Tangeri insieme ad Alejandra, alla scoperta del suo segreto, e a Sam e alla sua determinazione a scoprire una bella storia che possa prolungare il suo soggiorno nella città.
La storia si svolge tra il 1928 e il 1978 a capitoli alternati tra i nostri due protagonisti.
Alejandra abbandonata da piccola presso l'osteria del Potro non conosce la sua famiglia né la sua provenienza e, per evitare di essere destinata a fare altro con i clienti, oltre che servire i pasti come fanno le altre ragazze, impara a cucinare e si nasconde dentro la cucina e dietro i fornelli così da non essere notata.
Tutto fila abbastanza liscio fino alla notte in cui la nostra storia comincia.
Accusata ingiustamente dell'omicidio di un facoltoso cliente, fugge e si ritrova a Gibilterra e da li a Tangeri.
Forte, feroce, determinata a vivere in un mondo ingiusto con le donne, Alejandra cambia il suo aspetto e si trasforma in un uomo, e rischia tutto pur di poter vivere a pieno la sue emozioni. E lo fa servendosi anche del cibo e delle bevande per influenzare chi la circonda, chi potrebbe aiutarla e chi invece potrebbe farle del male.
Cinquanta anni dopo incontriamo Sam, scrittore che vive alla giornata alla perenne ricerca di ispirazione per il libro che vuole scrivere. Fino ad ora, ha vissuto grazie alla generosità della sua famiglia, ma ora gli è stato dato un ultimatum. Tutto quello che riceverà è un biglietto per tornare a casa. Non vuole assolutamente andarsene e vivere una vita noiosa, per cui vende la macchina da scrivere ed insieme ottiene un vecchio necessaire di scrittura, vecchio di cinquanta anni con le iniziali A.L. All'interno c'è una lettera, delle scuse, e una chiave che lo conduce ad una vecchia valigia abbandonata in un hotel.
Questa, questa e' la storia che stava cercando!
Inizia così la spasmodica ricerca del proprietario e della sua storia, aiutato ed ostacolato da un gruppo nutrito di vari e pittoreschi personaggi, tutti caratterizzati in maniera sublime, che catturano perfettamente l'attenzione; sono forti, duri, grezzi, resi umani e reali dalle loro imperfezioni.
Le descrizioni sensoriali rendono la storia eccezionale; gli odori della città, della preparazione dei pasti con spezie ed ingredienti freschissimi, la scoperta dell'odore del mare, il profumo del gelsomino e della brillantina...
Mi è piaciuto tutto di questo romanzo, è scritto molto bene, combinando le due linee temporali e le due storie fondendole in maniera perfetta senza rendere meno importante l'una rispetto all'altra.
E' pieno di mistero, intrighi, scandali e sospetti fin dalle prime righe.
La necessità di trovare risposte, di scoprire segreti e risolvere il grande enigma che guida la storia non fa che aumentare quanto più ci si addentra nella storia, tanto interessante e avvincente che anche alla fine ci si chiede ancora cosa sia successo esattamente!!!
Per me, questo e' un libro a cinque stelle meritatissime!
August 26, 2019
50 years apart two lives interweave and cross in this compelling and highly addictive novel.
Cordoba, Spain, 1928 and the young Ale, short for Alejandra Esposito, is working in the kitchens of a brothel. However, the owner has plans for her that Ale resists. She is forced to flee to escape prison. Starving and penniless, a chance meeting at the border with a suave Englishman saves her. She escapes Spain, reinvents herself and starts a new life, this time as a young man with the name of Alejandro del Potro. However, scandal, danger and intrigue follow her and she once again finds herself involved in a dangerous situation.
Tangier, Morocco, 1978 and Samuel Hackett is an American writer who has escaped his wealthy family and their plans for him in order to make it as an author. Suffering from writer's block he is penniless and hungry and forced to sell off his few remaining possessions. When his family finally refuse to support him financially anymore, he has no choice but to sell his prized typewriter ending up with an old writing case with the initials AL. Inside he finds clues to a mystery that he starts to uncover and which finally enables him to write again as he digs deeper and deeper in to the life of AL trying to establish who they were, what happened to them and whether they are still alive so they can give him the final answers to the mystery that he is desperately seeking.
The strands of the two lives interweave across time into a compelling and fascinating tale that I found impossible to put down. I enjoyed the captivating locations and felt transported to the streets of Tangier, walking there with Sam as he chased clues to unlock the mysteries of the writing case and the elusive AL, finally writing the novel he had come to Tangier to write.
Having read Madeleine's three previous books I am a fan and was delighted to receive an eARC of An Echo of Scandal from NetGalley. This fourth novel further cements Madeleine's reputation as a bestselling writer of compelling historical fiction. Highly recommended. 5 stars.
#AnEchoOfScandal #NetGalley
Cordoba, Spain, 1928 and the young Ale, short for Alejandra Esposito, is working in the kitchens of a brothel. However, the owner has plans for her that Ale resists. She is forced to flee to escape prison. Starving and penniless, a chance meeting at the border with a suave Englishman saves her. She escapes Spain, reinvents herself and starts a new life, this time as a young man with the name of Alejandro del Potro. However, scandal, danger and intrigue follow her and she once again finds herself involved in a dangerous situation.
Tangier, Morocco, 1978 and Samuel Hackett is an American writer who has escaped his wealthy family and their plans for him in order to make it as an author. Suffering from writer's block he is penniless and hungry and forced to sell off his few remaining possessions. When his family finally refuse to support him financially anymore, he has no choice but to sell his prized typewriter ending up with an old writing case with the initials AL. Inside he finds clues to a mystery that he starts to uncover and which finally enables him to write again as he digs deeper and deeper in to the life of AL trying to establish who they were, what happened to them and whether they are still alive so they can give him the final answers to the mystery that he is desperately seeking.
The strands of the two lives interweave across time into a compelling and fascinating tale that I found impossible to put down. I enjoyed the captivating locations and felt transported to the streets of Tangier, walking there with Sam as he chased clues to unlock the mysteries of the writing case and the elusive AL, finally writing the novel he had come to Tangier to write.
Having read Madeleine's three previous books I am a fan and was delighted to receive an eARC of An Echo of Scandal from NetGalley. This fourth novel further cements Madeleine's reputation as a bestselling writer of compelling historical fiction. Highly recommended. 5 stars.
#AnEchoOfScandal #NetGalley
September 21, 2019
An Echo of Scandal is a story rich with detail and a strong sense of place. I thought it was a fantastic read.
It starts with a murder and so it gets off to something of a flying start. Alejandra is a young woman with no back story and no sense of where she comes from. She lives in a brothel but does not want to end up a whore, and so she learns to cook. She manages to survive doing that until the fateful night when the story begins.
Set mostly in Tangier, the story flits between 1928 and 1978 in alternating chapters. The later story features Sam Hackett, an American writer looking for inspiration and it is a chance find that gives him the spark he needs to write again. How the two stories are linked starts to gradually unfold in the most engrossing fashion to bewitch and beguile the reader with a tale so incredible and so brilliant.
I adored Laura Madeleine's writing for several reasons. First of all, I loved the cocktail recipes at the beginning of Alejandra's chapters. I love to drink cocktails but don't know much about making them and the mention of jiggers and ponies as units of measurement seemed very authentic and so enticing. Secondly, this is a book that puts a lot of emphasis on food and drink and how they can be used to almost spellbind a person. It's a book full of sensations and I just loved the descriptions of the food that Ale was cooking.
But more than anything, this is an author who is able to create an enchanting story that I found myself pulled back into time and time again. It's by no means an easy life for Ale and later for Sam, and the harshness of life and the sharp contrasts in how people lived are portrayed beautifully, along with the streets of Tangier in both time frames. Each time one character's chapter ended I felt reluctant to leave them, every single time! It's a gorgeously evocative book and I thought it was wonderful.
It starts with a murder and so it gets off to something of a flying start. Alejandra is a young woman with no back story and no sense of where she comes from. She lives in a brothel but does not want to end up a whore, and so she learns to cook. She manages to survive doing that until the fateful night when the story begins.
Set mostly in Tangier, the story flits between 1928 and 1978 in alternating chapters. The later story features Sam Hackett, an American writer looking for inspiration and it is a chance find that gives him the spark he needs to write again. How the two stories are linked starts to gradually unfold in the most engrossing fashion to bewitch and beguile the reader with a tale so incredible and so brilliant.
I adored Laura Madeleine's writing for several reasons. First of all, I loved the cocktail recipes at the beginning of Alejandra's chapters. I love to drink cocktails but don't know much about making them and the mention of jiggers and ponies as units of measurement seemed very authentic and so enticing. Secondly, this is a book that puts a lot of emphasis on food and drink and how they can be used to almost spellbind a person. It's a book full of sensations and I just loved the descriptions of the food that Ale was cooking.
But more than anything, this is an author who is able to create an enchanting story that I found myself pulled back into time and time again. It's by no means an easy life for Ale and later for Sam, and the harshness of life and the sharp contrasts in how people lived are portrayed beautifully, along with the streets of Tangier in both time frames. Each time one character's chapter ended I felt reluctant to leave them, every single time! It's a gorgeously evocative book and I thought it was wonderful.
September 22, 2019
Alejandra hasn’t had the best of starts to her young life, and when in 1928, she is accused of a heinous crime, she has little choice but to try and escape, however, leaving behind everything she has ever known in Córdoba only makes her life all the more complicated.
Fifty years later in Tangier, Sam Hackett is a young writer who is down on his luck and struggling to make ends meet . When he comes across traces of a forgotten life he is suitably intrigued and sets out to discover as much as he can about the mysterious person he knows only by the initials A.L.
What I have loved about this novel is the way the author seamlessly moves from past to present and brings the heat and glorious colour of Tangier alive in a really exotic way. The sights, sounds and sensations of the market place, the spice, taste and texture of fabulous food, and the tantalising recipes for alcohol infused cocktails all blend together in a clever mixture of intrigue, mystery and danger.
Dual time stories are notoriously difficult to carry off but what works so well in An Echo of Scandal is the way that both time frames are equally compelling. I found that I was just at home in the 1920s as I was in 1978 and I looked forward to spending time with both sets of characters as they each live out the adventure which the author has created for them with so much flair and imagination.
An Echo of Scandal is a beautifully written historical novel by an author who knows how to hold the reader in the palm of her hand. The story is filled with both drama and passion and is gloriously authentic in every detail. I loved it 😊
Fifty years later in Tangier, Sam Hackett is a young writer who is down on his luck and struggling to make ends meet . When he comes across traces of a forgotten life he is suitably intrigued and sets out to discover as much as he can about the mysterious person he knows only by the initials A.L.
What I have loved about this novel is the way the author seamlessly moves from past to present and brings the heat and glorious colour of Tangier alive in a really exotic way. The sights, sounds and sensations of the market place, the spice, taste and texture of fabulous food, and the tantalising recipes for alcohol infused cocktails all blend together in a clever mixture of intrigue, mystery and danger.
Dual time stories are notoriously difficult to carry off but what works so well in An Echo of Scandal is the way that both time frames are equally compelling. I found that I was just at home in the 1920s as I was in 1978 and I looked forward to spending time with both sets of characters as they each live out the adventure which the author has created for them with so much flair and imagination.
An Echo of Scandal is a beautifully written historical novel by an author who knows how to hold the reader in the palm of her hand. The story is filled with both drama and passion and is gloriously authentic in every detail. I loved it 😊
December 11, 2020
4.5 stars!
This is not a usual read for me. I hit this type of thoughtful, women's literature once or twice a year (is that the right genre - I don't even know). I usually play down the urban fantasy/paranormal romance/YA fantasy end of the pool. But this was a really compelling read for me.
It combines a mystery with an exotic setting, intrigue, and the thrill of a romance all seen through the cynical eyes of Ale, who was raised amongst the worst that humanity has to offer, who, despite that, still keeps a core of fresh optimism. Then there is Sam, the wanna be writer who is on love with his romantic image of Tangiers and his craft. Then there is all the prose about food and cocktails. Seriously, the writing is beautiful and will make you want to go smash some tapas and classic cocktails, and maybe get into a deep conversation with an aged smuggler at the local tavern. You will definitely daydream of a post-Covid world where you could maybe travel to Tangiers to see what the city has become ion the present day.
Like its heroine, the book isn't quite as dark and without hope as its promise, and maybe I think that's why I won't give it a whole-hearted five stars. I feel like it turned back from the bleakest places it could have gone to, and I was expecting. Harrow me more.
I feel like this book falls firmly into place on the bookshelf next to The Alice Network, another twin-timeline mystery about a woman in a by-gone era.
This is not a usual read for me. I hit this type of thoughtful, women's literature once or twice a year (is that the right genre - I don't even know). I usually play down the urban fantasy/paranormal romance/YA fantasy end of the pool. But this was a really compelling read for me.
It combines a mystery with an exotic setting, intrigue, and the thrill of a romance all seen through the cynical eyes of Ale, who was raised amongst the worst that humanity has to offer, who, despite that, still keeps a core of fresh optimism. Then there is Sam, the wanna be writer who is on love with his romantic image of Tangiers and his craft. Then there is all the prose about food and cocktails. Seriously, the writing is beautiful and will make you want to go smash some tapas and classic cocktails, and maybe get into a deep conversation with an aged smuggler at the local tavern. You will definitely daydream of a post-Covid world where you could maybe travel to Tangiers to see what the city has become ion the present day.
Like its heroine, the book isn't quite as dark and without hope as its promise, and maybe I think that's why I won't give it a whole-hearted five stars. I feel like it turned back from the bleakest places it could have gone to, and I was expecting. Harrow me more.
I feel like this book falls firmly into place on the bookshelf next to The Alice Network, another twin-timeline mystery about a woman in a by-gone era.
September 20, 2019
Author Laura Madeleine knows how to spin a tale or two and with this heady, atmospheric story set in Spain and Tangier you are woven into a web of stories spanning five decades. A web that at times is murky, dark and dangerous and then to a web of delicious desires to satisfy your taste buds and your heart.
The story starts back in 1928 to an inn full of the darkest colours of Spain, to a young girl caught up in a crime she has no place to be in but Alejandra understands to survive she has to run.
Fifty years later Sam Hackett is roaming the streets of Tangier trying to find the reason to stay in the city as he's struggling to survive on what little funds he has left. Sam is also struggling to fulfil his dream of becoming a writer but when Sam feels all is lost he stumbles upon an object that reeks of history and mystery and with his inquisitive mind Sam is compelled to delve deeper into the history of the lives of someone who left something vitally important behind fifty years ago.
An Echo of Scandal is a wondrous historical time slip novel that is full of mystery and intrigue, unearthing darkness within the streets of a city that fills your senses with it's heady aromas, seductive tastes and beautiful colours. It's a story that will leave you thinking about the characters long after you've turned the last page. I've found myself wondering about Alejandra especially mulling over what happened with her life. Laura Madeleine has created a story that will capture your heart and mind and you won't want to leave the characters behind.
The story starts back in 1928 to an inn full of the darkest colours of Spain, to a young girl caught up in a crime she has no place to be in but Alejandra understands to survive she has to run.
Fifty years later Sam Hackett is roaming the streets of Tangier trying to find the reason to stay in the city as he's struggling to survive on what little funds he has left. Sam is also struggling to fulfil his dream of becoming a writer but when Sam feels all is lost he stumbles upon an object that reeks of history and mystery and with his inquisitive mind Sam is compelled to delve deeper into the history of the lives of someone who left something vitally important behind fifty years ago.
An Echo of Scandal is a wondrous historical time slip novel that is full of mystery and intrigue, unearthing darkness within the streets of a city that fills your senses with it's heady aromas, seductive tastes and beautiful colours. It's a story that will leave you thinking about the characters long after you've turned the last page. I've found myself wondering about Alejandra especially mulling over what happened with her life. Laura Madeleine has created a story that will capture your heart and mind and you won't want to leave the characters behind.
October 18, 2019
This beautifully written book is full of suspense intrigue and adventure, right from the first few pages. It is 1928 and Alejandra is trying to keep out of harms way working as a cook in a brothel, one day a murder is committed and Alejandra, although innocent, is blamed. In order to survive she escapes. Penniless and alone she makes her way to the border where she, quite literally, throws herself at the mercies of an Englishman. Through a series of events she makes her way to Tangiers, where amidst the heat and sand she tries to create herself a better life.
Fifty years later we meet Sam Hackett, a bored out of work writer trying to get by in Tangiers, one day he stumbles upon a connection to Alejandra and the secrets behind that start to consume him as he searches for the truth and a story to write up.
Written as two parallel stories, this is a brilliant book with great characters and an interesting look at how food and drink effects peoples moods and decisions. The great descriptions of the places and times the book was set in added to it a lot and I really enjoyed reading this.
Fifty years later we meet Sam Hackett, a bored out of work writer trying to get by in Tangiers, one day he stumbles upon a connection to Alejandra and the secrets behind that start to consume him as he searches for the truth and a story to write up.
Written as two parallel stories, this is a brilliant book with great characters and an interesting look at how food and drink effects peoples moods and decisions. The great descriptions of the places and times the book was set in added to it a lot and I really enjoyed reading this.
September 23, 2019
https://thecaffeinatedreader.com/2019...
So if you take the creepy factor out of The Talented Mr.Ripley and mix that with elements of The Great Gatsby, such as the suave partying and learning gentleman ways, and amazing female characters, then you end up with An Echo of Scandal.
It was a really a unique read in a lot of ways.
Ale has such a different existence, she’s morally grey but not because she makes necessarily questionable decisions because she wants to, but because she comes from the sort of upbringing where options are limited to her.
And who wouldn’t give a chance to have freedom, to have more options than your gender and class allow you?
Ale sees an opportunity and seizes it.
While she’s living in a time long past, in 1978 an aspiring writer, Sam, has found hints of her life, of a mysterious A and pursues the truth. He wants to know her story as it inspires him to write as nothing else has since his travels started.
Thank you to Anne and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
So if you take the creepy factor out of The Talented Mr.Ripley and mix that with elements of The Great Gatsby, such as the suave partying and learning gentleman ways, and amazing female characters, then you end up with An Echo of Scandal.
It was a really a unique read in a lot of ways.
Ale has such a different existence, she’s morally grey but not because she makes necessarily questionable decisions because she wants to, but because she comes from the sort of upbringing where options are limited to her.
And who wouldn’t give a chance to have freedom, to have more options than your gender and class allow you?
Ale sees an opportunity and seizes it.
While she’s living in a time long past, in 1978 an aspiring writer, Sam, has found hints of her life, of a mysterious A and pursues the truth. He wants to know her story as it inspires him to write as nothing else has since his travels started.
Thank you to Anne and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
July 14, 2021
This book has just the right balance of mystery, action, and a good story. Never over the top, leaving some details to the reader's imagination, it tells of Ale, an orphan, raised in a house of prostitution, in Spain, who becomes a ready scapegoat for a crime and runs away discovering an intoxicating thing - freedom. To achieve this though, she must make huge changes and learn from others who also understand the cost for such ideas. Set in Tangiers, in 1928 and fifty years later in 1978, Ale's story is shared by her own voice and that of a writer looking for inspiration.
August 21, 2019
NetGalley
Member Review
An Echo of Scandal
by Laura Madeleine
Pub Date: 19 Sep 2019
Review by
jeanie m, Reviewer
Last updated on 21 Aug 2019
My Recommendation
Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Fabulous historical saga that I found intriguing and captivating can highly recommend.
Member Review
An Echo of Scandal
by Laura Madeleine
Pub Date: 19 Sep 2019
Review by
jeanie m, Reviewer
Last updated on 21 Aug 2019
My Recommendation
Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
Fabulous historical saga that I found intriguing and captivating can highly recommend.
September 13, 2019
Brilliant read just could not put it down. From the very first page you are drawn in and just need to discover what will unfold next.
It has every ingredient you could wish for in a book intrigue love and a mystery that unfolds fifty years since it happened and even at the end you are left wondering what really did happen.
Can’t recommend it enough five stars all the way
It has every ingredient you could wish for in a book intrigue love and a mystery that unfolds fifty years since it happened and even at the end you are left wondering what really did happen.
Can’t recommend it enough five stars all the way
May 17, 2020
Laura Madeline is a fabulous author, she weaves a tale of espionage, love and food, conjuring up smells of spice and the heat of Morocco, capturing the class of a golden age and setting it against a hippy era and the characters that intertwine between the two juxtapositions. Twists and turns and edge of the seat moments make her books a must read!
September 24, 2022
Šioje knygoje yra viskas ko reikia gerai istorijai: karščiu alsuokanti šalis, sena paslaptis, intriga, maistas, meilė, veiksmas - visko joje atrasi. Labai patiko, ne tik siužetas, bet ir pabaiga, kurią gali suprasti kaip nori, nes į visus klausimus ir nėra iki galo atsakyta. Tobulas skaitinys laisvalaikiui!
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