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Reading lists

9 holiday reads set in Greece

High Season

In the heat of summer, the past can become hazy. . . 
 
For twenty years, Nina Drayton has told herself that she must have seen her sister, Tamara, being murdered by the family babysitter – Josie Jackson. That she doesn’t remember it because she was five, and amnesia is a normal trauma response. 
 
But now, with the anniversary of Tamara’s death approaching and true crime investigators revisiting the case, Nina finds it harder to suppress her doubts. Returning to her family’s sparkling villa on the Cote d’Azur for the first time since the murder, she wants to uncover more about the summer that changed so many lives. Because if she was wrong, then she sent an innocent woman to jail – and the real killer is still walking free. 
 
Lyrical, suspenseful and sultry, this dark examination of the fragile nature of memory is vivid and thought provoking, with all the tension and heat of a moody summer evening. 
 
*** Praise for Katie Bishop ***'Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking...sizzles with suspense.' 
- Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Castaways 
 
'Startling...packs an incredible punch.' - The Times 
 
'Lures you in then shakes you up.' - Nikki May, author of This Motherless Land

Katie Bishop is a master storyteller. In High Season, she weaves a beautiful, intricate mystery that tests the strength of memory and time and the harsh consequences of both. Complete with an exotic setting, flawed and complex characters, and spellbinding prose, High Season is an absolute masterpiece.

High Season ripped me out of a reading slump as I found myself devouring this tale of privilege, loss, and the slippery nature of memory. The setting is so perfectly rendered that you can almost taste the saltwater, and the characters are so sensitively drawn I often had a knot in my stomach as I read late into the night. Bishop writes unbelievably beautifully about the complex relationships forged in youth, and the fragility of memory in the aftermath of tragedy.

Ella Berman, author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club-pick BEFORE WE WERE INNOCENT

True crime meets the Côte d’Azur in this layered, insightful novel that transcends its absorbing premise. Mystery and secrets abound at the Pink House, but it’s Katie Bishop’s vividly drawn characters and their web of entanglements that will keep you turning pages. High Season handles its themes deftly—about trauma and memory, class and girlhood, family and forgiveness—while also offering a nuanced critique of true crime voyeurism. Propulsive, escapist, and sharp.

Emily Layden, author of ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girlfriends pack for their holidays this summer.

Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CASTAWAYS

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose.

This debut should be on every summer reading list... THE GIRLS OF SUMMER explores consent, the power discrepancies in relationships, control, and the intoxication of lust in a gripping read that is visceral and raw. Buy it.

Reminiscent of HBO's hit The White Lotus... The obvious read-alike is My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell, and the plot-driven tension will appeal to fans of psychological suspense.

A mesmerising, unsettling and gripping debut.

Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of RUN TIME

Lures you in then shakes you up. A very timely read about consent and control. LOVED IT.

Thought-provoking, timely and gripping, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is the book of the summer.

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is visceral, deeply sensory and urgent. An unsettling and vital book.

Atmospheric and powerful, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is a propulsive examination of the line blurring trauma and love in a relationship, a distinction which - in a post #MeToo world - is more important than ever.

Smart, tense and on-the-nose about shame and coercion and the way we force our own painful histories into a narrative we can live with.

An absolutely scorching debut deftly mixing the glamour of an island holiday with shadows of coercive control. One of the best psychological thrillers I've read this year.

Alice Clark-Platts, author of THE FLOWER GIRLS

Such a clever, subtle, simmering read of a sun-drenched summer romance that is not all it seems. Timely, powerful, and must-read material around consent and buried trauma.

This promising first novel is a timely exploration of the way predatory older men seduce and manipulate young women...Bishop's unflinching dissection of male abuse and power and the strength of female solidarity deserves attention.

Dark, timely and thought provoking. It's a must-read.

Pacy and readable, it's set to be a big summer hit.

Katie Bishop is a writer and journalist based in the UK. She grew up in the Midlands before moving to Oxford to work in publishing in her early twenties. Whilst working as an assistant editor she started writing articles in her spare time, going on to be published in the New York Times, Guardian, Independent and Vogue. 
 
Katie started writing The Girls of Summer during the first UK COVID lockdown, after becoming increasingly interested in stories emerging from the #MeToo movement. The novel is inspired by her own experiences of backpacking, and by her interest in how our personal narratives can be reshaped and understood in light of cultural and social changes. 
 
In 2020, Katie moved back to the Midlands, and now lives in Birmingham with her partner. She is a full-time writer.

In the heat of summer, the past can become hazy. . . 
 
For twenty years, Nina Drayton has told herself that she must have seen her sister, Tamara, being murdered by the family babysitter – Josie Jackson. That she doesn’t remember it because she was five, and amnesia is a normal trauma response. 
 
But now, with the anniversary of Tamara’s death approaching and true crime investigators revisiting the case, Nina finds it harder to suppress her doubts. Returning to her family’s sparkling villa on the Cote d’Azur for the first time since the murder, she wants to uncover more about the summer that changed so many lives. Because if she was wrong, then she sent an innocent woman to jail – and the real killer is still walking free.

Katie Bishop

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girlfriends pack for their holidays this summer

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose

Poignant and striking, this coming-of-age novel barrels towards its shocking yet inevitable conclusion and examines the insidious nature of abuse and grooming through the eyes of the victim.

This debut should be on every summer reading list... THE GIRLS OF SUMMER explores consent, the power discrepancies in relationships, control, and the intoxication of lust in a gripping read that is visceral and raw. Buy it

Reminiscent of HBO's hit The White Lotus... The obvious read-alike is My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell, and the plot-driven tension will appeal to fans of psychological suspense

A mesmerising, unsettling and gripping debut

Lures you in then shakes you up. A very timely read about consent and control. LOVED IT

Thought-provoking, timely and gripping, The Girls of Summer is the book of the summer

THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is visceral, deeply sensory and urgent. An unsettling and vital book

Atmospheric and powerful, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER is a propulsive examination of the line blurring trauma and love in a relationship, a distinction which - in a post #MeToo world - is more important than ever

Smart, tense and on-the-nose about shame and coercion and the way we force our own painful histories into a narrative we can live with.

An absolutely scorching debut deftly mixing the glamour of an island holiday with shadows of coercive control. One of the best psychological thrillers I've read this year

Such a clever, subtle, simmering read of a sun-drenched summer romance that is not all it seems. Timely, powerful, and must-read material around consent and buried trauma

Claire Daverley, author of TALKING AT NIGHT

This promising first novel is a timely exploration of the way predatory older men seduce and manipulate young women...Bishop's unflinching dissection of male abuse and power and the strength of female solidarity deserves attention.

Dark, timely and thought provoking. It's a must-read

Pacy and readable, it's set to be a big summer hit

The last time Rachel saw the girls, they were teenagers island-hopping in Greece: making friends, finding love. One golden summer.Now in her thirties, she’s never been able to forget the man she fell in love with back then. Even though he is almost twenty years older than her. Even though she hasn’t seen him since and she’s now married to someone else.And when she crosses paths with one of the girls, she’s confronted with a truth that’s much darker than she ever realized.What really happened to them all that summer? 
What if everything she remembers is a lie?The Girls of Summer is a compulsive and searching exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.

Katie Bishop

Praise for The Girls of Summer

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girl ...

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose

Poignant and striking, this coming-of-age novel barrels towards its shocking yet inevitable conclusion and examines the insidious nature of abuse and grooming through the eyes of the victim.

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girl ...

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose

Poignant and striking, this coming-of-age novel barrels towards its shocking yet inevitable conclusion and examines the insidious nature of abuse and grooming through the eyes of the victim.

It's been a long time since I've read such a compelling debut. Beautifully written, transportive, and thought-provoking, THE GIRLS OF SUMMER sizzles with suspense. It's the book I'll be recommending that all my girl ...

This startling debut...packs an incredible punch. The dark undertow of an idyllic summer and the lies girls are told and tell themselves are captured with stark, affecting honesty and evocative prose

Poignant and striking, this coming-of-age novel barrels towards its shocking yet inevitable conclusion and examines the insidious nature of abuse and grooming through the eyes of the victim.

Books by Katie Bishop

Articles featuring Katie Bishop

9 holiday reads set in Greece

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