The Olive Tree - by Lucinda Riley (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The Olive Tree is a sun-soaked story of family secrets and an unforgettable summer in Cyprus, from Lucinda Riley, international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series.

A magical house. A momentous summer . . .

As a young woman, Helena spent a magical holiday at Pandora, a beautiful house in Cyprus - and fell in love for the first time. Now, twenty-four years later and following the loss of her godfather, she has inherited Pandora. And, though it is a crumbling shadow of its former self, Helena returns with her family to spend the summer there.

When, by chance, Helena meets her childhood sweetheart, her past threatens to collide with her present. She knows that the idyllic beauty of Pandora masks a web of secrets that she has kept from her husband and thirteen-year-old son. And that, once its secrets have been revealed, their lives will never be the same . . .

'It will whisk you away to the glorious sunshine of Cyprus' - Daily Express

** This title has been published outside the UK under the title Helena's Secret. **

Review Quotes

"It will whisk you away to the glorious sunshine of Cyprus . . . refreshingly different" --Veronica Henry, Daily Express

"A dazzling contemporary novel . . . Brimming with the colour, atmosphere and sultry heat of beautiful Cyprus, this is a gripping story about family relationships across all generations, the ties that bind us with sometimes invisible cords and the complex nature of 'family' in the modern world . . . Riley writes with both insight and empathy . . . a stunning tale of our times from a master storyteller" --Lancashire Evening Post

"A brilliant page-turner just soaked in glamour and romance" --Daily Mail, on The Seven Sisters

"A masterclass in beautiful writing" --The Sun, on The Sun Sister

About the Author

Lucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first novel aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with cultures all around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre.

Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella Prize, the Lovely Books Award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum Award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year - a prize last won by J. K. Rowling for Harry Potter.

In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote a series of books for children called The Guardian Angels.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written.

Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on 11 June 2021, surrounded by her family.