Scent of Summer Magnolia, Kat George
A mystery thriller of misconceptions, tea and scones and murder. Set in a Scandinavian community in New Zealand, a young widow returns to town concerned for her matriarch aunt, having received distressing letters from her.
Arriving in Daneby, Charlie Christensen is immediately plunged into a nightmare of mystery, lies, secrets and murder. The old gothic mansion she borrows is full of whispers, the occasional thump in the night and a lurking stalker, all of which play on Charlie's nervous disposition.
But the creeping threat underestimates the Christensen spirit. Repeating the stories and sagas of her family to her two small sons, Charli finds a source of strength in remembering the celebrated feats of the ancestors. Guided by the haunting fragrance of her dead mother's perfume and supported by the unfailing trust of her school friend Michelle, Charlie stands up for herself, overcomes her fears and goes in search of the real story behind the fire that destroyed their home, causing the deaths of her mother, husband and Kirsty's sister. Exactly how or even why they all died that night is lost in Charlie's blanked memory and it seems it is a mystery someone is prepared to kill for.
Scent of Summer Magnolia
"...the standard Gothic novel elements are twisted in unexpected ways by the New Zealand setting. An apparently fragile and naïve young heroine shows her Viking blood as she fights a modern-day villain and the draughty old mansion with ghostly noises helps her recover her past. Juxtaposing the exotic setting against familiar daily routines, Kat George creates a fascinating world"
- the Chronicle, Copenhagen
Growing up on a farm in New Zealand run by three generations of Danish women, Kat George left home at 16 and traveled the world. Passing through cities, picking up degrees in psychology and English literature and reinventing herself several times, she collected stories along the way. She has been rich and owned houses and fast cars and has been poor, living on the street then to resurrect once more as a journalist and freelance writer in Holland.
Scent of Summer Magnolia is the first of a series of kiwi nostaglia novels.
Kat George currently resides in Denmark and is studying runic scripts and early European belief systems.