Synopsis
On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. Then she finds Fortini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip...

I've read a review which described this as a beach read with a heart and I think that just about sums it up. It is not a great book or wonderful writing, but what raises it above the usual beach read is the theme of lerosy and the lepers' colony. In fact I believe without that it would have been a very ordinary family saga indeed.

Alan Brennert's Moloka'i is on a similar theme I understand, so I will be looking for a copy of this. It is also, coincidentally, the next pick for the Avid Reader Bookclub.