Lead Review
- Book: The Greek Escape
- Location: Greece, Hydra, New York City (NYC)
- Author: Karen Swan
“…spontaneity is money’s single greatest gift…”
Chloe Marston has fled from heartbreak in the UK and is working for Invicta, a luxury concierge company in the Big Apple, catering to the whims of the über rich. She doesn’t really bat an eyelid when one client requests her to arrange San Pellegrino for her dogs (Perrier simply won’t do); or organise an evening cruise on the Danube, with rose petals being scattered from the bridges as the clients glide past below; maybe a black tie dinner on an iceberg; source a gaggle of penguins (technically a ‘raft’ of penguins) to mingle at a party… Nothing it seems is beyond the pale, it is a different world, and she is largely at home in it. She is making people’s lives “better, nicer, prettier, funner” (Chloe also knows that funner isn’t a proper word but maybe it should be?)
She really has to step up to the plate when her colleague Poppy is the target of a hit and run on a New York Street. Overnight Chloe has to pick up Poppy’s clients, including gazillionaire Alexander Subocheva who needs her utmost discretion and attention. He seems to be a baddie but once she hears his backstory, she gives him the benefit of the doubt. One unlikely candidate is new arrival Joe Lincoln and Chloe is dazzled into taking him onto her books. Before she can even register what is happening, she is accompanying him to Greece on his search for a large property that requires many acres of land and the utmost privacy. Despite his wealth (there are only few people who can pay for a large property in cash, we are talking millions!) he seems a regular guy. He is handsome and attentive, but her history with men is questionable, they two-time her and she is intent on running away. Besides, he is a client and therefore out of bounds (although he is REALLY handsome).
Chloe is a canny young woman (she hails from Alnwick and therefore “canny” describes her perfectly) and very little fazes her. When her ex pops up in Manhattan she goes out of her way to ignore him – the title indeed might read the great escape as she tries to extricate herself from the machinations of his complex corporate life. There are several characters in the book who are well fleshed out, the author is clearly adept at building a story with romance and fashion (you can tell she was a fashion journalist) at the heart. The strands all come together, although slightly convoluted at the end – this is an entertaining read for long Summer days (and don’t forget, the title is a bit of a misnomer, half the book is set in Manhattan, the other half in Greece).
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