As well as being a powerful account of self-discovery and an exploration of history and redemption, The Scent of Lemon Leaves is a sophisticated and nail-biting page-turner by one of Spain's most accomplished authors.

Having left her job and boyfriend, thirty-year-old Sandra decides to stay in a village on the Costa Brava in order to take stock of her life and find a new direction. She befriends Karin and Fredrik, an elderly Norwegian couple, who provide her with stimulating company and take the place of the grandparents she never had. However, when she meets Julián, a former concentration-camp inmate who has just returned to Europe from Argentina, she discovers that all is not what it seems and finds herself involved in a perilous quest for the truth.

This is a wonderful novel... it hides the dark story of deceit and hidden secrets. The characters of Sandra and Julian are engaging and while we become absorbed in their plight and actions, we are left feeling satisfied at the unexpected ending... The book reads at a good pace and that is partly due to the excellent translation which also gives a believable sense of time and place. It is a book I shall remember for a long time.