The House on the Edge of the Cliff Paperback – May 16, 2019

I’ve enjoyed Carol’s writing for a few years now and honestly this is the best yet. I will not give anything away but the story is pertinent to our times and so engaging. Maybe more so because it was my first audible book and it was mesmerizing to hear Carol tell the story! Perfect summer read and great for a book club discussion.

Overall enjoyed this book. Bought it to read on sunny days in the garden. Did skip some descriptive bits of student protests in Paris 1968, got the gist couldn't be bothered with the detail. Did get the feeling that after all that sort of detail the end arrived quickly and a bit weak. But, good for a summer holiday book.

THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF by Carol Drinkwater is a wonderfully detailed and compelling story about what can happen when the past and present collide.Grace was sixteen when she arrived in France during a tumultuous time in its history. There she met two men - one she loved in a gentle and unassuming way, and one she was deeply in thrall with even though their relationship was tempestuous. But on one fateful evening, Grace loses one of those men when he drowns.​Years later, Grace and her husband Peter are content and happy in their beautiful home on the cliffside, and everything will be perfect as soon as Peter has his heart surgery and recovers. All that matters to Grace is that Peter has no stress and that she doesn't lose the most important person in her life. But someone from the past is determined to make himself heard and will manipulate Grace to get exactly what he wants ...​As always with Carol Drinkwater's books, the history, food, sights, smells, and atmosphere of the location bursts to life on every page and France is a character in its own right in this story - and one of my favourites! The story moves from past to present, weaving its secrets and opening our eyes to the hidden depths beneath the surface of these characters' lives, and I loved the ebb and flow feeling of the drama throughout.THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF by Carol Drinkwater is a superbly structured story with plenty of mystery to keep you guessing and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish - an excellent book from an excellent author.

Warm hearted story with some tdradigies. Reminds us of the difficult times immigrants had before there were any safety nets. No food banks or welfare checks! I liked that the characters prayed when difficulties beset them.

Well written and for the most part both intriguing. A little long in story development. I'm not overly keen on all of the flawed characters but they do hold the complicated story together.

I am a big fan of Carol Drinkwater’s writing, and have read all her books. “The House on the Edge of the Cliff” does not disappoint. There is a dual timeline here and two settings: the student protests in 1968 and the South of France. Carol Drinkwater weaves romance and mystery in this novel, and keeps the reader guessing until the end. Grace, aged sixteen meets her love, Peter, during the riots in Paris, 1968. They leave and go to stay with Peter’s Aunt Agnes in her artsy house overlooking the Mediterranean. I love the character of Aunt Agnes and all her foibles. Suffice to say, there is much conflict in the interim: Pierre, the bad boy, and drug user, seduces Grace. He disappears mysteriously into the sea. The novel continues in the present time with Peter and Grace, who are now in their sixties, awaiting Peter’s upcoming heart surgery. Grace tries to shield him from any stress. Of course, there is stress. There is a lovely conclusion to this page turner. I think this is Carol’s best novel so far. It would make a great BBC mini-series. I look forward to her new novel, which will be out soon.

I pre-ordered this book and have been waiting patiently for months now. I have read almost everything this author has written and with the possible exception of The Lost Girl, which still haunts me, this is her best to date. The setting is a perfect example of writing about that which you know since she and her husband have lived in Provence since they purchased and renovated The Olive Farm years ago. Her descriptions of the locale truly evoke a real sense of the place. Her description of the wild and crazy years of the 1960s took me back to my youth and the shifting of time from past to present and back and forth kept me completely engrossed. What really happened on that night back in 1968? She kept me guessing and doubting until the very last moment. I had to force myself to slow down and try to savor this story over three days. It was so tempting to just inhale it in one sitting although it would have been a very late, late night.Now I will have to wait for her next.

This book kept me on the edge of the seat and could not turn the pages fast enough. Like the story in current day, and then regressing to the 60"s, which gives the full background and blends the story to a nail-biting conclusion. Don't want to give the ending away, but this wonderful story will keep you in suspense to the end. Don't be tempted to read the last 15 pages, to determine what happens. Congratulations to Carol Drinkwater for a thoughtful, suspenseful novel.

I have read this amazing story while staying in an isolated house in rural France. It’s my second book by Carol Drinkwater who I discovered recently and cannot get enough of her. She writes beautifully, her characters are so real and her plot keeps you on your toes. Amazing.

I so enjoyed this book I read it and passed it on to a friend. It is set in France, both Paris and in the south from the 1960’s through to the present day. A story of love and intrigue, engrossing twists and turns. Bits of history that come alive through Grace’s life story.

I have loved Ms. Drinkwater’s accounts of her life in Southern France with her beloved husband Michel and also her well researched stories about the culture and olive tree throughout the Mediterranean. However her venture into ‘fiction’ is for me most unsuccessful .Her main character ‘Grace’ is Carol herself …..‘A woman, living in a blissful villa in southern France with an adored husband, whomshe fears to lose, father of two daughters whom he adores and adored by him….an actress famous for her weekly appearance in a most popular weekly tv show … ring any bells??I could never separate ‘Grace’ from ‘Helen Alderson’/ ‘Helen Herriot’. I found the sections about Paris in ‘68 boring and the looming menace for her darling grandson Harry worrying. It is rare for me not to struggle through and finish a book but unfortunately I just didn’t want to give the time to this one./A weekly tv show……..ring any bells????

Loved the setting, got a bit confused in the middle but think I understood the end! I would recommend this as a lovely summer read.

Way too scary a family. Big mistake recommending it to me! I like cosy mysteries, British or French, which this is not.