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6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
A page-turner like Dan Brown, only smarter Jan 07, 2010
By Philip in Paris
This is a wonderful book -- grips your attention from the start, it's a real page-turner. It's more mentally stimulating than your standard airport bestseller, though, in terms of its structure (hopping between six narrators to give different perspectives on the same events and people) and in terms of a lot of the background detail about history, theories of the paranormal, and general culture. The Danish setting gives an interesting view of a specific locality that we don't see very often. Just the right book for these long, cold evenings!
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Challenging, entertaining and most interesting Feb 18, 2010
By Ed G
While it's tagged as a ghost story, Shadows in Summers is a story of relationships... with our past, our surroundings and most of all, ourselves. The innovative six-person narrative brings you in touch with six people who are believable, intelligent and most of all, interesting. The end result is a read that is as challenging as it is entertaining.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Subtle, well-paced, goose-bump raising psychological thriller about the haunting of a couple relocating to Copenhagen Feb 01, 2010
By D. Brennan
Engaging characters, deep cultural insights, keen psychological observations, and goose-bump raising plot elements abound in this first novel by Crescent Varrone. As an American who himself relocated to Denmark with his Danish wife, Mr. Varrone has brought his own keen eye for cultural nuance to bear on a story that is much more than a simple ghost story.
The use of six voices allows us as readers to immerse ourselves in the richly developed story of the characters and their lives as they adjust (or re-adjust) to life in Denmark, troubled family relationships and, this being a ghost story, the uninvited guests that have taken up residency in their home. Other authors may not have the skills to pull off such an ambitious undertaking, but Mr. Varrone handles the task admirably. We are provided with a range of perceptions on the characters and the haunting that would be impossible without the use by the author of an all-knowing narrator. Indeed, each character comes complete with their own very different world views shaped by very different life experiences, leading to very different perspectives on what is going on in Sound House, a home that reveals little, but which harbors secrets that span generations.
Mr. Varrone does not tie everything neatly up in a bow for the reader, and the subtly of the writing will leave you pondering elements of the story long after you have turned the last page and curled up in your blankets seeking warmth to dispel the shiver that runs down the full length of your spine.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Not to be missed Oct 08, 2010
By Midwest Book Review
Some things never let go, even in death. "Shadows in Summer" tells the story of Katrina Nielsen and her ongoing ordeal with her new Copenhagen, Denmark home and how it seems someone or something wants her out. Told from multiple perspectives, Crescent Varrone uses the format to provide a unique and entertaining story that is hard to find elsewhere. "Shadows in Summer" is not to be missed.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 How Do You Explain the Unexplainable? Jul 15, 2010
By Vampires and Tofu
"Angelique"
I thought Shadows in Summer was an excellent ghost story that somehow managed to feel quite gothic despite taking place during the Clinton era. It had all the trappings of a traditional ghost story...things that go bump in the night, mysterious shadows, objects being moved and a juicy history that spanned three generations.
Being described as a novel told in six voices, I was afraid it would be hard to keep track of who was who and what was going on, but there were only a couple of times I found it difficult to switch perspectives and that was when chapters would switch between Katrina and her mother. Otherwise, the six different points of view weren't a problem at all.
Varrone did an excellent job with the setting. I didn't know much about Denmark before going into this book, but his descriptions were detailed and fascinating and I found myself looking up places online to see if they really exist (they do!) He also wove a bit of the country's history into the story, especially its role during World War II (events from this era play a role in the story and in the perceptions of some of its characters.)
The ghostly occurrences start early in the book and their effect on Kristina builds slowly as the reader is left wondering about the true nature of what she is going through. Is their house indeed haunted? Is it all in her mind? Does the "slightly creepy" neighbor have anything to do with what is going on?
This is a thinking person's ghost story. And by that I mean it 's not one of those filled with in your face frights, it's more subtle than that. There are dinner parties, details, and discussions but they are interesting. And just when you think you have everything figured out, Varrone manages to pull out a couple of surprises.
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