The House at the Edge of Night - Tapa dura

"Sensual attention to detail builds a world of bougainvillea terraces serving limoncello – to say it’s atmospheric would be an understatement. Ten years ago, my top holiday read was Victoria Hislop’s The Island; this summer’s great escape belongs to Catherine Banner – utterly mesmerising from start to finish, even if you’re nowhere near a sun lounger." (The Pool)

"Whether you’re off on a romantic couple’s holiday or a relaxing day with your partner in the park - this will have you more loved up than ever. Set in a bar on an idyllic island off the coast of Italy - this tale comes with friendships, betrayals, relationships and affairs" (The Sun - Summer Reads)

"Readers, prepare to be captivated. This is an evocatively written, enchanting tale filled with richly depicted characters. The House at the End of Night has been compared to Joanne Harris's Chocolat and Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres and Banner's tale can confidently take its place on the bookshelves alongside those novels as it, too, transports us to a magical, enthralling world" (Irish Independent)

"Catherine Banner’s debut novel is a spellbinding summer saga... expect ancient legends, superstitions, friendships, feuds and love affairs in this gorgeously evocative Mediterranean tale that’s reminiscent of Louis de Bernier’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin" (Culturefly)

"A luminous homage to the Italian tradition of storytelling ... a lusty page-turner that weaves romance, rivalry and the intricacies of family expectations into one glorious tale. There are echoes of Italo Calvino in Banner's writing―echoes of admiration and love. Reading The House at the Edge of Night is like falling into a fantastical world where time stands still, yet change happens at an unimaginable pace." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

On a tiny island off the coast of Italy, Amedeo Esposito, a foundling from Florence, thinks he has found a place where, finally, he can belong.
Intrigued by a building the locals believe to be cursed, Amedeo restores the crumbling walls, replaces sagging doors and sweeps floors before proudly opening the bar he names the ‘House at the Edge of Night’. Surrounded by the sound of the sea and the scent of bougainvillea, he and the beautiful, fiercely intelligent Pina begin their lives together.
Home to the spirited, chaotic Esposito family for generations, the island withstands a century of turmoil – transformed in ways both big and small by war, tourism and recession. It’s a place alive with stories, legends and, sometimes, miracles. And while regimes change, betrayals are discovered and unexpected friendships nurtured, the House at the Edge of Night remains: the backdrop for long-running feuds and the stage for great love affairs.