āThis book had me totally gripped' Beth OāLeary āāāāā
'It makes your heart ache' Clare Leslie Hall, author of Broken Country āāāāā
The summer AJ Silver died, everyone had something to lose. The world called it a tragedy. Someone knew it was more...
Everyone who was around in the 1990s remembers where they were when they heard that AJ Silver had died. In the summer of ā96, there was no avoiding the story that America's biggest teen pop sensation had plunged to his death on a rollercoaster at a family-run amusement park in rural England.
Now, 27 years have passed, and ā even if youāre too young to recall the event ā youāve probably heard AJ Silver's songs topping the charts again. So what better time to take a forensic look at what happened that summer?
Iāve spent hundreds of hours interviewing everyone who was there that fateful day: workers, friends, family... the people who gained from his death, and the people who lost everything.
But youāre going to want to pay attention. Because Iāve found out a secret. One youāre all going to want to know... Perhaps it wasnāt such an accident after all?
A truly unique and unforgettable novel, set in 1990s Los Angeles and rural England, with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. Youāll be gripped!
Everyone is talking about What Happened That Summer!āI loved this! Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will devour it, then want to start it all over again, just like I did. Laura Pearsonās best one yet, and thatās saying something!ā Kate Storey, author
āWhat a unique story, so well executed, so full of character. I really enjoyed it.ā Beth OāLeary, author
āA masterclass in storytelling. The mystery is utterly addictive, the love story so tender and exquisitely drawn it makes your heart ache, and all set against a glorious backdrop of 90s nostalgia. I ADORED it. Laura Pearson is a must-read author for me and this is her best book yet.ā Clare Leslie Hall, author
āI devoured What Happened That Summer. Itās a gripping, heartfelt read... I was genuinely sad to turn the last page!ā Emily Freud, author
āWow, what a read this was!... Itās so gripping that Iāve got bags under my eyes from one-more-chaptering into the night. But itās more than just a gripping story ā itās full of heart too.... I absolutely loved it.ā Fran Quinn, author
āDefinitely my favourite book of the year BY A MILE!!! One of those I wish I could go back and read again for the first time. If I didnāt have to go to work, I would not have put it down. And the twist at the end!!! Didnāt see it coming at all. I know I have used way too many exclamation marks in this review but I canāt stop!! An absolute triumph of a novel.ā Reader review āāāāā
āWhat can I say, other than... WOW! As a fan of Lauraās, this is unlike any other book she has written, and completely blew me away. I devoured every pageā Reader review āāāāā
āThis book was so amazing I couldnāt put it down!!... The kind of book that will stay with you forever; one you will read over and over again, so you can pore over every detail just one more time!ā Reader review āāāāā
Laura Pearson is the author of emotional, uplifting novels, including the #1 smash hit bestseller The Last List of Mabel Beaumont with award-winning publisher Boldwood Books. She founded The Bookload on Facebook and has had several pieces published in the Guardian and the Telegraph.