Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure

Author: Rhys Bowen
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2025
Pages: 399
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Surrey, England, 1938. After thirty devoted years of marriage, Ellie Endicott is blindsided by her husband's appeal for divorce. It's Ellie's opportunity for change too. The unfaithful cad can have the house. She's taking the Bentley. Ellie, her housekeeper Mavis, and her elderly friend Dora - each needing escape - impulsively head for parts unknown in the South of France.

With the Rhone surging beside them, they have nowhere to be and everywhere to go. Until the Bentley breaks down in the inviting hamlet of Saint Benet. Here, Ellie rents an abandoned villa in the hills, makes wonderful friend among the villagers, and finds herself drawn to Nico, a handsome and enigmatic fisherman. As for unexpected destinations, the simple paradis of Saint Benet is perfect. But fates soon change when the threat of war encroaches.

Review. I love Rhys Bowen's historical fiction novels, and while this was more fiction that historical fiction, it did veer into that realm toward the end. I wish she would have kept this novel light and fun. Bringing the Nazis into it in the way that she did, brought a darkness to the novel that was jarring to me. 

Other Rhys Bowen Novels
Above the Bay of Angels
In Farleigh Field
The Rose Arbor
The Tuscan Child
The Venice Sketchbook
Where the Sky Begins