An Amsterdam Affair
An Amsterdam Affair is a bitter-sweet family saga about searching for lost love and how families come undone and are re-made. At the heart of the story is a family secret. If you enjoyed Last Tango in Halifax: the inter-generational themes of romance, second-chances and how the Internet and Social Media can change our relationship with the past and each other; or the seaside and painting motifs in Notes for an Exhibition; or the art & craft themes of my previous novel, Laura’s Handmade Life, this may be the book for you!
You can read all about the inspiration behind
An Amsterdam Affair in an author interview with Cassie on her award winning creative and lifestyle blog and with the novelist, Heidi Swain on her writing blogspot.
An Amsterdam Affair in an author interview with Cassie on her award winning creative and lifestyle blog and with the novelist, Heidi Swain on her writing blogspot.
The story is based in The Netherlands and Norfolk. Sam and her idealistic teenage son, Matty, feel constrained by the demands of Sam’s mother, hypochondriac Nan. Phil, Sam’s husband, is unemployed because of a short-lived affair that cost him his job as a geologist.
Sam finds solace in wild swimming and making art in her beach hut studio, while Matty dreams of becoming an architect. He prepares for a college trip to Amsterdam but before he leaves, Sam gives him a book that requires him to look for someone in Amsterdam.
Phil gets a temporary job off-shore and for the first time in a long while, Sam finds herself alone. She starts writing an art blog which attracts the attention of Theo, her Dutch-Indonesian ex-lover from a long forgotten relationship. He emails her and their online correspondence re-ignites their relationship and he wants to meet up with her once again.
Matty meets the girl of his dreams, Alice, and both soon find themselves as detectives caught up in unravelling his family’s secret past.
Sam visits Nan who opens up to her daughter and unlocks the true nature of Matty’s search and brings to a head the unsavoury past and the racist morals of the 1960s. She meets up with Theo and realises that it was her husband’s affair that forced her to wake up from sleep-walking through life. Her careless emailing is read by Phil who returns back early to confront her.
Sam finds solace in wild swimming and making art in her beach hut studio, while Matty dreams of becoming an architect. He prepares for a college trip to Amsterdam but before he leaves, Sam gives him a book that requires him to look for someone in Amsterdam.
Phil gets a temporary job off-shore and for the first time in a long while, Sam finds herself alone. She starts writing an art blog which attracts the attention of Theo, her Dutch-Indonesian ex-lover from a long forgotten relationship. He emails her and their online correspondence re-ignites their relationship and he wants to meet up with her once again.
Matty meets the girl of his dreams, Alice, and both soon find themselves as detectives caught up in unravelling his family’s secret past.
Sam visits Nan who opens up to her daughter and unlocks the true nature of Matty’s search and brings to a head the unsavoury past and the racist morals of the 1960s. She meets up with Theo and realises that it was her husband’s affair that forced her to wake up from sleep-walking through life. Her careless emailing is read by Phil who returns back early to confront her.
