The Greek Village Series Series by Sara Alexi

Driven by a need for some control in her life Juliet sells up on impulse and buys a dilapidated farm house in a tiny Greek village, leaving her English life behind. The house is liveable by local standards but the job of restoring the garden is too big, it requires strength. Juliet cannot bring it to life on her own... moreDriven by a need for some control in her life Juliet sells up on impulse and buys a dilapidated farm house in a tiny Greek village, leaving her English life behind. The house is liveable by local standards but the job of restoring the garden is too big, it requires strength. Juliet cannot bring it to life on her own. Around the olive tree, hidden beneath the covering of bindweeds, are mattresses, broken chairs, shepherds' crooks, and old goat bells, the remains of past lives intertwined in a slow decay. The beauty of the garden is lost with the years of neglect and no one to appreciate it. Juliet reluctantly enlists casual labour. She has no desire to share her world with anyone. The boys have grown, Mick has gone. This is her time now. Aaman has travelled to Greece from Pakistan illegally. His task is to find work and raise money for the harvester his village desperately needs to deliver them out of poverty. Poverty that is sending the younger generation to the cities, dividing families, and slowly destroying his community. What he imagined would be a heroic journey in reality is fraught with danger and corruption. He finds himself in Greece and follows the work, a little here, a little there. As time passes he loses his sense of self, he is now an immigrant worker, illegal, displaced, unwanted, with no value. Some days he does not have enough money to feed himself, let alone to return home to Pakistan. In the village square, he waits for work, dawn not even broken. Juliet hires Aaman. Neither is entirely comfortable with their role. Juliet the Westerner, with money and a valid passport, even though she wants her garden clearing resents the intrusion. Aaman needs the work and money but resents the humiliation. As the summer progresses, even though they are from vastly different backgrounds, cultures apart, they discover they have something in common, an event that has defined how they interact and even how they view themselves. Pieces of their lives they have kept hidden even from themselves are exposed. Each is the other's catalyst to facing their own ghosts... less

Marina has lived in the village for most of her life, rarely venturing beyond its safe boundaries, one day drifting into another, the passing of time only showing when she looks in the mirror. But she has a secret buried deep in the past is forcing her to make a journey to the island, and to face her demons... "Across the water the island looks harmless. From this distance it is a misty blue, undefined, drifting above the horizon. Floating like a mirage in the heat... moreMarina has lived in the village for most of her life, rarely venturing beyond its safe boundaries, one day drifting into another, the passing of time only showing when she looks in the mirror. But she has a secret buried deep in the past is forcing her to make a journey to the island, and to face her demons... "Across the water the island looks harmless. From this distance it is a misty blue, undefined, drifting above the horizon. Floating like a mirage in the heat. The water is smooth, its shallow facets glinting in the sun, beckoning with beauty, giving the illusion that she can swim there. The sun shines without a care, lazy, hot. No sound except the lap of the water and the snuffle of a stray dog." Despite the heat of the sun and the ease of living she has much to do as time is running out for her to uncover the truth and protect her family from harm. Beautifully written, and evoking images of Greek village life, Black Butterflies is the second book in the Greek Village series. less

Cross at Dad, Abby, 17, boards a flight to Greece, but gets hopelessly lost and ends up in the wrong village. Alone, with very little money, no Greek and no way to contact her friend Jackie, who has lined up a bar job for her, Abby realises she has to stand on her own two feet for the first time… She meets Stella, who runs the local ouzeri - a rough and ready eatery were farmers gather to drink and take refuge from their domestic lives... moreCross at Dad, Abby, 17, boards a flight to Greece, but gets hopelessly lost and ends up in the wrong village. Alone, with very little money, no Greek and no way to contact her friend Jackie, who has lined up a bar job for her, Abby realises she has to stand on her own two feet for the first time… She meets Stella, who runs the local ouzeri - a rough and ready eatery were farmers gather to drink and take refuge from their domestic lives. Stella does not need a naive young English girl hanging around, and the ouzeri is not the glamorous bar that Abby had bargained for. But when events throw them together, the situation brings to the boil tensions that have been brewing for years, the ripples drawing in other people in the village, threatening Abby's ability to ever leave, culminating in shocking unforeseen events and the uncovering of dark secrets that change peoples' thinking about themselves and others permanently. less

Michelle has always had a positive attitude to work and responsibility and has made all the 'right' choices. Why then does she feel she might have ended up in the wrong place? Disenchanted with life as a high-flying lawyer in London, when her firm decides to send her to Athens to handle a case she jumps at the opportunity... moreMichelle has always had a positive attitude to work and responsibility and has made all the 'right' choices. Why then does she feel she might have ended up in the wrong place? Disenchanted with life as a high-flying lawyer in London, when her firm decides to send her to Athens to handle a case she jumps at the opportunity. Before work begins on Monday Michelle decides to squeeze in a sun-filled weekend on an island but a chance encounter on the boat across and a tragic accident throw her plans into disarray and threaten to change the entire course of her life... less

Loukas Hates his job. Ellie is stuck in an unfulfilling marriage. They are both young, but feel that life is passing them by, and can see no way out...