The Kismet Pension is the only guest house in a small Turkish village. The owner, Fatma, is a feisty woman who rules both her business and her family, to the disapproval of her more chauvinistic neighbours. Harun is a disillusioned businessman from Istanbul who inherits land in the village and decides to build a retreat there.
When Fatma discovers his plans, convinced they pose a threat to the Kismet Pension, she sets out on a mission to stop him. With the help of a small group of villagers who all have their own reasons for resisting the development, she tries to sabotage the retreat.
But Harun seems unstoppable. The retreat opens and most of its opponents give up the fight. Only Fatma is still determined to put an end to the competition.
As the summer heats up, Fatma’s problems multiply. Her daughter is becoming increasingly sullen and difficult and her favourite guest is consorting with the local gigolo.
When Fatma is offered a chance to wipe out the retreat will she take it, or will her conscience get the better of her? And can she repair her relationship with her daughter?
‘The Kismet Pension’ is a story of family and change versus tradition. Prepare to be immersed in the landscape and culture of beautiful Mediterranean Turkey and to meet some of the vivid characters who live there.
Fatma has spent her whole life in the Turkish village of Ortakoy, where she is known for her strong opinions and a habit of flouting tradition. She juggles the challenges of family life with running her business, the Kismet Pension.
Levent spends his life travelling the country in his minibus. When he arrives in Ortakoy, he feels a sense of belonging and decides to stay for a while. Fatma distrusts him, and is dismayed that nobody seems to share her concerns.
Then a greater threat appears, in the form of a company that wants to build a cement factory in the village. The villagers are determined to stop the development but their objections seem to have been ignored when permission is granted and work begins on the site.
The peace is shattered as lorries rumble through the village, and Fatma is worried about both her business and her home. It becomes obvious that the company is bending all the rules but the villagers’ attempts to publicise their story fail and some of them are forced to give up the fight. It is left to Fatma to find a way to save the village, but is she ready to speak out?
This second book in the Kismet Pension series invites readers to spend another summer in Ortakoy, with the spirited Fatma and her colourful neighbours.
Iris has spent 30 years coping with tragedy by filling her house with things. Her hoarding has left her isolated and lonely and is damaging her relationship with her daughter, Julia, and her granddaughter, Ellie. Now the council are threatening her with eviction if she does not clear the house.
Julia thinks the solution is simple: Iris just needs to get rid of all the things. But she doesn’t understand that they are what is holding Iris together and she doesn’t know the secrets they hide. And besides, Iris does not accept there is a problem and is fed up with being controlled.
Julia’s attempts to help Iris declutter only add to the friction between them and with Ellie behaving strangely, she has other things to worry about. Iris’s friend Lenny encourages her to get rid of some of the things but now he has disappeared too.
What will it take for Iris to realise that the most precious things in her life are not the belongings that fill her house? And left alone, how can she possibly clear the house in time?
Precious Things is a story about secrets and the damage they can do. Follow Iris as she is forced to look back and face her past in order to move forward.