The Lake Villa

The Oriental Lake Collection

From Ann Bennett, bestselling author of The Orphan House, comes The Lake Villa, a spellbinding story of one woman’s journey to uncover long-buried secrets in French Indochina.

Perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries and Victoria Hislop.

Indochina 1939, Colette, a young French woman, falls in love with Henri Bossière the Chief Curator of the mysterious temple, Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. She starts a new life with him in an idyllic villa perched on the edge the great lake of Tonlé Sap. But the second world war intervenes, sweeping away her world and leaving tragedy in its wake.

After the war, Colette attempts to rebuild her life, finding a friend in Luc Gilbert, Henri’s former deputy–a man with dark secrets. When Luc is made to leave Cambodia under a cloud, Colette is left to pick up the pieces and discovers his shocking truths.

In 1975 when the Khmer Rouge sweep through Cambodia, Colette is forced to return to France and leave everything behind. Two decades later, as the country is opening up, she returns to find answers to long-buried secrets and to track down two women from her past–Achariya, her Cambodian friend and housekeeper, and Sophia, a young woman with beautiful, restless eyes.

However, is Colette prepared for the unsettling truths she uncovers along the way…

©2023 Ann Bennett (P)2024 Ann Bennett