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The Girl In the White Dress
The Girl In the White Dress is quite simply Unforgettable and Unputdownable. It is based on a true story.
Every Family has secrets.
What if you are guilty of something you cant remember?
1974
A family from London embarked on the trip of a lifetime to the Caribbean , aboard the cruise ship Oriana .
2005
Thirty years later , following the death of his wife Paul moves to the Peak District with his young daughter. While unpacking he discovers an old menu card from the
family holiday on the Oriana. It is covered in personal messages from the ghosts of his childhood.
One in particular catches his eye, memories are stirred and he begins to dream about a girl from his past. Gradually, with his mothers help he starts to unravel the identity of a long forgotten childhood sweetheart, and the disturbing truth behind an incident that took place in their cabin . Something that would implicate his whole family , a Pandoras box of lies and deceit.
He never saw the girl after the cruise.Their shared guilt had remained hidden for thirty years. That was until today...
Every Family has secrets.
What if you are guilty of something you cant remember?
1974
A family from London embarked on the trip of a lifetime to the Caribbean , aboard the cruise ship Oriana .
2005
Thirty years later , following the death of his wife Paul moves to the Peak District with his young daughter. While unpacking he discovers an old menu card from the
family holiday on the Oriana. It is covered in personal messages from the ghosts of his childhood.
One in particular catches his eye, memories are stirred and he begins to dream about a girl from his past. Gradually, with his mothers help he starts to unravel the identity of a long forgotten childhood sweetheart, and the disturbing truth behind an incident that took place in their cabin . Something that would implicate his whole family , a Pandoras box of lies and deceit.
He never saw the girl after the cruise.Their shared guilt had remained hidden for thirty years. That was until today...
- GenresMystery
ebook
First published August 1, 2019
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Paul Barrell
9 books6 followersPaul Barrell
Writer
Film producer
and former footballer
Paul started writing in 2007. The trigger was a visit, to a remote farmhouse while on a family holiday in the S.W. France . One of the rooms had been converted into a library that contained a diverse selection of both French and English literature and over the next two weeks inspiration took hold and he began to write. His early literary efforts were sent to a copy writer at Channel 4 who rashly said his work although rough and ready, showed promise. His comments spurred Paul on. Since then he has written three contemporary stand alone novels, a Ghost story titled 18, and, he has just started work on a much darker novel, 'The Bleed ' set in the drug world of South London.He writes about people, places, and relationships. that have shaped his life . The underlying themes are a sense of mystery and the idea that our past and present are all inexplicably linked by invisible threads.
Paul was born in Lambeth in 1961 and spent his formative years growing up in South London. In 1971 his parents moved to Surrey where he attended Ewell Castle School for Boys. Here he excelled at sport, especially tennis, cross country and football. At 15 he was given trials at Chelsea , joined the youth team and played against Fulham . He left school after A levels, having taken all his exams a year early.
He was a party child of the 1980's and spent the next three years living in various flats in Chelsea and Pimlico. A chance meeting with a windsurfing instructor in Italy pointed him in the direction of food and drink , and a degree in Hotel Management increasing his knowledge in fine wines and gastronomy.Embracing the New Romantic lifestyle he partied the early eighties away at the Blitz and with Ricky Gervais in Camden.
When his parents divorced in 1984 he saw this as the perfect opportunity to fulfil his desire to travel overseas. He wanted more. He ended up in Australia running the Bay Garden Restaurant on Magnetic Island, a stones throw from the Great Barrier Reef. After a run in with immigration, he returned to the UK in the late eighties and decided that the boss/ employee relationship were not for him. He wanted to be an entrepreneur.
He gained qualifications in wine and led the way , by being one of first companies to import and distribute Organic Wines in the UK .Epicurean his upmarket wine company dealt with many high profile clients in London and he ran this successfully until 2005 while also owning a restaurant in Surrey.
His true passion for storytelling evolved alongside his business career. He always felt that telling a story enhanced the whole sales process. His favourite saying is :
'I used to open wine but now I open doors.'
He currently runs a wine blog and a premium fresh food company "lake2plate "in the Surrey Hills.
He is married with two children and lives in Surrey with his wife and rescue dog Lottie. He has always pursued his dreams and over the last forty years has skied most of the more challenging mountains in Europe. He still enjoys sport in his fifties and plays five a side football and tennis. He has been an ardent Chelsea fan and follows his team home and away when time permits.
The Girl In The White Dress is his third novel, and portray's adeptly his skills as an Indie writer. He has never been on a creative writing course and is self taught, although 10,000 hours practice should make you somewhat of an expert.
Also by Paul Barrell
The Girl In the White Dress published Feb 2020
Magnetic North Published Jan 2018
Postcards From Pimlico Published March 2016
Eighteen Stephen King meets the Sixth Sense Published October 2021
Writer
Film producer
and former footballer
Paul started writing in 2007. The trigger was a visit, to a remote farmhouse while on a family holiday in the S.W. France . One of the rooms had been converted into a library that contained a diverse selection of both French and English literature and over the next two weeks inspiration took hold and he began to write. His early literary efforts were sent to a copy writer at Channel 4 who rashly said his work although rough and ready, showed promise. His comments spurred Paul on. Since then he has written three contemporary stand alone novels, a Ghost story titled 18, and, he has just started work on a much darker novel, 'The Bleed ' set in the drug world of South London.He writes about people, places, and relationships. that have shaped his life . The underlying themes are a sense of mystery and the idea that our past and present are all inexplicably linked by invisible threads.
Paul was born in Lambeth in 1961 and spent his formative years growing up in South London. In 1971 his parents moved to Surrey where he attended Ewell Castle School for Boys. Here he excelled at sport, especially tennis, cross country and football. At 15 he was given trials at Chelsea , joined the youth team and played against Fulham . He left school after A levels, having taken all his exams a year early.
He was a party child of the 1980's and spent the next three years living in various flats in Chelsea and Pimlico. A chance meeting with a windsurfing instructor in Italy pointed him in the direction of food and drink , and a degree in Hotel Management increasing his knowledge in fine wines and gastronomy.Embracing the New Romantic lifestyle he partied the early eighties away at the Blitz and with Ricky Gervais in Camden.
When his parents divorced in 1984 he saw this as the perfect opportunity to fulfil his desire to travel overseas. He wanted more. He ended up in Australia running the Bay Garden Restaurant on Magnetic Island, a stones throw from the Great Barrier Reef. After a run in with immigration, he returned to the UK in the late eighties and decided that the boss/ employee relationship were not for him. He wanted to be an entrepreneur.
He gained qualifications in wine and led the way , by being one of first companies to import and distribute Organic Wines in the UK .Epicurean his upmarket wine company dealt with many high profile clients in London and he ran this successfully until 2005 while also owning a restaurant in Surrey.
His true passion for storytelling evolved alongside his business career. He always felt that telling a story enhanced the whole sales process. His favourite saying is :
'I used to open wine but now I open doors.'
He currently runs a wine blog and a premium fresh food company "lake2plate "in the Surrey Hills.
He is married with two children and lives in Surrey with his wife and rescue dog Lottie. He has always pursued his dreams and over the last forty years has skied most of the more challenging mountains in Europe. He still enjoys sport in his fifties and plays five a side football and tennis. He has been an ardent Chelsea fan and follows his team home and away when time permits.
The Girl In The White Dress is his third novel, and portray's adeptly his skills as an Indie writer. He has never been on a creative writing course and is self taught, although 10,000 hours practice should make you somewhat of an expert.
Also by Paul Barrell
The Girl In the White Dress published Feb 2020
Magnetic North Published Jan 2018
Postcards From Pimlico Published March 2016
Eighteen Stephen King meets the Sixth Sense Published October 2021
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 8, 2020
When the author asked me to review this book I was intrigued, particularly as this is said to be based on a true story. As a cruise fan, the hook for me was the setting of a cruise ship, especially as I’ve cruised on the current P&O Oriana. I’m also a fan of suspense thrillers and the blurb hinted at a mystery to be solved.
I’m not sure whether I was expecting more from the book than it promised but unfortunately The Girl in the White Dress didn’t entirely work for me. I can find no fault with the writing - it flows well; the shifting timeline gives a seamless reading experience and the main characters of Paul, his daughter Hope and friend Amber are well drawn but the story just wasn’t strong enough to hold my interest. The plot is based around Paul finding an old menu card from a family cruise holiday 30 years before with written messages from some of his fellow passengers and there is one which stirs a memory leading to disturbing dreams. He becomes fixated on finding the truth behind his fragmented dreams and this girl in particular. All the way through I was hoping that there would be more to the story to make it more interesting but sadly for me, it fell short of expectations.
This is just my personal opinion – perhaps I just wasn’t the right reader for the book and others may well enjoy it.
I’m not sure whether I was expecting more from the book than it promised but unfortunately The Girl in the White Dress didn’t entirely work for me. I can find no fault with the writing - it flows well; the shifting timeline gives a seamless reading experience and the main characters of Paul, his daughter Hope and friend Amber are well drawn but the story just wasn’t strong enough to hold my interest. The plot is based around Paul finding an old menu card from a family cruise holiday 30 years before with written messages from some of his fellow passengers and there is one which stirs a memory leading to disturbing dreams. He becomes fixated on finding the truth behind his fragmented dreams and this girl in particular. All the way through I was hoping that there would be more to the story to make it more interesting but sadly for me, it fell short of expectations.
This is just my personal opinion – perhaps I just wasn’t the right reader for the book and others may well enjoy it.
February 28, 2020
Thank you so much to the author, Paul, for asking me to read and review “The Girl in the White Dress” in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed it.⠀
⠀
The story follows Paul, who on moving house discovers an old menu from a childhood trip on the P&O cruise ship, Oriana.⠀
⠀
On discovering this memento, lots of blurred memories start haunting Paul in his sleep and he becomes overcome with an almost obsession, to find out what the dreams and visions mean. ⠀
⠀
I doing so he unearths terrible lies and deceit and comes face to face with the girl from his past.⠀
⠀
This book is so fast paced that you can’t put it down. I was gripped with suspense, desperately trying to figure out what had happened during this lavish holiday from Paul’s teens.⠀
⠀
The writing is fabulous and I enjoyed how the chapters went back to 1974 and then slid to current day, giving the book a nostalgic feel, and adding to the suspense. ⠀
⠀
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable book, made even more enjoyable by seeing my name dotted throughout the pages (Oriana 😊) ⠀
⠀
An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me, and I look forward to reading more from this author ⠀
⠀
The story follows Paul, who on moving house discovers an old menu from a childhood trip on the P&O cruise ship, Oriana.⠀
⠀
On discovering this memento, lots of blurred memories start haunting Paul in his sleep and he becomes overcome with an almost obsession, to find out what the dreams and visions mean. ⠀
⠀
I doing so he unearths terrible lies and deceit and comes face to face with the girl from his past.⠀
⠀
This book is so fast paced that you can’t put it down. I was gripped with suspense, desperately trying to figure out what had happened during this lavish holiday from Paul’s teens.⠀
⠀
The writing is fabulous and I enjoyed how the chapters went back to 1974 and then slid to current day, giving the book a nostalgic feel, and adding to the suspense. ⠀
⠀
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable book, made even more enjoyable by seeing my name dotted throughout the pages (Oriana 😊) ⠀
⠀
An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me, and I look forward to reading more from this author ⠀
April 16, 2020
3.5 stars
This was a bit of a peculiar book, I enjoyed reading it, but I felt like it was missing something. I really liked the writing style and the story was immersive, but I think there was just a bit too much day-to-day life for my personal taste and I was expecting something bigger to happen than what did.
The characters were well-developed, although some things bothered me a bit, I never truly understood if it was fully a true story or inspired and fictionalised, but I don't think that took away from the reading experience.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I think that maybe I wasn't the right reader for it, I can definitely appreciate it, I had fun reading it, but I was expecting a bit more, for it to be a bit less-drawn out and a bit less built up, but I'm sure many more readers will enjoy it!
This was a bit of a peculiar book, I enjoyed reading it, but I felt like it was missing something. I really liked the writing style and the story was immersive, but I think there was just a bit too much day-to-day life for my personal taste and I was expecting something bigger to happen than what did.
The characters were well-developed, although some things bothered me a bit, I never truly understood if it was fully a true story or inspired and fictionalised, but I don't think that took away from the reading experience.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I think that maybe I wasn't the right reader for it, I can definitely appreciate it, I had fun reading it, but I was expecting a bit more, for it to be a bit less-drawn out and a bit less built up, but I'm sure many more readers will enjoy it!
April 22, 2020
The Girl In The White Dress is a tale of guilt.
Paul had been on a cruise with his family when he was 13 years old, he remembers very little about the trip though, until he finds an old signed dinner menu from the ship, The Oriana.
He begins to have nightmares about a young woman and water, and with his mother’s help he decides to try to find one of the guests.
Here secrets long forgotten are unearthed. Can Paul make amends and put things right?
A well written, fast paced tale that keeps you engrossed from start to finish. Beautifully descriptive and has a real sense of time and place too. An entertaining read.
Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour, for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest, unbiased review.
Paul had been on a cruise with his family when he was 13 years old, he remembers very little about the trip though, until he finds an old signed dinner menu from the ship, The Oriana.
He begins to have nightmares about a young woman and water, and with his mother’s help he decides to try to find one of the guests.
Here secrets long forgotten are unearthed. Can Paul make amends and put things right?
A well written, fast paced tale that keeps you engrossed from start to finish. Beautifully descriptive and has a real sense of time and place too. An entertaining read.
Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour, for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest, unbiased review.
April 16, 2020
This book follows the story of Paul. He finds an old menu from a cruise ship in his house. After this, he starts to have nightmares and flashbacks to something in his past.
It is written in dual timelines- present day and back in the 1970s. The writing flowed well. Saying that I felt there was something missing. I kept reading it hoping to find more but was left disappointed. This isn’t a bad book at all and I enjoy it but just wanted more to the story.
It is written in dual timelines- present day and back in the 1970s. The writing flowed well. Saying that I felt there was something missing. I kept reading it hoping to find more but was left disappointed. This isn’t a bad book at all and I enjoy it but just wanted more to the story.
August 8, 2021
While it starts off a bit slow, overall it's a good story.
April 29, 2020
https://thecaffeinatedreader.com/2020...
It’s a story of loves, old and new, romantic and parental, and all added with a dash of mystery.
The length was perfect and I think that if it went on any longer that it would have been unfeasible for the unique plot.
Though there were elements I enjoyed, it was a bit of a disjointed story, perhaps the result of having so many threads in the plot.
At times I thought there was a lot of unnecessary threads and that hurt the plot more than helped it and overall I don’t know that this was a book for me, but I am supremely happy to have read it and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to those that I think would enjoy it! It’s a fun easy read, and a bit different than what I normally read.
Thank you to Anne and the Author for a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion!
It’s a story of loves, old and new, romantic and parental, and all added with a dash of mystery.
The length was perfect and I think that if it went on any longer that it would have been unfeasible for the unique plot.
Though there were elements I enjoyed, it was a bit of a disjointed story, perhaps the result of having so many threads in the plot.
At times I thought there was a lot of unnecessary threads and that hurt the plot more than helped it and overall I don’t know that this was a book for me, but I am supremely happy to have read it and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to those that I think would enjoy it! It’s a fun easy read, and a bit different than what I normally read.
Thank you to Anne and the Author for a copy of this in exchange for my honest opinion!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews