The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou

Book cover of The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou

Book description

**Selected for BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club 2023** 'Tense. Moving. Morally complex. Zina Pavlou is wholly unforgettable.' Rachel Rhys 'Hugely powerful... Easily one of the best books you'll read this year.' Emma Christie THEY HAVE TOLD SO MANY LIES ABOUT ME. London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Frances Quinn

Author

The book is inspired by the true story of one of the last women to be hanged for murder in England.

Zina, accused of murdering her daughter-in-law, comes from Cyprus, speaks no English and can barely read or write in Greek, and the story is told partly from her point of view, and partly from that of the young interpreter who’s brought in for her trial. Most people know about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged here, but this story isn’t known, and I was fascinated that it happened a relatively short time ago.

Both the main characters…

From Frances' 3 favorite reads in 2023.