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The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander

Sep1

So Powerful

The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander is a powerful dual timeline novel that totally consumed me.

The novel is set during World War II in Berlin and the Sudetenland, and also in London in 1994 as Britain is preparing to celebrate the fifty years anniversary since the end of World War II.

People want to hear war stories from their grandparents/parents. Silence has been kept for nearly fifty years. Now it’s the time to reveal long hidden secrets.

We hear the stories of Katja and Lou. Hers is told verbally, his is in the form of a diary. Finally, a daughter hears her parent’s stories.

Seeing World War II from the point of view of a German girl is a different perspective and one I had not thought of before. We witness the effect Allied bombing had on lives and see that not all Germans were Nazis. “It was inevitable that ordinary people should reap what their ruler had sown.” The women and children, the old and the young were all caught up in a war they did not want.

Kind hearts do what they can. We witness the bravery needed to stand up against the Nazis. Trust was in short supply as neighbours informed on each other, and people disappeared.

Was disillusioned many. Some wounded soldiers witnessed first hand the futility of war, and did what they could to sabotage the Nazi war efforts.

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The Girl Who Never Came Back by Suzanne Goldring

Aug25

Heart Breaking

The Girl Who Never Came Back by Suzanne Goldring is a powerful, historical, heartbreaking novel that tore my emotions to pieces.

The action alternates between World War II and up to 1999. We witness the devastating effect that war has on lives – a young boy who never recovers from the loss of his sister and a young woman who was responsible for training women to go overseas as spies.

Contrary to what some may believe, losing her girls to the Nazi war machine in occupied France, haunted a character for the rest of her life. She spent a lifetime searching for answers. She wanted to bring the guilty to justice and would not rest until she did.

The reader travels from wartime England to postwar Europe and back again. We learn of the horrors of the camps and those who ran them. It is dreadful and horrifying to see the Nazi ideals still retained in former Nazis, who ran the camps, many years later. Unrepentant characters with black hearts still believed in what they did.

Uncovering the truth brings the search to an end. Sometimes it is best to keep the painful truth hidden.

We follow a friendship that spanned eighty years. Love and loyalty remained.

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The Lost Heir by Jane Cable

Aug11

The Ties That Bind

The Lost Heir by Jane Cable is a compelling dual timeline novel. It is the second book in The Cornish Echoes Dual Timeline Mystery series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The novel is set in the early nineteenth century and 2020 as lockdown begins. It evokes memories within the reader of isolation, food shortages, 2m rules, daily exercise and meetings via computer. We see strangers meeting on daily exercises who then find unique ways to connect.

A ‘gift’ passed down from her grandmother plagues a character as she tries to cope with daily life.

Characters in present day find links to the past as they search for their family trees. We all want to know where we have come from.

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Coming Home To The Cottage By The Sea by Rebecca Alexander

Jul20

Most Charming

Coming Home To The Cottage By The Sea by Rebecca Alexander is a most delightful dual timeline novel. It is the fourth book in The Island Cottage series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in 1942 and present day. It revolves around a cottage which is in need of renovation. It has stood firm all these years but is now crumbling, giving up a surprising find.

There are many memories tied up in the cottage as the same family has been in it since 1942. Memories keep us warm long after our loved ones are gone. They echo down the years and seem to be in the very fabric of the walls.

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