Tag Archive | book review

Dark Is The Night by Rachel Evans

Jan24

The War Of The Dutch

Dark Is The Night by Rachel Evans is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start.

This is a story of Dutch resistance during World War II. The novel alternates between a mother on a small island, and her son who is training to be a doctor in Amsterdam. They have similar but different wars. Both are spurred on by a tragedy that occurred.

The mother helps young men and downed airmen to escape across the sea. She provides a safe haven. She is a beacon of light shining and bringing hope at a dark time.

Her son uses his doctoring skills and also works on type-setting documents and leaflets for the resistance. “Words are a way to fight back.” As the war progresses, he needs to do more. He then helps Jewish people to move into hiding places either within the city or just outside it.

Both mother and son put their personal safety on the line. They find it more important to help others than to just sit idly by. Bonds formed in war will remain.

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The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James

Jan24

The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James

The Arctic Cruise by Caroline James is a delightfully fun novel that entertained me from the start.

A Christmas cruise is very charming. Along with the traditional festivities, we see the rather energetic Santa who wears swimming trunks on board ship; and we travel ashore to take in the delights of Norway.

The cruise is made up of an eclectic bunch of people – those who brave the ice-cold swimming pool for a daily swim, and those who prefer food, drink, and more leisurely activities. There is something for every taste.

We drop in on a small group of six guests – a couple where the husband has terminal cancer and who are determined to make memories while they can. “When the Beast [cancer] came back, it would be hungry…Her husband’s decline would be rapid… In the meantime, their lives were for living.”

There is a retired school master from Skipton, and a new widow from Lancashire. She was “in a widowed world she hadn’t been ready to enter.”

The final pair are a loud, showy couple determined to be the centre of attention.

We see the generosity of hearts who want to help those less fortunate. They are angels in disguise as they see those who are invisible to others.

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These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas

Jan21

The Rescuer

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas is a powerful Christian historical novel that consumed me from the start. It has its’ roots in facts and there are actual historical figures in the book.

The novel is set between the wars in the early 1930’s as Hitler is rising to power. Much of the novel is set in America but some is set in Berlin.

During World War I, a young German man in the navy found himself interred in an enemy alien camp in America. He wrote to his fiancée in Germany until the letters just stopped in 1917. His mother and fiancée are still waiting for news of him in 1932. A newspaper cutting means a young woman travels to America to find out what happened to her young man. This reminds the reader that when we are lost, God seeks us out. He will leave the ninety-nine in order to search for the one who is lost.

We learn that there were dodgy goings on in the internment camp. Only now, in 1932 are activities coming to light. A cold case springs to life as the truth is sought.

A life that stagnated in Berlin, buds and blossoms in America. “Her life had gone from the grays… of Germany to this multicoloured happiness… on a fledgling college campus.” America is the land of opportunity. This is in contrast to Germany where lives are being eroded and closed down.

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The Colletta Cassettes by Bruno Noble

Jan21

Intrigue, Truth & Lies

The Colletta Cassettes by Bruno Noble is a powerful tale set in Italy in 1978. It is a story of intrigue, truth and lies that consumed me from the start.

An American veteran of World War II has finally decided to tell the truth about the USA and their politics with Italy since World War II. It is dangerous for all, including the journalist and his family. There are powerful people on both sides of the Atlantic who want the truth to remain buried.

After World War II “the driving motivation behind the politics of the US… would be ‘fear of communism.’” This fear of the red in the bed would dictate policies and politics for many decades. Alliances would be made, and terrible actions done, all to stop the spread of communism. “You’re telling me that the US used the CIA, NATO, the Nazis, the Vatican and the Mafia in the fight against communism.” The means were believed to justify the end.

The whistleblower needs to get his story out there. “He had to have answers… of why… he was lifting the lid on a box of secrets, why he was bringing to light a forty-year career that had been pursued in the shadows.” The price for the truth is high.

The reader follows the journalist and his family to Italy. We are treated to the sights and sounds of the country. The action is set during the football world cup, and the games are watched in the pub courtyard, uniting fans of many nations.

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