Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy by Larry Lofts (2019), 940.54 L

 

Code Name Lise is the true story of Odette Sansom, a British spy operating in occupied France during World War II, who fell in love with her commanding officer, Captain Peter Churchill. In 1942, Odette’s British husband is off fighting and she leaves her three daughters behind to become a SOE agent and spy for her adopted country. Peter and Odette are eventually captured by the German secret police. The pair are sent to Paris’s Fresnes prison, and from there to concentration camps in Germany where they are starved, beaten, and tortured. No matter how bad it gets, Peter and Odette never give up hope, their colleague’s whereabouts, or their love for each other.

The author seamlessly weaves together the growing romance between Odette and Peter and their many missions which put them in the crosshairs of the secret police. Although non-fiction, Code Name: Lise contains all the elements of WWII spy thriller.

3.94 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

Circe by Madeline Miller (2018)

 From the author of The Song of Achilles, Circe is the most recent book from Madeline Miller. In this novel Miller takes various myths where Circe appears, and retells her story in a cohesive novel. With regards to the mythology we see Circe as a side character in various stories. For instance, when Circe meets Odysseus and his men in books 10 and 11 of the Odyssey, and changes his crew into pigs. While in this novel Miller tells of Circe’s life and how she is exiled to the island of Aiaia. While on the island of Aiaia meets with various characters from Greek myth such as Daedalus, Jason, Medea, and Odysseus among others. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest I Greek myth, along with The Song of Achilles, especially if the idea of reading a translation text such as the Odyssey.  Miller presents the material in the form of a novel written for a current audience. 

 4.26 Stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

Burning Bright (Peter Ash #2) by Nicholas Petrie (2017)

 

Peter Ash spent eight years in Afghanistan and Iraq as a Marine lieutenant. He has returned to civilian life with severe claustrophobia which Peter calls “white static”. As a result, he has spent the last two years backpacking through the west, camping, and living out of his truck. Throughout the series, Peter uses his skills to help others and Burning Bright is no different.

When escaping a large grizzly bear by climbing a tall tree, Peter discovers a series of climbing ropes moving from tree to tree. As the bear has no intention of leaving, Peter follows the ropes to a hanging platform. There he meets June Cassidy,  an investigative journalist who has just escaped a kidnapping attempt. June’s mother, a prominent software designer for the Department of Defense has recently been killed in a hit and run accident. Given the mysterious events that followed her death, June comes to believe her mother was murdered for one of her many projects. Could the kidnapping attempt have something to do with that project? But which one?

There are several references to the plot in the first book, The Drifter, but it is not necessary to have read it to enjoy this well-developed story and cast of characters.

Reviewers have compared Peter Ash to Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne.

Profanity throughout.

The sixth book is the series, The Breaker, was recently published.

4.10 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

Death of an American Beauty (Jane Prescott #3) by Mariah Fredericks (2020)

 

Death of an American Beauty is Fredericks’ third novel about lady’s maid Jane Prescott who has a knack for becoming involved in and solving mysteries. The series takes place in New York in the early 1900s. The year of this book is 1913, the fiftieth anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech and Dolly Rutherford, wife of the wealthy owner of Rutherford’s Department Store, has gathered society’s ladies to put on a play in honor of the anniversary.  The star is Jane’s employer Louise Tyler.

Jane is on holiday, staying with her uncle who runs a refuge for fallen women where Jane grew up. Her uncle is the only family she knows. When one of the women from the refuse is horribly murdered, Jane’s uncle falls under suspicion.  Jane is determined to prove her uncle’s innocence and is assisted by old friends and new acquaintances.  At the same time Jane finds herself helping with the costuming for the play and is drawn into the drama of Rutherford’s, including the annual pageant for Miss Rutherford, the face of the department store for the coming year.

The writing is very detail oriented; Fredericks’ characters are independent, intelligent, and resourceful. The book is a well-paced whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, red herrings, family dynamics, duty, racial inequality, sexism, romance, violence, and murder. Readers would benefit by reading the first two books in the series beforehand, but Death of an American Beauty can stand on its own. All three books are in the library’s collection.

3.83 stars on Goodreads, 4.4 on Amazon

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab

 

A young woman in France, during the 1700s, fears how short a lifetime can be and how little can be accomplished. Addie is unwilling to settle down and accept small-town life in the 1700s. Instead she discovers what happens when you pray to the gods at night, and why you never make deals with them. In exchange for never ending life, Addie will have to live a life where no one can remember her. Everyone who knew Addie up until this point in her life has now completely forgotten her existence. Also, anyone new Addie  meets will forget her after she leaves their presence. Until 300 years later, when Addie encounters a boy in a bookstore who doesn’t forget.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. While this novel can easily be labeled as Fantasy, I would say it is light on those elements, and can easily be enjoyed by those who don’t want to be bogged down in fantasy worlds. The book also has elements of historical fiction and recounts moments of Addie’s life over the 300 year span. If you enjoy this book, and want something with more fantasy elements I’d suggest checking out VE Schwab’s Shades of Magic Trilogy.

4.39 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel (2020)

 

Inspired by an amazing true story, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis during World War II. Eva Traube Abrams is that woman.  When we meet Eve, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, she happens across an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the Nazis’ looting of libraries across Europe during World War II and the search to reunite the true owner with these stolen texts. The book in question is an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France near the end of the war.

The book is now housed in Berlin’s Berlin Central and Regional Library and appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer, but it will mean confronting her buried past, a past not even her son knows about.

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. She finds refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone and begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But changing a person’s identity comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva finds a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.

The Book of Lost Names is an utterly captivating read.

4.36 stars on Goodreads, 4.7 stars on Amazon.

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig (LT) (2016)

 

Three stories, told by three different authors, with one common thread, an address in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Combined their stories become a complex mystery connecting three generations of women in one family to a single extraordinary room in the Gilded Age mansion at that address.

In 1945 the mansion is being used as a private hospital to which a critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought. He carries a portrait miniature featuring a woman who looks very much like his young doctor Kate Schuyler. And the ruby pendant she is wearing looks a lot like the pendant handed down to Kate by her mother.

In their pursuit of answers, the pair find themselves drawn into the turbulent history of the mansion. The reader learns about Olive Van Alen, a woman driven from riches to rags in the latter 1800s, who hires out as a servant in the very mansion her father designed. During the 1920s Lucy Young comes to the house in pursuit of the father she had never known.

Are Kate and Cooper ready for the secrets that will be revealed in the Forgotten Room? Find out for yourself.

White, Williams, and Willig have written two other historical novels together and each of them are very prolific as  solo authors in the field of historical fiction.

3.90 stars on Goodreads, 4.4 on Amazon.

Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah (2010)

 

“Mesmerizing from the first page to the last, Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden is one woman’s sweeping, heartbreaking story of love, loss, and redemption. At once an epic love story set in World War II Russia and an intimate portrait of contemporary mothers and daughters poised at the crossroads of their lives, it explores the heartbreak of war, the cost of survival and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. It is a novel that will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.” So starts the Amazon review and I couldn’t agree more.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family business while the other followed her dream and traveled the world becoming a famous photojournalist. The sisters find themselves reunited when their beloved father turns ill. They are also reunited with their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection with their mother was the Russian fairy tale she sometimes told them at bedtime about a beautiful Russian girl who lived in Leningrad a lifetime ago….

On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women: the fairy tale will be told one last time— and all the way to the end. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina hear the harrowing story of their mother’s life, beginning in World War II Leningrad and spanning more than sixty years to modern day Alaska. The story will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

Kristin Hannah, the author of more than twenty books, started out writing romances but has since changed her focus to stories of women's lives and relationships, particularly in families. Her character-driven novels wrestle with universal issues surrounding parenthood, marriage, infidelity, and loss. Many of Hannah’s books can be found on the libraries’ shelves.

4.18 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (2020)

“I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth. I called him Beloved and he, laughing, called me Little Thunder.” 

History offers no conclusive evidence as to the martial status of Jesus.  We do know however, that is was customary for a Jewish man in his early 20s to take a wife. The Book of Longings is the beautifully written reimagined story Jesus and his chosen wife. I loved, loved, loved this book!

Ana is a force to be reckoned with; she is brilliant, ambitious, and has a daring spirit. When the reader first meets her, Ana is 14 and living with her wealthy family in first century Galilee. Ana rebels against the expectations for women of her time and encouraged by her father, she learns to read and write. When Ana’s rebellious nature gets her into trouble, she is recused by an 18-year-old Jesus.

Jesus and Ana marry and live in poverty with his family in Nazareth. Ana has her Aunt Yaltha with her but is not used to poverty and the work required to keep the family alive. The union is a happy one although Jesus is often away from home looking for work. It is after Ana travels with Jesus to meet John the Baptist that Jesus begins his ministry. Ana is left behind as we know Jesus did not have female disciples.

Ana goes back to the family, but circumstances soon force her to flee. She and Yaltha find their way to the Therapeutae in Alexandria, a community of Jewish philosophers living simple lives dedicated to studying and writing. It is here Ana finds her true calling. She leaves Therapeutae briefly when she learns Jesus’ life is in danger and is able to see him before his death.

Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on His humanity, The Book of Longings blends perfectly with the New Testament stories we know so well. Be sure to read the Author Notes before putting the book down.

4.25 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

Me Before You; After You; and Still Me (Trilogy) by JoJo Moyes (2013, 2016, & 2018)

 Me Before You asks the age-old question – Do you love someone enough to let them go? Louisa Clark, 26, is living an exceedingly ordinary life. She lives at home, has a steady boyfriend, and has never ventured beyond the limits of the tiny village in which she was born. Her family members don’t expect much of her and as a result Louisa underestimates herself and her ability to secede at anything.

After Louisa finds herself unexpectedly unemployed, she takes a job as caretaker to Will Traynor, a quadriplegic bound to a wheelchair. Before his accident, Will had lived a huge life - big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel - and now he's pretty sure he cannot live bound to a chair. Louisa accidently discovers Will had attempted suicide previously and the real purpose for her employment in to keep Will from trying again. Louisa becomes determined to help Will find a reason to continue living. Will, on the other hand is frustrate by Louisa's limited ambitions and seeks to expand her horizons.

The book provides a candid picture of the practicalities of Will's situation – the health issues, the unrelenting pain as well delving into each of the characters' reactions to the highly emotional subject of assisted dying.

This is not a book for everyone.

4.2 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

After You picks up 18 months after Louisa has said goodbye to Will, but she is still struggling with her grief. She now lives in London and had joined a grief support group but still living a small, comfortable life.  A freak accident leads to a new relationship and Louisa also meets Lily; the troubled teenaged daughter Will never knew he had.  Louisa’s life begins to grow as she becomes more and more involved with Lily and finds the courage to risk living and loving again.

Readers might feel the sequel lacks the same emotional punch as Me Before You, but I found it to be a compelling story.  As with its predecessor, all the characters are well developed, and one can’t help but get involved with all of them. But most of all we root for Louisa to discover the life Will wanted for her.

3.73 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

Still Me finds Louisa living up to the promises she made to Will.  She is living on Fifth Avenue in New York City as the personal assistant to the wife of a very wealthy and powerful man. Louisa is living large, experiencing things she never has before but she misses her boyfriend and her family back home. It is at one of the many high society events she attends that meets Joshua Ryan, a man who evokes memories of her past.

 As in the first two novels, life happens to Louisa and she is forced to start examining what she truly wants in life. By the end of the novel Louisa finally realizes all Will wanted for her was to be true to herself and not a reflection of what others want her to be. Louisa finally finds the strength and courage to be just that.

4.13 stars on Goodreads, 4.7 on Amazon

Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs Mystery #2) by Jacqueline Winspear (2005)

 

Birds of a Feather is the second book in the Maisie Dobbs series.  The 16^th title, The Consequences of Fear, is expected in March 2021. No need to worry about missing the first title as this book does a great job of filling the reader in on Maisie’s extraordinary path to becoming a psychologist and private investigator in London in 1930.

Maisie and her assistant, World War I veteran Billy Beale, have been hired by a wealthy father to locate and return his runaway daughter. It soon becomes apparent this is no simple case when three of the missing heiress’s old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman’s mysterious disappearance and the murders? As Maisie investigates, the narrative sheds light on the medical, economic, social, and psychological ravaging of England's society during and after WWI. In fact, the answers Maisie seeks lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

Maisie’s reliance on calming the spirit and “feeling” the crime might be a bit much for some readers while others will accept it as Maisie employing all her senses in crime solving. Birds of a Feather is a worthwhile read.

3.96 stars on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney (2005)

 

Named One of The Best Books of The Year by The New York Public Library

A Cosmopolitan New Must-Read

Abbie awakens to learn she had been in a terrible accident five years before and was only revived now because of a huge technological breakthrough. She has no memory of who she is or was before being injured. The man at her side claims to be her husband, the founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most innovative start-ups. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He also tells her she is a miracle of science.

As Abbie’s memory starts to return, she finds herself questioning her husband’s version of events. What really happened to Abbie five years ago? I was totally unprepared for the ending.

3.68 stars Goodreads, 4.2 Amazon

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate (2020)

 

Inspired by historical events, List Wingate brings to life the story of three young ladies as they travel from 1875 Louisiana to Texas. Lavinia is the pampered Southern heiress, Juneau Jane is her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister, and Hannie is Lavinia's former slave. Lavinia and Juneau Jane are both seeking their rightful inheritance and Hannie is searching for her mother and eight siblings who were sold to various individuals between the two states. The three discover the book of lost friends; ads that were placed in Southern newspapers by former slaves looking for lost family members. These ads were then read to black congregations by their preachers in hopes that members of freed slave families would recognize relatives and be reunited with them.

The Book of Lost Friends includes actual ads from this time period with some of the ads including information of family members that were reunited through the ads. 

“Colored Tennessean (Nashville), Oct. 14, 1865

 

information wanted of Caroline Dodson, who was sold from Nashville Nov. 1st 1862 by James Lumsden to Warwick, (a trader then in human beings), who carried her to Atlanta, Georgia, and she was last heard of in the sale pen of Robert Clarke, (human trader in that place), from which she was sold. Any information of her whereabouts will be thankfully received and rewarded by her mother,

 

Lucinda Lowery,

Box 1121, Nashville, Tenn.”

 In 1987 Louisiana first-year teacher Benedetta (Benny) Silva, takes a teaching job in rural Augustine, which she thinks is her ticket to canceling her large student debt. Benny is unprepared for the poverty level of her students and struggles to find a way to reach them. She is finally able to do so by having the pupils research and re-enact their ancestors.

As with all dual timeline books the stories of these four women must come together and they do so in a compelling manner. Some readers might have trouble getting into the story but those who love historical fiction from this time period will find it well worth the read.

4.22 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon