The Stolen Sisters (The World War Two Orphanage #2) by Ann Bennett [Audiobook]

🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Daphne Kouma 🎙🎙🎙 

Description from Goodreads:

"Poland, 1944 When twelve-year-old Martha and her little sister Johanna are snatched while out shopping for food and pushed into an army truck with a swastika on the door, they are heartbroken. Terrified they will never see their mother again, the little girls cling to each other as the truck full of stolen children rumbles through the countryside.

But worse is yet to come. When they arrive at their strange new home, tears streaming down their cheeks, Martha is sent into a separate room. As she is measured, her blonde hair and blue eyes exclaimed over, she doesn’t realise she has seen her sister for the last time. Later, as she sobs alone in the chilly dormitory, her only crumb of comfort is the memory of a kind German nurse who took a photo of the two sisters, and promised Martha she will do what she can to find Johanna.

Berlin, 2005 In her cosy sitting room, seventy-year-old Martha freezes. The woman on her television talking about lost children is someone she could never forget. Margarete Weiss is the nurse who took the photo of her and Johanna, the photo with the secret message on the back…

Martha has never been able to find her younger sister and has buried herself in work so as not to be haunted by the ghosts of her past. But, seeing Margarete’s blue eyes again, a shoot of hope takes root in her heart. Margarete may not have been able to prevent the sisters being separated during the war. But might she be able to help Martha find out what happened to Johanna now?"

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I haven't read the first in this series but I definitely think this works as a standalone very successfully.

I have an interest in reading books from this period and whilst this isn't a true story, I have no doubt that a lot of what is covered is pretty accurate and from the very beginning, I was hooked.

This is an emotional story of two little Polish sisters taken from the street whilst on a shopping trip for their mum who is ill in bed and tested to ascertain if they are Aryan enough to be 'reprogrammed' and potentially adopted by a German family after the process of Germanisation.

The characters were really well developed and well written, the descriptions of their situations, the people they encountered and the places they went were exceptional and all brought to life by the excellent narration from Daphne Kouma.

I went through all manner of emotions whilst listening to this story; anger, hope, fear, sadness and I actually think I stopped breathing at one point with my hands over my mouth in horror such was the depth to which this story and the characters of Martha and Johanna got to me.

If you like reading to or listening to books from this period of history whether they be fiction or non-fiction, I would definitely recommend this and many thanks to the author, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of this emotional book.

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Death Row Games by Shade Owens

 ✴✴✴ due to be published 27-December-2024 ✴✴✴

Description from Goodreads:

"Six death row convicts. One island. Last person standing wins their freedom.

After being charged with first-degree murder, Brooklyn Winters awaits execution on death row. So when she receives a mysterious letter offering her a chance to win her freedom, she thinks it's a hoax.

According to this letter, all she has to do is agree to take part in a survival game on a remote island.

Last player standing wins their freedom.

If this deal is real, this could be her only chance to escape death. It could also turn out to be a living nightmare.

But what choice does she have?

She can either wait for execution, or fight to the death and hope to come out alive.

Let the games begin."

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I haven't read anything by this author before but if any of her other books are like this one, I won't be making that mistake again in a hurry because whilst this was a bit of change from what I usually read, it had me on the edge of my seat quickly tapping my Kindle screen to find out how it would all end.

The two main characters of Brooklyn and Eddy are excellent and I loved that we got to see how they ended up on death row and could totally understand how they would jump at the chance to be given their freedom ... I was totally invested in them.

There is oodles of action and violence with the tension ratcheting up at every new chapter.  The twists were excellent and whilst I am still not sure about the ending, I would still recommend.

I can definitely see this as being a great action film and my thanks to the author, Red Raven Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book.

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The Seven (Eve Wren #1) by Robyn Delvey

 ✴✴✴ Due to be published 01-January-2025 ✴✴✴

Description from Goodreads:

"2 bombs. 43 dead. Dozens injured. The trial of the decade has begun…

New to the job and with everything to prove, Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Eve Wren is working on the biggest UK trial in decades.

Notorious cult leader Patrick Nye and his followers, known as The Seven, are pleading not guilty to detonating a bomb in a London theatre. Patrick might be charming on the stand, but Eve knows that the evidence never lies.

The trial has already started when Eve discovers a piece of evidence that calls the whole case into question.

With the world watching, every second counts as the clock ticks down on the jury’s verdict. And Eve’s hunt for the truth pulls her into the sinister criminal underbelly and straight into the line of fire…"

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Eve Wren, a top criminal defence solicitor, is fired (after trying to do the right thing) but gets a new job at the Crown Prosecution Service.  She's assigned to review the evidence in a high-profile trial of "The Seven," involving a deadly hotel bombing carried out by a cult who believe the rich should be brought down a peg or two. 

The book alternates between the trial, the events leading up to the bombing and Eve's discoveries.  The pacing is a little slow at first but the characters are well developed and highlights the likely difficulties survivors of such events have to cope with in terms of the media interest and facing those who perpetrated such violence in a trial.  What I think was missing was a perspective from the accused; I would have liked to have read something from their point of view which would have given me a more rounded experience.  Having said that, I did enjoy the book and became totally engrossed in it and I loved Eve's character who was relatable and authentic.

I have to admit that I wasn't that keen on the ending and found it to be weaker and appeared a little more rushed than the rest of the book which resulted in it being a bit of an anti-climax making it a good book rather than a great book however, I think it's a solid start to a new series and I look forward to reading more about Eve Wren in the future.

Many thanks to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this, the first in a new series.

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The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour [Audiobook]

 🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Jilly Bond 🎙🎙🎙

Description from Goodreads:

"This is the astounding true story of one of the last female special operations agents in France to get out alive after its liberation in WWII.

Born in 1921, Pippa Latour became a covert special operations agent who parachuted into a field in Nazi-occupied Normandy. Trained by the British, Pippa was lauded for her fluency with languages and her coding ability - attributes she put to remarkable use when she posed as a teenage soap-seller, often selling her wares to the German soldiers and sending back information via code to England.

Incredibly brave - Pippa knew she could be instantly shot if her cover was blown - she concealed her codes on a piece of silk that she threaded through a shoelace and wore as a hair tie. She bicycled around the region, often sleeping rough and foraging for food.

During her time in Normandy, Pippa sent 135 secret messages conveying crucial information on German troop positions in the lead-up to D-Day. Pippa continued her mission until the liberation of Paris in August 1944.

For decades, Pippa told no one - not even her family - of her incredible feats during WWII.

Now, for the first time, her story can be told in full."

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What an extraordinary story of a quite remarkable woman.

From start to finish this book had me absolutely hooked.  Even before Pippa signed up as part of Churchill's Secret Army, known as the Special Operations Executive (SOE), she had been through the mill having been orphaned when she was only four years old.  

Pippa's work behind enemy lines in France along with members of the resistance and the local communities was dangerous and capture with certain death being the likely outcome, had me holding my breath at times.

The narration was just excellent and really brought everything to life.  Just an amazing story of an awe-inspiring woman that I would recommend highly and many thanks to the author, Octopus Audio, Monoray and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of this amazing story.

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The Silent Resistance by Anna Normann

 

Description from the Publisher:

"One mother’s impossible choice. One daughter’s epic search.

Occupied Norway, 1944. While the war rages on, Anni is surviving as best she can, contributing to the resistance whenever possible and standing firm without her sailor husband Lars, who she hasn’t heard from in three years. Her daughter Ingrid is the bright spot in her life and Anni is determined to keep her safe and happy. However, when a German official is billeted at their house, the situation for them both becomes far more dangerous, and Anni faces an impossible choice.

London, 1952. In the years since she moved to live with her father, young Ingrid has been trying to make sense of the disappearance of her mother just as peace in Norway was declared. She desperately holds on to the fact that Anni promised she would always come back for her and, undaunted, Ingrid sets out to discover what happened to her mother all those years ago."

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This book is a heart-wrenching tale of love, loss, and survival set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Norway. 

I was totally gripped as the story unfolded, gradually revealing Anni's fate. The suspense was palpable and I was desperate to learn what had happened to her. The characters were incredibly well-developed and I found myself totally invested and immersed in their lives.  I would have loved to have known more about the missing years of Anni; maybe this could be another book?!?

As someone unfamiliar with the German occupation of Norway, I found the historical context to be both fascinating and heartbreaking. The novel brought to life the hardships endured by the Norwegian people and the sacrifices made by those who resisted the occupation. It made me appreciate the characters' struggles even more and gave me a deeper understanding of their motivations.

An excellent book that whilst it is a work of fiction, I have no doubt that it is a pretty accurate reflection of life during these horrendous times and I must thank the authors, Allison & Busby and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this captivating story.

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Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville

Description from the Goodreads:

" You would do anything to protect your child.

Even if she’s a monster . . .

Rebecca Carter and her daughter Monica, nicknamed Moonflower, travel the American West, always on the move, always hiding, always looking behind them, always keeping Moonflower out of sight.

They speak to no one, only interacting with people when it’s absolutely necessary.

But wherever they go, bodies are left behind.

Special Agent Marc Donner of the FBI has been tracking a killer for the best part of two years. A murderer that strikes once every few weeks. The victims are all men, many disappearing only to be found months later, dumped in forests or rivers or quarries, far from their places of death. All of them with their throats opened, their bodies bled out and their spinal cords severed.

The killer leaves no trace, no clues – only a trail of corpses.

After all this time, Donner has gleaned only a handful of facts from the few witnesses and snippets of CCTV footage available. He’s hunting a middle-aged woman who drives a van with blacked-out windows and false plates. Often she poses as a child online to lure in her prey. It’s never been enough to track her down though.

Until now.

And so begins a cat-and-mouse game between Donner and his prey, Rebecca and Moonflower. But who is the actual hunter – and who is the actual prey? For perhaps Moonflower isn’t the child that her mother claims she is. Perhaps she’s something else – and as Donner puts everything on the line to capture them and prove his suspicions right, perhaps he isn’t prepared to face what is really out there."

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I haven't read nearly enough of Mr Neville's work for my liking as each one I have read has been totally addictive from start to finish and this was no exception.  

This is a crime novel that's so very different and I would say that it's best to approach it with an open mind, free from preconceived ideas; you do that, and you will definitely enjoy the ride!

From the very beginning, I was captivated by the stories of Rebecca Carter, Moonflower and Special Agent Marc Donner.  Rebecca is a flawed but fiercely protective mother, driven by love and desperation. Donner is a dedicated lawman haunted by his mistakes.  Moonflower is .... well I will let you read the story to find that out!

Full of suspense and oodles of tension that just keeps on building, this is a story that had me intrigued and totally invested; it has everything I enjoy ... crime, thrills, serial killers, action, suspense, tension and a bit of the supernatural and horror thrown in for good measure ... what's not to like?!?

Recommended to those of you who enjoy reading something a bit different than the usual crime stories and I must thank Stuart Neville, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this compelling book.

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