Secrets She Kept - Cathy Gohlke

This is one of several books I've read lately which deals deeply with matters of family.  Hannah Sterling’s relationship with her mother Lieselotte has always been difficult, so when Lieselotte dies, Hannah is astonished to find that her mother has left her the key to a safety deposit box, the contents of which send her on a journey around the world to meet the German grandfather she never knew she had – and to find out about the huge secrets her mother kept to her grave.

This story is told from Lieselotte’s perspective during WWII, and from Hannah’s viewpoint 30 years later.  Early in the war Lieselotte is working secretly to help Jewish families in hiding in Berlin, all the while living at home with her father, who is rising in prominence within the Nazi regime, and her brother Rudy who is a passionate member of the Hitler Youth. She falls in love with Lukas, but this is not at all to the liking of the very nasty Dr Peterson, her father’s friend.  Her father’s ambition will lead to tragic consequences for many people – including his daughter.  And 30 years later, the sins of the fathers continue to have consequences.

This is a superbly written book.  Gohlke’s strong, descriptive writing immerses the reader, the plot develops with several unexpected twists and turns, and it’s one of not very many novels which has made me cry.  There were some questions raised as I read, but to talk about them would give spoilers to the story, which would be a great shame for anyone yet to read this excellent novel.  This novel is one of two with which Muddy Pearl are making their entrance to fiction publishing, and it’s a superb debut for them. 

9781910012932, Muddy Pearl

For transparency, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but I was not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.

Memories of Glass - Melanie Dobson

Memories of Glass by Melanie Dobson is another book about complicated family lines - I seem to be reading a few of these lately - and another ‘dual time’ novel partly set during WWII and partly today.  

When Ava Drake, director of the Kingston Family Foundation, begins to investigate her family’s past she finds herself wondering whether their official history as benefactors to a Holland struggling to rebuild post war is really the truth. Sent to Uganda to assess Landon West’s coffee plantation she finds a very unexpected connection between their families, but as she digs deeper into the past, powerful members of the Kingston family will do anything to keep it buried.

Meanwhile, we learn the stories of Eliese and Josie, two young women living in Amsterdam during the occupation.  Their stories are woven wonderfully with the real-life rescue of over 600 children spirited away from the nursery they were sent to by the Nazis as a holding facility before deportation to the death camps.  (You can find out more about that here.)

A compelling read, Memories of Glass deals with hope and despair, the power of faith and friendship, courage, sacrifice, and the dangers of keeping secrets.  The sense of menace in both the 1940’s and present-day sections is tangible.  Though the book did make me question one or two elements within the story it’s another strongly recommended novel.

97814964173671, Tyndale House

For transparency, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but I was not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.

The Healing Knife - S L Russell

I was interested in Sue Russell’s The Healing Knife as soon as I saw the synopsis, so I was very happy to read a review copy and find that the book lived up to all my hopes.

Rachel Keyte’s whole world is focussed on her career as a surgeon.  When a colleague has an accident Rachel is called on to perform one of his scheduled operations, on twelve year old Craig.  She’s not very keen, but it’s a routine procedure and all goes well.  But within days her patient suddenly dies, and his mother Eve is out for revenge. The events which follow quickly result in Rachel’s life being shattered.

This is a very well written and fast paced novel, perfect for anyone who likes a strong contemporary read.  The faith elements are woven in believably and are not overpowering.  Rachel is an intriguing character and the story elements around her struggles with her mental health as part of her recovery are particularly well written.  Although the ‘difficult youth’ card is played it doesn’t feel formulaic. I would definitely recommend this book as one which would be a good novel to encourage an active fiction reader to try Christian fiction.  

9781782643036, Lion Fiction, Published March 2020

Collateral Damage - Lynette Eason

Collateral Damage is the first book of four planned in Lynette Eason’s new Danger Never Sleeps series.  In this first novel, phsychiatrist Brooke Adams and former Special operative Asher James find themselves running for their lives when a killer strikes.

Brooke is still recovering from the burns she suffered during a bombing in Afghanistan during her army service, and has just begun to rebuild her life and career in the civilian world.  But the publication of a series of photographs of her during the immediate aftermath of the bombing triggers a series of events which have deadly results. 

Asher was also directly affected by the bombing in Kabul. Recognising Brooke in the photos, he arranges to see her, hoping she can help him with his PTSD. Arriving at Brooke's office for his appointment the last thing he expects to find is a dead woman on the floor... 

As Asher tries to keep Brooke and himself alive and work out what is going on, they soon find that the situation they are in is a lot bigger than they thought. This is no local incident, but the result of a horrifying criminal operation which spans continents.

This is another superb Christian suspense novel from Lynette Eason, who certainly knows how to spin a tale and maintain the headlong pace for an entire book. This is a complex novel, with a good number of changes of direction and quite a few ‘cast’ members.  Occasionally, I found myself getting muddled by ‘who was who’ but overall this is an engrossing read with a very well laid out plot and the bad guys are truly evil.  There was at least one place where I gasped out loud in shock as we discover something!

Brooke and Asher are very well created characters, and their respective PTSD episodes are well told and very believable.  A bit less believable, for me anyway, is the heavily Christian conversation which Brooke has with Monica.  It felt a bit jarring against the rest of the book where the Christian elements are woven in in a more ‘faith living’ way.

This is a proper suspense novel, and the tension grows throughout the book as the various strands of the story begin to merge.  There were a couple of times when I correctly guessed who had done something/what they had done, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story at all.  

I also enjoyed meeting Gavin Black, Heather, Kat, Caden and some of the other characters and wonder if we’ll meet some of them in the forthcoming novels in the series.

The romance is nicely done, even if some of the earlier elements felt a bit unlikely to me. Good stories mean that I push back my cynicism a bit though, and this is definitely a good story!  Suspense readers will find this a book they don’t want to put down until the satisfying end.

9780800729349, Revell, published in the UK February 20.

For transparency, I work with Revell books in the UK, but I am not required to write any specific review. All views herein are my own.