Tag Archives: mystery

EMBERS IN THE LONDON SKY by Sarah Sundin ~ compelling, powerful, riveting. 5 stars!

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EMBERS IN THE LONDON SKY is a superb story from an author who delights us with every book.

As the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to London to wait out the Occupation. Separated from her three-year-old son, Theo, in the process, the young widow desperately searches for her little boy even as she works for an agency responsible for evacuating children to the countryside.

When German bombs set London ablaze, BBC radio correspondent Hugh Collingwood reports on the Blitz, eager to boost morale while walking the fine line between truth and censorship. But the Germans are not the only ones Londoners have to fear as a series of murders flame up amid the ashes.

The deaths hit close to home for Hugh, and Aleida needs his help to locate her missing son. As they work together, they grow closer and closer, both to each other and the answers they seek. But time is running short—and the worst is yet to come. [back cover copy]

EMBERS IN THE LONDON SKY is jammed with drama and hard choices—even before factoring in the war!

Sundin is a marvelous storyteller, skilled at creating a sense of place. We feel as if we’re there, whether on a road through the low countries teeming with frightened people fleeing before the German invasion, walking in London over wet cobblestones below a fleet of barrage balloons or heels sinking in muddy parkland, or through smoke-filled streets amid noise of planes, bombs, sirens, cries. And the roar of a fire.

Sundin’s characters, achingly real, appealed to me immediately. Aleida, despite losing her son and arriving in England with very little, has gumption, grit, and hope. And Hugh, despite his upper-class status is working for the BBC, broadcasting from Dunkirk and among the ravaged buildings and populace of London, has warmth, equanimity … and a secret. A cast of vibrant and interesting secondary characters are also very involved.

Weaving these vivid locations and vibrant characters into the inherent drama of war —  bombings, people living on top of one another, families separated, danger, illness, politics, espionage—would be a good story. But Sundin, with great skill, goes well beyond, creating a plot that twists and turns like a living thing, giving readers a satisfying story on every level.

But pointing to the various elements Sundin provides to give us a great story falls short of revealing how good this powerful story of love, courage, and sacrifice is. I think one aspect I love about Sundin’s writing is her ability to reveal something about a character in a tiny detail. A small action. A concise bit of prose.

On page 91, for example: Hugh and Aleida have become acquainted and Hugh goes to her apartment unexpectedly to give her a list, promised her by Hugh’s uncle, of homes and institutions to check in her search for Theo. Aleida isn’t home so he waits for her on the street and takes glee in surprising her when she returns. They go inside.

“Hugh paused inside the door, and his smile collapsed. On the coatrack hung Theo’s little gray cap and blue coat.

‘When I find him,’ she said, ‘I’ll be ready.’”

We learn so much about Hugh’s sensitivity and Aleida’s love, hope, and determination despite already searching 6 months for Theo. If Sundin can pack that into just 29 words, imagine the story packed into 369 pages!

Photo credit: Barrage balloons, London damaged bldg- Wikipedia, London Blitz; plane-wallup.net; Building with flowers: Ray Bullen; Elephant-World Wildlife Fund

Rich, Powerful Romantic-Suspense ~ THE LOST HEIRESS by Roseanna White, 5-star Review

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LOST HEIRESS cover R WhiteBrook Eden has never known where she truly belongs. Though raised in the palace of Monaco, she’s British by birth and was brought to the Grimaldis under suspicious circumstances as a babe. When her friend Justin uncovers the fact that she is possibly a missing heiress from Yorkshire, Brook leaves the sun of the Mediterranean to travel to the moors of the North Sea and the estate of her supposed family.

The mystery of her mother’s death haunts her, and though her father is quick to accept her, the rest of the family and the servants of Whitby Park are not. Only when Brook’s life is threatened do they draw close—but will their loyalty come too late to save Brook from the same threat that led to tragedy for her mother? [from back cover]

The moment we meet Brook Eden, her playfulness and audacity invite us to join her. And from page one when she cajoles best friend Justin to teach her to drive the Rolls Royce he’s parked in front of her, we dash off with them on adventures from Monaco to England.

Roseanna White has penned complex characters with competing wants that make each person’s journey one filled with difficult choices. Add to that the fact someone desperately wants what Brook or Justin have—and will go to any lengths to get it. How can a mere slip of a girl, a newly restored heiress, protect herself from schemers hidden all around? How can two young people negotiate those dangerous days and have room left for falling in love? The journey to find out if they can will make you fly through the pages of this fascinating story.

White spins the story so well that almost all distance between reader and characters vanishes like a morning fog. We walk so intimately with Brook as she eventually finds out her name, her place, and her history that when she’s overcome with emotion because she finally belongs somewhere, our own breath catches. It all comes alive for us as if we traveled through time to the Edwardian era in sun-drenched Monaco or the chilly mists of Yorkshire.

The Transfăgărășan in Transylvania, RomaniaFrom inciting incident, to growing trouble, to resolution, White fills the story with surprises, twists and turns like a mountain road. I particularly admire a scene when the family has been praying for a missing member, White gives the reader a glimpse of the amazing, unique way that prayer is answered, while no one in the story ~ even those who are the answer ~ has a clue. Masterful plotting and writing, there and throughout. I highly recommend this riveting tale to fans of historical romance and suspense.

MIST OF MIDNIGHT by Sandra Byrd ~ Book Review

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A deeply evocative tale that will lure you in and wrap itself around you like a cloak.

COVER MIST OF MIDNIGHT by Sandra Byrd

From the back cover:  Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her…and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an impostor had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca’s name, but her home and incomes. 

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real impostor. Her home and her father’s investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”? 

Sandra Byrd has presented us a delicious tale of mysterious characters in a complicated situation, and we are compelled to try to determine who is actually who they say they are and what are their motives? We know the future for Rebecca is by no means secure from the moment we read Chapter One’s opening line:

“Dusk had begun to smother daylight as we walked…”

And with Byrd’s skill at creating a foreboding atmosphere, we know when Rebecca faces a threat on the page, other more sinister threats are still ahead.

“The dark approached and the silence encircled me, tomblike in its absolute hush; if it were possible to hear quiet, to hear absence, then I heard it.” [p164]

Mist of Midnight is an intriguing story, a richly-woven tapestry of emotions and cultures, danger and surprises. Byrd has created a novel that captivates and will keep you up reading long past the time you intended.