The Secret History of Audrey James - Heather Marshall

Genre: Historical Fiction, WW2

I am pleased to have been able to read The Secret History of Audrey James. This novel relates the stories of Audrey James and of Kate Mercer and how their lives intersect in surprising ways as they are a generation or so apart. Kate is recovering from a tragic accident and a broken marriage and accepts a job in a guest house - sight unseen where she hopes to recover some equanimity in her life. Audrey is the owner here and she begins to relate her World War II experiences in Berlin, Germany to her new young manager. Through flashbacks we relive all of these horrific moments with her. Once a promising piano virtuoso, Audrey becomes a housemaid and stays in the unsafe city to protect her Jewish friend Ilse - who has lost her entire family to the Nazis. She sees her father shot in the street and her mom and brother hauled away. 

I am always drawn to WWII novels. I always learn something new, and I learned so much from this one. And I am always amazed at the resilience and strength of the folks who endured this war especially on the European Front. Audrey stands alongside her dear friend Ilse after they witness the brutal murder of Ilse’s father in broad daylight in the street while on a shopping trip. Ilse’s mother and brother are herded away. Soon after, the Kaplan home is taken over by Nazi officers. Audrey must think fast and becomes their cook and maid so that Ilse can remain safely hidden in the attic. From the moment Audrey makes that choice, she must pivot again and again as the circumstances change. Her resilience is stunning as she is forced to mature very quickly. Her devotion to Ilse has a strength that I can barely imagine. Kate also gains strength over the course of the novel. She finds her own strength and resilience both in her growing relationship with Audrey, and in making independent choices for her new life. I always value books that give me strong female protagonists and Marshall does just that. I learned much about the resistance, but must resist talking about it. No spoilers. But the suspense level here is just excellent. I stayed up later than I should rather than putting it down.

I had to really sit with this book for a while after I finished reading. The story and the threads of this book that tangle in a surprising way, really captured me. I am often so saddened by how lightly we take war. We allow people to pretend that evil events never happened, and we allow people to talk flippantly about going to war over the smallest of things. Maybe it is primarily the women who catalog and hold onto the tragedy that war brings. Somebody needs to, and I am grateful for Heather Marshall’s meticulously researched The Secret History of Audrey James. Read it and look for more novels by her. I did.  Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. 

The Queens of Crime - Marie Benedict

Genre: Historical Fiction & Mystery

Imagine one of your favorite contemporary writers writing about some of your favorite historical writers - what a dream, right? So it is with Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime - a mystery reader’s delight.  Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Baroness Emma Orczy, and Ngaio Marsh are treated as “less than” in an exclusive club for mystery writers because they are women. With Dorothy in the lead, they decide that solving the murder of young nurse May Daniels that has baffled police for some time will gain them the notoriety they need to break that glass ceiling. Along the way they must challenge that ceiling in more ways than they can initially fathom. 

Dorothy Sayers is a force with which to be reckoned. She will use her journalist husband’s sources, travel, rally the ladies, and take on some powerful British men and the police to solve the story of May Daniels. Throughout their journey, she of all the queens has, perhaps, the most to lose. She has protected her own secrets for quite a long time. The mistreatment of another woman spurs to risk even those. Women have been battling to be heard at a number of levels for a very long time. Benedict captures that battle while crafting a fascinating mystery that would have made the queens proud. She also captures the spirit of friendship in a beautiful way. Each of the queens comes to the table with her own quirks - one prefers pants, another is well used to her wealth, more than Dorothy has a secret. Rather than allowing these quirks to divide them, they use them to work together. Because of this effort, beautiful friendships develop - again speaking to the power of women working together. May never gets to benefit from their work, but what they gain is incalculable, professionally and personally. We get the sense that these queens have only just begun. 

Benedict does not disappoint. I love how through her commitment to women and to detailed research, she continues to bring the lives of unsung women in history to life. I can easily become discouraged as in many ways the fight to be heard as women continues. And really, how dare I, who has more privileges than even my mother, and certainly more than my grandmothers, be discouraged? In The Queens of Crime, Marie Benedict provides mystery, history, amazing women, and, of course, inspiration. Publishing on February 11, you will love this book. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict book cover

Later On We'll Conspire - Kortney Keisel

What could bad breakups, chemical weapons, Christmas traditions, double agents, and falling in love have in common? Kortney Keisel’s Later On We’ll Conspire an upcoming holiday novel provides the answer.  Keisel manages to weave all these elements together in a plot that while not entirely believable, is a fun one to read. Lacee is at the mall mourning a bad break up and wishing she had a reason to buy the slinky black dress she has her eye on. Park is there in an effort to get his hands on a computer drive that his handler Sienna needs to resolve a case. A chance encounter in a dressing room leads to intrigue and adventure and a holiday fling. 

I love the title - I was humming Winter Wonderland much of the time as I listened to Amanda Friday and Andy Harrington narrate as Lacee and Park. I really like a good audiobook, and the action of this title was really enhanced for me by their work. The alternating narration was very nice in terms of perspective. I enjoyed the insight into both of the protagonists. The plot was very twisty and the dual perspective contributed nicely here as well. All of the great Christmas feels are here. I appreciate them. Having them juxtaposed against hard core action/murder should have seemed jarring, but Keisel really makes it work. She does the same with the romance plot line. The attraction is immediate and the kissing starts not long after…and yet Keisel creates a kind of a slow burn in the midst of a sort of crazy amount of action. 

What a fun holiday read. Just cuddle in - fire up a hot chocolate and enjoy the ride. Kortney Keisel’s Later On We’ll Conspire - lives up to the promise  of its iconic musical title. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Book Cover of Later on We’ll Conspire by Kortney Keisel

Christmas With The Knights - Hannah Langdon

Genre: Holiday Romance

A cold English winter, a sprawling house, the Lord and his son and grandson - could this be the perfect cure for Hannah Langdon’s Fallon in Christmas with the Knights? Fallon is exhausted; she has allowed her demanding event planning business to exhaust her. The doctor prescribes rest, away from work. While she’s not sure that spending Christmas with her ummm…  difficult mother the soap opera star at her boyfriend’s country estate, she finds herself there. Along with Runcible - her goofy loving dog, Fallon begins to relax into Christmas and all the events that come along with it. Along with renewed peace…will she find love?

Is that even a fair question for a Christmas rom com? But Fallon is perhaps a bit more complex than other romantic heroines. She had a somewhat isolated childhood and while she has maintained a relationship with her distant mother, she fears that she doesn’t have the kind of example she needs to look forward to motherhood herself. So she remains wary of relationships. Instead (much like her mother, uh oh!) she buries herself in her work. Even on holiday she finds herself taking on small event jobs. Will she ever relax? And even if Alexander the Lord’s Son is gorgeous, and his son inexplicable drawn to her, should Fallon risk involvement. These are not easy questions. She receives lovely help and support from the people around her. New friends - who will be part of her family when her mom marries and old friends - Sam and Talitha from work. Her dog is her rock. And English countryside Christmas abounds…if  ever magic was going to happen.

What a delightful read! I just really resonated with Fallon. (Like me, she could probably benefit from Kendra Adachi’s The PLAN - in terms of being more compassionate with herself!) I like that her changes came slowly - and believably. Christmas in England always seems extra lovely to me. She creates an inspirational setting filled with English treats and traditions that had me googling recipes. Take a minute from your busy holiday season and enjoy Hannah Langdon’s Christmas With The Knights, available on October 24. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Christmas Cookie Wars - Eliza Evans

Genre: Holiday Romance

I enjoy cookies: baking and eating. I enjoy holiday rom coms: movies and novels. I certainly enjoyed reading Eliza Evans’ The Christmas Cookie Wars. Melody is struggling this year to find the Christmas spirit with her 10 year old sons. They seem to be growing out of some of the traditions that she has maintained so carefully after the death of her husband some 6 years earlier. When she learns that the Christmas Cookie Committee has disbanded, she risks the wrath of its former chair to take it over. To do so she must work with and then compete with Jonathan, the stuffy principal of her sons’ school who has historically made HER feel like a ten year old child. Baking, ice skating, snowman making, and love ensues.

Evans captures the spirit of Christmas in a big way. She creates a town that celebrates Christmas cookies for weeks. She gives us a spirited baking competition. She gives us a family that is experiencing growing pains, but that clearly love each other - and wanting what is best for each other. She gives us an enemy in Charlene who tries to rule the school with an iron fist. She gives us a mystery - someone is sabotaging the events. And of course, she gives us a lovely romance. I would rate it as Hallmark style in terms of romantic content. Just right for me.

Sometimes we just need a joy filled, escape from real life, holiday read. I needed one this week and The Christmas Cookie Wars by Eliza Evans was just right for me. Be sure to find it when it publishes on October 22. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putman’s and Sons publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.