Far From Home by Danielle Steel

 

Far From Home   by Danielle Steel  242  Pages

In July 1944, Arielle von Auspeck arrives at the glamorous Hotel Ritz in occupied Paris. Half French, half German, she is happy to be back in France, where her husband, Gregor, a retired colonel, will join her soon from Germany. Arielle and Gregor have thus far been able to hide their private opposition to Hitler. Then her world falls apart. She receives word that Gregor was part of Operation Valkyrie, a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in Poland, and has been shot as a traitor. Now, holding a French passport handed to her by another high-level collaborator, she is whisked away from Paris under cover of darkness for her own safety. As the Allies storm the beaches, she goes into hiding in a small village in Normandy under an assumed name, unable to contact her adult children. There, she forms a friendship with Sebastien Renaud, whose wife and daughter were deported in 1941, and who eventually reveals himself as a forger in the Resistance. As war wages on, Arielle and Sebastien work for the Resistance and hold out for the time when they can search for their loved ones.

A story of loss in World War ll times, but also one of finding family and love again. This is a book that I could not put down because I wanted to see how it ended, But about 2/3 of the way through I figured it all out. I really enjoy reading about World War ll as sad as that time period is, so it was a great book for me!

Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar

Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar 287 pages A wonderful book with a horrible ending. I really thought she would survive (spoiler alert). The book was very eye opening about the life in the prisoner camps, and very realiztic. My heart ached for her when she tried to save her children and also was so sad when other would be killed. I know this is reality that happened, but so hard to read. I love to read about World War II. It is a horrible time but I love to hear about survival stories. Based on the true story of a brave German nurse tasked with caring for Auschwitz's youngest prisoners, Auschwitz Lullaby brings to life the story of Helene Hannemann--a woman who sacrificed everything for family and fought furiously for the children she hoped to save.

Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus

Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus - 374 pages

This bestselling German procedural introduces the detective team of Kirchoff and Von Bodenstein. The team is called to an odd traffic accident where a woman is pushed off an overpass into traffic. The investigation soon leads to a small village where secrets that have been festering for years eventually come to light. The action builds slowly but I enjoyed all the red herrings that kept me wondering the true nature of what was going on all the way to the end.

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals

By Gillian Gill

460 pages

The marriage of Queen Victoria of Great Britain (1819-1901) and her husband, Prince Albert (1819-1861) of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha was a marriage of love at a time when loveless marriages among royalty were all to common.

Victoria’s reign began in 1837, when she was just 18 years old. The Queen married a few years later. Although the marriage was fundamentally arranged, Victoria and her husband, now the Prince Consort of Great Britain, cherished and worked to insure the happiness of the other. As with all married couples they had multiple arguments and endured lows in their marriage. However, they were faithful to each other and valued each others’ company.

The British people loved Queen Victoria. Her reign was eventually known as the Victorian Era, a time of prosperity.  However the people never embraced Albert, a German.  He was an extremely intelligent man and after winning the Queen’s confidence helped manage the Queen’s household, among other duties.

The couple had nine children together. 

Snow White Must Die, by Nele Neuhaus

Snow White Must Die, by Nele Neuhaus, 384 pages

I read this book because I love fairytale rewrites, which I incorrectly assumed this was.  What this turned out to be was book 4 in a German series of mysteries featuring two detectives.  Once I figured that out, it made a little more sense why it felt like I was walking into season 3 of Bones. Oh well- it was a free book from Goodreads, so I decided to go ahead and read it anyway.

Tobias was just let out of prison, after serving 10 years for the murders of two high school girls.  Having nowhere else to go, he returns to his hometown, where he is threatened and bullied by bitter townspeople.  After his mother is terribly injured in an accident that turns out to be more than an accident, investigators come into town and start realizing connections to the 11 year old murder case, and that Tobias might not have been the killer after all.  This becomes a pretty fast-paced read, and is told from multiple points of view, which makes it interesting.