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World War II

A Dangerous Act of Kindness

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A Dangerous Act of Kindness by LP Fergusson
Recommended for: Adults
Format: eBook

The dog bounded across the snowy field during a cold night in Britain.  Trailing behind on horseback, Millie called, “Gyp!  Come back!”   Gyp sniffed the ground and wound his way over to the barn.  Millie entered the shadowy structure.  She stopped short.  A man slumped against a bale, his arm at an odd angle.  With his other hand, he was pointing a gun directly at her.  Was this a German soldier?  Had he escaped the recent plane crash?  Locals had assumed he had died in the fire.  “Let me help you,” implored Millie.  “Help me?” responded her enemy.

Millie’s husband was dead.  She’d found him hanging at the end of a rope six months ago.  She wished she’d helped him before it was too late.

A snow storm was coming.  Could she aid this man without the knowledge of her neighbor, Hugh and her Land Girl, Brigsie?  Snow or not, the cows would need milking in the morning.  Brigsie would be by early to help.  And Hugh often came by too.  He would gladly become more than Millie’s friend if she gave him any encouragement.  Was she over her grief?

A Dangerous Act of Kindness is narrated by Millie, Hugh, and Lukas, the injured German.    The story reveals various perspectives of war, of love, and of forgiveness.  I was moved by the universal themes that cross culture and time.

Find it on OverDrive/Libby!

 

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary

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Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
Format: eBook, digital audiobook
Who it’s for: Adults

Maggie was looking forward to graduate studies in math at MIT.  When her grandmother passed, Maggie had to return to the land of her birth: England.  She planned to sell her inheritance: a big old Victorian house. Yet, with the war underway, it was no time to sell. Instead, Maggie welcomed boarders and friends: Irish Chuck (Charlotte), ballerina Sarah, stylish Paige, and the “Ding-bell” twins, Annabelle and Clarabelle.  Slowly, Maggie would fix-up the aged house.

One night, a young woman missed her bus and so walked home. On the way, she was murdered. David, a personal secretary to Churchill, urged his friend Maggie to apply for the dead woman’s job. So, Maggie joined the typing pool in the Prime Minister’s office. She longed for a more mathematical challenge. Yet, soon she had her hands full. Someone set off a bomb in a nearby train station. Was it the IRA? Also, when Maggie found some dots and dashes in the newspaper, she suspected that she had stumbled on more than an ad. Could Maggie break the code? With terrorists and spies underfoot, could Maggie help her friends and homeland before it was too late?

For all who love historical stories of suspense, this is the ticket.  And it’s the first book in a series!

Find it on OverDrive/Libby!

In Another Time by Jillian Cantor

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In Another Time by Jillian Cantor
Format: Book
Who’s it For: Adults

“Where am I?” Hannalie Ginsberg awoke in a deserted field one starry night.  She clutched her precious violin to her chest.  “Where’s Max?”  The last thing she remembered, Hanna was playing her violin for Max in his workshop.  Hanna stumbled along until she came upon a church.  “It’s unlocked!”  Hanna quietly entered.  “Hello?”  When no one replied, Hanna curled up on a pew and succumbed to the familiarity of slumber.

The gentle hand of a nun, Sister Louisa, roused her later.  “Where am I?” asked Hanna.  “What?  My Germany’s been at war?  Hitler’s dead?”  After Sister Louisa drove Hanna to Berlin, a doctor diagnosed  her with “dissociative memory loss.”  Her memory of the past ten years was gone!  Hannah phoned her sister Julia who’d moved with her family to London before the war.  “I’m not dead!”  She phoned Max’s friends, Johann and Elsa.  They only knew that Max had left to find Hanna.  Hanna joined Julia in London.  She had her violin.  She had her family.  Now where was Max?

I was very moved by this poignant tale of romance set in two different times. Max described how he met Hanna, the girl who played the violin with fire, before the war.  He wooed her with books from his bookshop.  Hanna described her life after the war, her quest to find Max.  Although Hanna was Jewish and Max was not, they were united in their love for each other.  Yet Max hid a secret in his bookshop.  Moreover, Max couldn’t stop himself from coming to the aid of his Jewish neighbors.  What would Max’s secret cost him and Hanna?

It’s available as a book or downloadable with Overdrive!

 

The Nightingale

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults & Teens

Vianne and Isabelle are estranged sisters living through their new reality of a Nazi occupied France during World War II.  Isabelle is the younger, impulsive, defiant sister who speaks her mind about any injustice while Vianne is the older, cautious, and practical sister trying to manage the household and keep her own daughter safe under rapidly worsening conditions.  With the men in their lives taken away by the war, they both find themselves in roles they never imagined and have to reach deep inside themselves to decide which risks are truly worth taking.
This is a wonderfully told story about love, war, sisters, friendship, and true heroism.  It makes you ask yourself ‘What would I do?’

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The Girl with No Name

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The Girl with No Name by Diney Costeloe
Format: CD Book
Who it’s for:  Adults and teens

Lisa is a thirteen year old Jewish girl escaping Nazi Germany after her family has been driven from their home.  She was sent to England with other children and eventually arrived in London, lonely, scared and unable to speak English.  A childless couple took her in and cared for her.  Lisa attended school with many other refugee children and she gradually learned English.  When the Nazis bombed London Lisa escaped to a bomb shelter but she was injured.  She lost her memory and couldn’t recall anything about her previous life.  She was transferred to a children’s home until it also became a target of the attacks.  Another evacuation forced her to find a new home in the country with a kind spinster woman.  If you are a fan of historical novels, listen to this captivating story by Diney Costeloe.  This is the first book in the series.  The next one is The Married Girls.

The narrator, Anna Bentinck, has a wonderful speaking voice and makes this story come to life.  She is a British actress and producer who has done hundreds of broadcasts on BBC, was the voice for an animation series and has narrated many audiobooks.  The author, Diney Costeloe, writes historical novels and also writes romantic novels under the name of Diney Delancey.

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In This Grave Hour

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In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear
Format: CD Audiobook
Who it’s for:  Adults

Jacqueline Winspear writes the Maisie Dobbs series about a young English woman detective.  Her writing is highly entertaining and she describes everything in great detail.  Orlagh Cassidy is an award winning narrator who is able to change her accents to make each character distinct as well as speak in different languages.  The combination of author and narrator makes this audio book a pleasure to listen to.

In This Grave Hour is set in England in September of 1939, just as World War II is beginning.  Maisie, a young private investigator with experience solving murder cases, is tasked with solving the murders of three former Belgian men who become refugees in England.  As the investigation proceeds, Maisie encounters other murders that are somehow connected to those of the Belgian men.  To further complicate the situation, a young refugee girl arrives with a train of children being sent to England to live with families to protect them from the violence of war in their own countries.  The little girl, named Anna, doesn’t speak and Maisie is determined to find her family.  Britain is on the brink of war and is approaching its gravest hour.  I highly recommend this audio book if you enjoy mysteries and historical fiction.  I’m looking forward to listening to the next book in this series.

Find it in our catalog