Review – Among the Red Stars

The writer took on a tremendous task in this book, depicting the struggle between Russians and Germans during World War ll. Several million combatants were lost on each side. The front, continually snaking, stretched over thousands of miles of inhospitable country; cold was an additional enemy.

This vast, hostile sweep of history is seen here through the lens of a simple love story about two young people, Valka, the girl destined to become a pilot, and Pasha the artistic, thoughtful boy who is forced to become a soldier. They have grown up together hardly recognizing the depth of feeling that has developed between them. Their story is told partly in the third person, partly in letters between them expressing their feelings and fears.

Valka flies night bombers – no, not those huge steel bombers we know but flimsy little biplanes with fabric wings and bombs hooked manually beneath them. She and her friends face not only the Russian cold, darkness, German fighters and guns but also the disdain and dislike of the male establishment, layered on top of political divisions and paranoia.

It is a tale of great bravery against almost impossible conditions. This is history we seldom hear about and difficult to explain so that it cuts through our 21^st century conditioning and softness.

There is no way to make this topic a light read and carefree romance. The writer has achieved much in presenting her theme through the eyes and feelings of two young people struggling to survive as best they can. She keeps us in mind of the suffering of two huge armies in inhumane conditions as she shows us the individual bravery of two vulnerable people caught up in war.

And, oh, yes, we even start to feel warmly about Valka’s little biplane.

Review – The Shadow District

Retired detective Konrád is contacted by his former partner in the Reykjavik CID about the death of 90-year old Stefán Thordarson, also known as Stefan Thorson. They find that what had appeared to be an old man dying in his sleep is actually murder. Konrad puts retirement aside to investigate.

He finds that Thorson was born in Canada of Icelandic parents and had been in Reykjavik during the Second World War working with the American military police in tandem with Icelandic policeman Flovert. They are investigating an American soldier and his girlfriend who have come across a woman’s body outside the back door of the National Theatre. Some people believe the woman had been attacked and raped by a man of the ‘huldufolk’ – the hidden creatures of legend. Soon Thorson and Frovert discover that another girl has been similarly attacked, also by the huldufolk, in the north of the country.

Tension mounts as Thorson and Flovert investigate from Reykjavik’s shadow district of ill-repute to the wild north of the country, making an error that will cost a life and haunt them forever but yet lead to the truth.

The story travels in time, switching back and forth between the initial investigations of Thorson and Flovert to the investigations of the elderly Thorson ending with his murder, to the most recent investigations of Konrád. Throughout we learn much about the Icelandic culture during the years of its significant change, from the arrival of Allied troops in WW2 to the present.

The strength of this book lies in its powerful storytelling and in its array of unusual and very vivid characters. The writer lays before us Iceland, its people, their legends and beliefs and the ways they have changed. The time switches throughout the tale highlight the depth of these changes.

Review – A Promise of Ruin

Young Italian Teresa Casoria is one of hundreds of immigrants arriving daily in New York City early in the 20^th century. She is full of hope as she looks for her beloved husband-to-be Antonio who has promised to meet her as she lands. But he is not there, and Teresa is kidnapped and forced into prostitution by the Black Hand gang who are terrorizing the Italian community.

Meanwhile, psychiatrist Dr. Genevieve Summerford watches in horror as the body of an escaped prostitute is pulled from the East River where she has drowned herself rather than submit to her abusers any longer. A letter in her pocket identifies her as a recent arrival from Italy. So when Genevieve is asked to investigate the disappearance of the Italian bride-to-be she feels there might be a connection. Rapidly she is drawn into the heart of the Italian community, assisted by the man she loves – Tammany Hall fixer Simon Shaw – and his friends including 11-year old Frankie whose driving ability exceeds her own. She tries to distinguish allies from adversaries until she suddenly finds herself far too deeply and personally involved in white slavery.

This book is absorbing at many levels, starting with the research into the life of immigrants in early 20^th century New York. This is revealed strategically so it never distracts the reader. It has a complex plot peopled by characters who have depth, humor and essential believability. It has an understated romance that lightens the mood. But its most unique aspect is the understanding of human emotions and the behaviors they engender. The writer exposes the wounds suffered by the women kidnapped into white slavery that go far deeper and are much more lasting than the physical.

A book to enjoy, but also to make one think. A keeper.

Review – The Woman in the Camphor Trunk

Los Angeles, 1908. Chinatown is seething with unrest. Tong wars erupt into instant violence. There exists a vast gulf between Chinese people and white people, bridged only by a few missionaries and the police. Girls from China are brought over to become prostitutes, imprisoned by the tongs until they are of no further use. Intruding into this secret world are Police Matron Anna Blanc and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Detective Joe Singer.

They find the body of a white woman in a camphor trunk in an apartment in Chinatown. Knowing the ill-feeling between Chinese and whites they understand that this matter must be handled very carefully to avoid bloodshed. Together they follow the trail back to white missionaries, to two enslaved Chinese girls, to the wilderness outside Los Angeles and back to face the violence of the tongs. Throughout, Anna and Joe spar verbally as they meet different characters from the world of Chinatown, hare off to chase suspects and duck to avoid flying bullets.

This second book featuring the independent Anna Blanc develops further her turbulent relationship with Joe Singer and offers a hint of greater closeness – and further turbulence -ahead. Their efforts to solve the mystery of the body in the camphor trunk lead to many twists and surprises and are complicated by the involvement of the enigmatic Mr. Jones. Throughout story the writer develops well the hostility between whites and Chinese and the internecine warfare between the tongs.

In this book the writer has struggled to combine an important era in American history, a romance and a mystery but the combination does not blend together comfortably and believably. To lighten the mood we find Anna’s cheeky, pert dialogue and self-talk that, while amusing to our ears, does not quite fit the period.

Review – The House of Memory

THE HOUSE OF MEMORY

Carolyn Haines, Thomas & Mercer, 2017, pb, $15.95, 306pp, 9781477819937

Raissa James can see the dead and she has capitalized on this by opening a private investigation agency specializing in the occult. “Pluto’s Snitch” she calls it and was successful in solving her first case. In this new book she and her partner Reginald Proctor have set out to solve a troubling case of Camilla, a normally kind young woman who has suddenly begun to attack violently the man she is to marry.  She is now locked away in a grim asylum where a terrible fate awaits her.

Camilla’s good friend Zelda Fitzgerald has hired Raissa to help Camilla. Zelda is the new wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald and close friend of movie star Tallulah Bankhead. These two Southern belles appear throughout the book as the part-regal, part-impish young women they were in the days of the flappers and the early movies.

Together with these characters we have the strong evocation of a hot summer in Alabama to enrich the sensory environment.

Characters in this story range from the down-to-earth Raissa and her card-sharp partner Reginald to the patient fiancé David to the vengeful spirit of Nina Campbell, to the evil doctors at the Bryce Hospital asylum who are practicing an early and unsuccessful form of lobotomy surgery. Raissa’a task is not only to try to save Camilla from the surgery but also to save her from the malevolent spirit of Nina.

The writer presents an evocative treat for the reader – a strong impression of the heat of the southern summer and of the dramatic showdown with the malevolent spirit one stormy midnight in a southern mansion.

This book is a tour-de-force from an accomplished writer who has a gift for delivering vivid sensory impressions to deepen the impact of her story. This is a powerful book you will not soon forget.

Review – Mr Dickens and his Carol

MR DICKENS AND HIS CAROL

Samantha Silva, Flatiron, 2017, $24.99/C34.99, hb, 288pp, 9781250154040

Charles Dickens, used to living the life of a successful writer in Victorian London, finds to his dismay that his most recent literary effort, ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’, is not selling well. His publishers suggest that he write a short Christmas book to recoup recent losses. Dickens declines, it being only a few weeks before Christmas. However, a clause in his contract makes refusal impossible.  Very reluctantly he agrees.

This new burden seems like the last straw. Both his father and his brother ask repeatedly for loans he knows will never be repaid. His family now numbers six children and his wife plans a large Christmas celebration as well as improvements to their house. His children want more and better toys, he is expected to contribute to charities. It is all too much. When his wife leaves him taking the children he has what we would call his mid-life crisis.

Moving into cheap rooms he struggles to write a Christmas book and finally cobbles one together, full of struggles and pain. Yet he has met a mysterious woman who becomes his muse, guiding him to discover the finer side of human nature. Her son and other street children deepen his understanding until he starts anew and triumphantly completes the masterpiece we now know as ‘A Christmas Carol’.

Ms Silva deftly weaves fact with fiction developing a tale of a man who finds salvation in his writing, understanding finally what we might achieve as we accept human nature – our own as well as others – for the best it might become. With a light touch she presents the depth of meaning of ‘The Christmas Carol’ along with a detailed picture of Dickens himself and the London life and landscape of the time.

This is a book of many dimensions and a worthwhile read.

Review – Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions

MISS KOPP’S MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS

Amy Stewart, HMHBooks, 2017, $26, pb, 384 pp, 9780544409996

 The year is 1916. Edna Heustis, by anyone’s standards a good girl, is eating breakfast in a respectable boarding house for young ladies. Police rush in and arrest her. The charge is waywardness.

Luckily for Edna, Constance Kopp – one of the first female deputy sheriffs in New Jersey – is in charge of the jail and its women inmates. Miss Kopp clearly sees the injustice of the charge and determines to get Edna released.

But Edna’s is not the only case she takes on. Next is Minnie, much less innocent but still she has only made the mistake of going off with the wrong man. The third woman, Miss Kopp’s younger sister Fleurette, has run away to join the chorus of a touring musical show. How can Fleurette be rescued without causing scandal?

Writer Amy Stewart who honed her fine research skills on a series of botanical books, has given readers a view of an uncomfortable period in American history. Young women seeking independence in the early years of the 20^th century were easily accused of immorality and locked away in reformatories at the least hint of possible immorality. They were some of the first victims of women’s drive for independence.

The book offers strong storytelling with believable characters. It presents the reader with gritty truths that are seldom comfortable but always intriguing.

Review – Daughter of the Wolf

DAUGHTER OF THE WOLF

Victoria Whitworth, Head of Zeus, 2016, US27.95/C37.95, hb, 512pp, 9781784082130

This powerful novel is set in the Humber estuary of northeastern England in the mid 9^th century. Radmer, lord of Donmouth, is sent to Rome and his teenage daughter Elfrun is left to manage his lands with very little guidance. She is responsible for the valuable herds of sheep, the farms, fishing, craftspeople and the day to day running of the hall and its staff. Surrounding her are those responsible for each of the many tasks, each one driven by hopes, dreams, strengths and frailties.

She is aware that some are less than honest, some do not honor their vows but she is unaware that she might have a traitor in her household. She is unaware also of the threat posed by her neighbors across the water, always poised, waiting to take over the rich lands of Donmouth should she show weakness.

The writer weaves a complex story with a wealth of characters fully true to their time yet their motivations driving behaviors clearly recognizable to today’s reader. The women are the focus – Elfrun herself, naïve but determined, the enigmatic slave owner, the sexy wife of the shepherd, the smith’s daughter who dreams of becoming an artist in metal, the elderly grandmother who tries to make her children and grandchildren live the life that has been denied to her.

‘Daughter of the Wolf’ translates a vast amount of research into an engrossing saga of life in pre-Conquest England. The strongly-worked characters, the plot, the vivid detail combine to make this an engrossing read.

Valerie Adolph

Review – Lies and Letters

LIES AND LETTERS

Ashtyn Newbold, Sweetwater Books, 2017, US$17.99/C$20.99, pb, 264pp, 9781462119844

Charlotte and Clara Lyons, sisters living in Regency England, understand that they can have no greater destiny than attracting a rich, titled husband. Charlotte, the older sister is attractive, ruthless and devastatingly flirtatious and looks set to succeed. Clara, lacking these attributes, is disregarded until the sudden loss of their father’s money and reputation forces their move out of the city to a cottage in a fishing village in the north of England.

Charlotte finds her flirtatiousness and lack of practical skills a disadvantage here and she fails to find success in her pursuit of Lord Trowbridge. Her sister, meanwhile, adjusts to the change in lifestyle more successfully. Charlotte struggles to change her behavior but is forced finally to choose between marriage for wealth and title and marriage for love.

As a ‘pure’ romance this book lacks the sensuality of most Regency romances. Instead I found frequent reminders of characteristics more appropriate in today’s world – generosity, kindness and empathy. I found the constant repetition of these virtues tedious. The writer clearly has never visited England but she manages to avoid obvious inaccuracies. The main characters were well developed and I was rooting for Charlotte by the end of the book.

Book Review – Frontline Angel

FRONTLINE ANGEL

Genevieve Jordayne, Black Rose Writing, 2016, $16.95, pb, 212pp, 9781612967691

As World War ll began Eliza O’Grady was a newly trained nurse living on a Wisconsin farm, wondering how she could ever see the rest of the world and find adventure.

Joining the US Army Nurse Corps, despite the reluctance of her family, seemed the perfect answer. After two years of training in Kansas she arrived in the Philippines and was amazed by the beauty of Manila, the modern hospital, swimming in the warm bay and dances at the Officer’s club. Finding the love of her life, Reese Moretti, made everything perfect.

But the Japanese were advancing. Routine nursing turned into battlefield nursing of gravely wounded soldiers. The nurses retreated to jungle outposts, to a huge cave, then were captured and interned in desperate and deteriorating conditions until the war ended.

This is a well-researched book about the role of nurses in the Pacific sector during WW ll. The descriptions of characters and of the danger and privations they endured – suffering severe malnutrition, and a host of tropical diseases – was dramatic and emotionally powerful.

However, the book suffered from a lack of professional editing – both substantive and copy editing – which I found very distracting

Valerie Adolph