Review: Fatherland by Robert Harris

Fatherland by Robert Harris
Published: 05/26/1992
Publisher: Hartorch
Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller
Source: Personal Library
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What would the world look like if the victors of history were different? For instance, what would the world be like if Germany had won World War II? If all the revelations that took place after Russia and the US liberated the concentration and extermination camps had never come to light? This is the question Robert Harris posits in Fatherland, and the answer is spine-chilling.

I love a good historical fiction novel, especially one about World War II and/or post-war Nazism. Probably because the mindset is so bizarre and foreign from my own. Fatherland dives head-first into the Nazi mindset to create a world where Adolf Hitler never died and Germany won WWII over other world powers.

Set in 1964, Berlin is preparing to celebrate Hitler's 75th birthday, a time of revelry and celebration that goes on for days. In addition, President Joseph Kennedy has decided to come to Germany following the celebrations on a peacemaking visit. Berlin Detective Xavier March is called out in the early morning hours to investigate the drowning of a former Nazi leader. Within hours the Gestapo declares they have taken over the investigation and orders March off the case. Detective March doesn't listen very well, though, and continues to investigate not only the drowning, but other deaths that took place in the days leading up to the celebrations. Teaming up with an American journalist Charlie Macguire, March risks his own life to finally ask the hard questions and uncover the truth behind the Nazi regime.

Most of the characters in Harris' book are real historical figures - party leaders and high-level Nazi - who either died in the war, were executed  after the Nuremburg trials, or escaped capture. The research undertaken to write the novel is unbelievable. Harris uses journals, correspondence, and official documents to create his story. The most chilling part of the book is the realization that these were the actual thoughts and beliefs of the Nazi regime. The Gestapo and police structure of Nazism remains in place. Laws regarding ethnicity are still in place. People can be arrested if a Gestapo member thinks they might one day turn against the regime. It's really quite horrifying.

This was a fantastic and gripping read. It puts you in the mind of a German citizen realizing the atrocities committed by their government for the first time. It's emotional and heavy, but brilliantly written. I'm looking forward to exploring more of Robert Harris's writing.

Literary Vows

When it comes to books and movies, I'm something of a purist. For example, I pretend the third Anne of Green Gables movie doesn't exist and am positive L. M. Montgomery rolled over in her grave the moment it hit the airwaves. Jar Jar Binks was a Stars Wars travesty. I'm always traumatized by a Doctor regeneration. And who on earth came up with the idea to set the Burrow on fire when it did not happen that way in the book?!

One of my biggest oppositions has always been the myriad of books that continue the story of the main Jane Austen characters. Why would you mess with perfection?! Sure, I'm curious as to what family life would have been like in the Knightly household, but if Jane Austen had wanted us to have that information she would have written it.

You guys...I strayed. I broke my long-standing literary vows.

I read Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James...and liked it.

Maybe it was because P. D. James is such an acclaimed mystery writer. Maybe my curiosity got the better of me. I'm still not sure what exactly made me decide to give the booka try, but I'm quite glad I did. James did such a good job of mimicking the style of Jane Austen. The characters felt like coming home again and it was delightful. I also disliked Lydia just as much as I did in Pride and Prejudice.

Death Comes to Pemberley (Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble) revisits the Darcys, Bennetts, and Bingleys several years after the end of Pride and Prejudice. The normal family life at Pemberley is interrupted by the arrival of a wildly driven carriage and a hysterical Lydia Wickham, screaming that her husband has been shot in the Pemberley woods. The book then begins to investigate the murder of George Wickham. The unfolding mystery shows the skill of P. D. James's long career and has a very satisfying ending.

I'm not sure I'll completely take leave of my senses and dive headfirst into the wide array of books continuing the stories of Jane Austen, but I'm glad I gave this one a shot. It definitely made me want to check out more of P. D. James's writing! Her virtues are repeatedly extolled by my beloved Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, which is really all the recommendation one needs. Having now read some of her writing, I can say Jessica is right - P. D. James is wonderful.

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
Published: 03/06/2012
Publisher: New American Library
Genre: Mystery / Romance
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Sarah Piper is a young woman living in in post-World War I London. Outside of the jobs she gets through a temp agency, Sarah doesn't get out much. When a job offer appears, she heads out to the interview oblivious to the life-changing experience that awaits her. Sarah accepts a job as an assistant for Alistair Gellis, a ghost hunter heading out to investigate reports of a rather disruptive ghost in the British countryside. They are later joined by his usual (and quite moody) assistant Matthew Ryder. The three must figure out what is holding the spirit of Maddy Clare to the barn where she took her own life in an effort to stop the torment of Maddy's former employer. Things turn dangerous as the investigation proceeds and it is eventually up to Sarah and Matthew to bring about resolution to the mystery and haunting of Maddy Clare.

After finishing The Broken Girls, I launched into a week-long Simone St. James reading binge. It made for a really fun week, I highly recommend it.

The atmosphere of the story was incredibly creepy. I will probably think twice before walking into a barn for awhile. Ms. St. James knows how to integrate the paranormal into the story line while making it believable and giving the reader chills. The story of Maddy Clare was intriguing and tragic, and the reader is able to find empathy with the character even though she's doing her best to torment others.

Even though I'm not generally drawn to romance novels, The Haunting of Maddy Clare was pretty good. I didn't find myself getting overly frustrated with the progress of the romance. It helped that the characters were very well developed independently of the love story.

For more about Simone St. James, check out her website.

Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

The Broken Girls by Simone St. JamesPublished: 03/20/2018
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
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As mentioned in my review of The Lake House by Kate Morton, I love a book that alternates between the past and the present. When it's done well, the stories will seamlessly fuse together at the end, bridging the gap between the generations in unexpected ways. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James follows this pattern and is a wonderful mystery told between 1950 and 2014.

Idlewild is an all-girls school for the girls that no one wants. In 1950, four friends are doing the best they can to make it day to day, each dealing with their own private tragedy and horror. But the students and teachers aren't the only ones at the school - rumor has it that Idlewild is haunted.

Fast-forward to 2014, where Fiona is still trying to cope with the murder of her older sister twenty years before. Fiona is connected to Idlewild because her sister's body was dumped on the sports field at the school. Fiona learns that the property has been purchased by an elderly widow with no obvious connection to the school and plans have been put in place for the restoration of the school. Finding new purpose, Fiona decides to write a journal article on the history of the school and the restoration.

The title The Broken Girls couldn't be more perfect for this novel because all of the women in the story are broken in some way. They don't have to stay that way, though. Woven through the story is the hope that what is broken can be put back together, the breaks healing over time. The friendship of the girls in 1950 gives them new strength and healing occurs as they share their individual stories and take their power back. Fiona hopes to find healing as she confronts the past and finds new connections with her father in the present.

The spooky tale of the haunted Idlewild campus stays in the background of the events, present in both the present and the past. The ghost known as Mary Hand is just one element driving the storyline and connecting the characters. Simone St. James does an amazing job of creating connections over the generations and moving the story forward. She does a masterful job of giving the reader just enough information to answer the present question while posing five more. I ended up reading late into the night, promising myself it was "just one more chapter" until I finished the book.

The mysteries of The Broken Girls will grab you from the very beginning. The prologue is one of the best I've ever read - it starts things off with a bang and forges an instant investment in the outcome of the lives of the characters. I've read a LOT of mysteries in my life and this quickly became one of my very favorites. I had NO IDEA how the book would end or how the past and present would be connected, and I was very pleased with the outcome. Truly, I had no idea how Simone St. James would tie things together.

I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately bought another...and another...and another. As of the writing of this post, I just finished a fifth book by St. James, which only leaves one other that I haven't read. I'll need to savor it. I can't wait to see what else Simone St. James comes up with. She's a talented author with a gift for telling a story that the reader cannot help but become invested in the characters. The characters themselves are flawed and beautiful with their own vivid personalities.

I hope you enjoy The Broken Girls by Simone St. James as much as I did! For more on the author, check out her website.

Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

The Lake House by Kate Morton
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date:10/20/2015
Genre: Literary Fiction / Mystery
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Living on her family's idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure...
One midsummer's eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.
Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo's case has never been solved. though Alice still harbors suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather's house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate - now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever.
A lush, atmospheric tale of intertwined destinies, this latest novel from a masterful storyteller is an enthralling, thoroughly satisfying read. {Goodreads}

I dearly love a book that alternates between the past and present, and Kate Morton is the master. She gives you just enough information to keep to story moving forward and keep you wanting more. Just when you think you are about to get the clue that will break the case, you are sent back in time or flung into the future and hanging on for more!  The past and present story lines are seamlessly blended together at the end to give you the answers you've been looking for with a lovely twist thrown in for fun.

The Lake House brings together the past of a mystery writer protecting a secret and the present of a detective constable trying to salvage her career and future. Both women are trying to reconcile with the consequences of their actions and assumptions. They have many similarities and yet are so different. Both of the women have stories that tug at your heartstrings and help you understand why they won't give up - in the tenacity to solve a mystery and determination to keep their secrets close.

It took me awhile to warm up to Sadie. She seems to think she's above certain consequences and has to come to terms with a broken past. her personality is such that you have the urge to reach through the pages to give her a good shake. As she gains some distance from her actions in another case that resulted in her suspension, Sadie is able to get her feet back under her and move forward as she comes to terms with her past.

I want to be like Alice when I'm elderly. She's a spit-fire woman who has high expectations of herself and everyone around her. Like Sadie, she is wrestling with a painful past and is carrying a burden than what one person can manage. As Alice and Sadie develop a relationship, they help each other come to terms with the skeletons in their closets and move into bright futures.

I had several moments while I was reading when I paused to take in Morton's writing. Her style is amazing and so enjoyable - it's a perfect example of why I love to read so much.