Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson is a master class in riveting storytelling, as well as an important event in world history. 

On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack.

 Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history.

It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love.

If you have any interest in history, look to Erik Larson first! He is an amazing writer who brings history alive. 

Larson, Erik. (2015). Dead Wake. New York: Crown Publishing.

The White Lady

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear is another example of her amazing storytelling! If you don't yet know her work, seek it out today at your local bookstore or library.

Elinor White was born in Belgium. She was ten when the Germans invaded. Her father left to join the army. Elinor, along with her older sister and mother were just moments late to escape by train. Now they will try to ride out the war without being noticed by the soldiers. 

Then one day Isabelle comes to their door. She wants the three of them to go on a picnic above the train tracks. And while there count the number of trains and their details. The Germans will likely overlook three women on a hill trying to make the most of the day.

In 1947, Elinor is now living in an estate in the English countryside - in a home given to her for her service as a spy in both world wars. She keeps to herself. But when she sees the young couple down the lane being harassed by to men from London, she feels the need to get involved.

Winspear's words will pull you in within the first page and take you on a thoughtful, suspenseful read. She is one of my favorite authors. 

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2022). The White Lady. New York: Harper. 

The Last Bookshop in London (Novel of WWII #1)

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin is the first book in her Novels of WWII series. 

In August of 1939, Grace Bennett and her best friend Viv are moving to London. They will live with Grace's mother's best friend, Mrs. Weatherford, and her son Colin. 

While Viv has a letter of reference that allows her to apply for the job she wants at a department store, Grace does not. Her uncle, whose shop she practically ran, refused to write one. Mrs. Weatherford has an idea, she will convince / cajole the owner of the bookstore to hire Grace for six months.

While Grace has shop experience, she is not a reader. She does not understand the appeal. 

Martin has written a wonderful story that takes place as London prepares for possible air raids and takes us through to the conclusion of the war. 

This is a great read to take with you on vacation. Reserve it as your local library today 

Martin, Madeline. (2021). The Last Bookshop in London. Toronto: Hanover Square Press.

The Rose Code

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is about the women who broke codes for England during World War II and the person who betrayed them.

Bletchley Park recruited from anyone who might be able to help break codes - mathematicians, puzzle aficionados, men and women.

Three code breakers who were inseparable during the war are brought back together in 1947 when one of them receives a coded message in the mail - using a cypher they used to pass notes during the war. 

Osla, a German speaker is a debutante who dated Prince Phillip. Mab is from Shoreditch and took a secretarial course to get out and help her family. Beth is a master at crosswords and seeing patterns.

They are called to crack one more code - one that will save the lives of two of them. 

Quinn is a storytelling mage. Her historical fiction puts the reader right in the thick of it. Choose any of her books and you will be up well past your bedtime thoroughly engrossed.

Quinn, Kate. (2021). The Rose Code. New York: William Morrow.  

The Forest of Vanishing Stars

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel is the story of survival in the greatest of odds. 

Stolen from a wealthy German couple, Yona is raised in the forest by an old woman. Jerusza teaches her how to survive on what the land provides, how to avoid other people, and how to kill if necessary.

In 941, Jerusza dies, leaving Yona alone. While she stay away from the villages on the edges of the forest, she is starting to encounter more people in the woods. After a while she decides to intervene to help a family of three who will not make it without some guidance on how to live in the forest. 

They tell her of the Nazis and their abhorrent attempt to kill all Jewish people. Yona decides to help the Jews refugees who escape from the ghettos and make it to her forest.  

Harmel is a master of historical fiction story telling. This is an amazing book with a strong lead character whom we could all learn something from. 

Harmel, Kristin. (2021). The Forest of Vanishing Stars. New York: Gallery Books.

The Consequences of Fear (Maisie Dobbs #16)

The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear is her sixteenth book featuring the amazing Maisie Dobbs, private detective and psychologist. London, October 1941.

Freddie Hackett, a boy who runs messages through the blackout, witnesses a murder during a bombing raid. He then delivers his message to the same man he saw stab someone.

When the police do not believe him, Freddie goes to Maisie Dobb's office. He has run messages for her for her war work and knows she solves crimes. 

Winspear is a masterful writer whose research (including within her family history) makes for scenes in which you can feel the bombs drop. If you like mystery, historical fiction or just damn well written books, read this series. 

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2021). The Consequences of Fear. New York: Harper. 

The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9)

The King's Justice by Susan Elia MacNeal is her ninth book in the Maggie Hope series - an historical mystery / espionage series lead by a wonderful character. 

Maggie has had many jobs since she moved to London - from secretary to Mr. Churchill, to espionage work, to helping Scotland Yard catch a sequential murderer. Now she just wants a break. 

Of course her idea of a break from that previous work is to join a bomb disposal unit. Her role being defusing the UXBs before they can explode. 

The man from Scotland Yard has other ideas. He wants her help, and to get her away from the UXBs. She can choose her case - either a new sequential killer who is putting human bones in suitcases in the Thames, or the theft of a Stradivarius violin. 

MacNeal's series is one of my favorite in any genre. This and Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs are equally the best of historical mystery.  

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2020). The King's Justice. New York: Bantam Books.

The Book of Lost Names

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a beautiful tale of resistance. 

Eva Traube Abrams is a Florida librarian. At the age of 81 she see an article in the newspaper with the photo of a man holding a book she has not seen in sixty years. This man is in Berlin, his life's work trying to reunite books with the people from whom they were stolen during World War II. This book seems to contain some sort of code. 

In 1942 Eva and her mother fled Paris after her father was arrested along with thousands of other Jews. A man who had been paid to help them if anything happened, gave Eva blank documents and pens, telling her to create papers for her and her mother. 

Arriving a small village along the mountains, Eva's papers attract some attention - by the network of people trying to save Jewish children fleeing the Nazis. Her skills at copying and drawing stamps can be used by the resistance.

Harmel has written a beautiful book of hope. Read it.

Harmel, Kristin. (2020). The Book of Lost Names. New York: Gallery Books.

A Bookshop in Berlin

A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the Nazis by Francoise Frenkel. A true story kept in journals and published years ago, given a second life by Stephanie Smee's English translation.

Francoise Frenkel fell in love with the French language. She notices that there are many French speaking people in Berlin, but there is no place to buy books in French. After many forms and explanitions to government oficals, La Masion du Livre opened in 1921. As Germany changes, Frenkel faces more paperwork and harassment as a foreign, Jewish shop owner.

This incredible tale of keeping one step ahead of the Nazis as she makes her way to safety is the real life story that makes fictional accounts pale. With the help of strangers, family and friends all can be overcome.

Frenkel, Francoise. (2017). A Bookshop in Berlin. New York: Atria Books

The World That We Knew

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman is a beautiful tale of escape during World War II.

In Berlin in 1941, three women must act to survive.

Hanni Kohn know she must send her daughter Lea away. She herself cannot go because of her ailing mother. But Lea must be given a chance to survive what is obviously coming at the Jews of Germany.

When Hanni goes to the rabbi to beg him to make a golem to protect Lea, she is turned away. But not before his daughter - who knows the way as well as the rabbi - hears her. Ettie agrees to do it, for enough money for her and her younger sister to get out of Germany.

This is a beautiful story of hope and strong women. Hoffman is a masterful storyteller.

Hoffman, Alice. (2019). The World That We Knew. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II

Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff is the tale of a series of plane crashes in Greenland near the end of WWII. As well as the current day plan to recover a Grumman Duck amphibious airplane lost on the ice with three Coast Guard men.

In WWII the United States had bases in Greenland, both to keep the Atlantic free of German boats and U-boats and used as a stop while ferrying planes to England. When a cargo plane goes down on the Ice Cap, a few search planes are sent to look for it. These planes include a B-17 bomber with 9 on board. Instead of finding sign of the cargo plane, the B-17 crashes. What follows is a series of rescue attempts in a climate not made for man or machine.

The B-17 will not be the last plane to crash in the Winter of 1942-1943. An amphibious plane called the Grumman Duck will also become lost – after one successful rescue of part of the crew of the B-17.

In 2012 an expedition back to Greenland was approved by the Coast Guard to find the Duck and bring back the missing men – the only MIA Coast Guardsmen unaccounted for. Zuckoff attaches himself to the expedition, becoming a subject in his own book.

The tale of the men trapped on the Ice Cap is one with the suspense of how and if they will survive. Zuckoff’s nonfiction tale flows with the narration of a good novel. If you are a fan of WWII, planes, extreme lands or daring rescues, this is the book for you!

Zuckoff, Mitchell (2014). Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II. New York: Harper.

The Huntress

The Huntress by Kate Quinn is a brilliant novel of espionage, war, and revenge.

Ian Graham was a war correspondent during WWII. After the war he has become a Nazi hunter. All of the people who took part in the genocide, who need to be held accountable even though many are tired of hearing about the war, still need to face a court room. Graham has found a few, with the help of his partner Tony – a US soldier from Queens, New York.

The person Ian needs to find, known as the Huntress, or die Jägerin, is a woman who murdered many during the war. Including Ian’s brother, a pilot who escaped a German POW camp. Nina Markova, a Russian pilot from Siberia, was with Ian’s brother when he was killed. She has sworn to hunt down the Huntress and avenge his death. No one has heard a word about the Huntress since the end of the war.

Jordan McBride is a high school student and photographer. She dreams of being a photojournalist. She lives in Boston with her father who owns an antique store. When her father brings a woman he is interested in home to dinner, Jordan is happy for him. But there is something unsettling about the soft-spoken, German-accented woman.

Quinn is an amazing storyteller. If you have not read this book, buy it today! Go now! The story, the twists and turns, the characters, are all crafted into the best book you will read this year.

Quinn, Kate. (2019). The Huntress. New York: William Morrow.

The American Agent (Maisie Dobbs #15)

The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear is the 15th book in her mystery series featuring Maisie Dobbs - an investigator and psychologist.

Maisie is asked to investigate the murder of an American reporter, Catherine Saxon. One of Edward R Murrow's reporters sending news back to the US from England during World War II.

The last article Saxon wrote was about British volunteers - after spending the night with Maisie and her best friend Priscilla - driving an ambulance through an attack by German planes.

Winspear's Maisie Dobbs is one of the best fictional characters written. She should be listed on all lists of classics. If you are not yet reading this series, start today!

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2019). The American Agent. New York: Harper.

The Nightingale

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is the story of two sisters in France during World War II.

France, 1939. Vianne Mauriac is about to say goodbye to her husband who has been call on to fight for France against a possible German invasion in the East. They have a daughter Sophie and live in the small town of Carriveau.

Isabelle Rossignol, Vianne's sister, is about to leave another boarding school. She has been kicked out of or run away from a few. Her family abandoned her after her mother died - first her father, and then her sister. But she keeps running back to Paris to try to have a family.

When Isabelle gets to Paris, her father sends her to her sisters. The Germans are invading and she will be safer outside of the city. But most of the city is fleeing, and the family she is sent with has no concern for her, only their own family.

When Vianne and Isabelle listen to first the new Vichy government leader (who says to be peaceful and let the Nazis take over) and then the WWI general de Gaulle (who says to stay rebellious), the sisters react in opposite ways. Isabelle immediately wants to help fight the occupation in any way possible. Vianne just wants to keep her daughter safe.

Hannah's book is a force. Beautifully written and crafted, this is both a triumph against they system and a heartbreaking tale (partly because it is so true of the time period). Read this book. Do not finish it in public - there will be crying!

Hannah, Kristin. (2015). The Nightingale. New York: St. Martin's Press.

All Clear (Oxford Time Travel #2)

All Clear by Connie Willis is the second book in her Oxford Time Travel duo. Historians from 2060 travel to England during WWII to study the war and its effects on people.

Armed with the schedule of bombs dropped on London, Polly has traveled to the Blitz to study the people in shelters and how the almost nightly attacks affect them.

Her brief includes getting a job as a shop girl at the one department store not hit and renting a room in a street that is safe as well.

But her assignment also included checking in to give the team at Oxford her address so that if anything goes wrong they can pull her out. But her drop has not been opening so she cannot go back (technically forth!) and check in. The longer her drop does not open the more likely that she will be in London for longer than her list of bombs she studied.

Michael and Merope are having the same problem. Each of them know Polly and are going to London to find her and use her drop. If nothing else, it will be easier for the retrieval team to find them if they stick together. And due to the nature of time travel, even if the team at Oxford need time to figure it out, they can still travel back to when they need to for a rescue.

As the Blitz intensifies, the historians are living the history they wanted to study. But what if their prolonged stays cause ripples that change the outcome of the war or the people they meet?

Read this series! It is amazing. Connie Willis has come up with a fascinating timeline that puts readers and characters alike into the terror of war. What once seems like a simple plot, develops into a trap that readers will stay up late to escape.

Willis, Connie. (2010). All Clear. New York: Spectra.

Blackout (Oxford Time Travel #1)

Blackout by Connie Willis is the first of a two book series about historians who travel back in time to learn about their time of study.

In the year 2060, historians can not only study history, but experience it firsthand. Scientists have found a way to travel back in time. Oxford has been sending people back for years now. There are whole departments to make sure that clothing, paperwork and items are period-authentic so historians can blend in. The chaos of the space/time continuum will not allow the historians to alter events, but they still take care to watch their effects on those they meet.

Three historians who are studying WWII in England, are about to go to that time. Merope will be going back as Eileen, a woman in service who will help at a country house to study the child evacuees from the Blitz. Many families sent their children to the country to be clear of the bombs dropped on London.

Polly has already been to the war. She returned from 1945 where she was an ambulance driver. Now she is going to the beginning of the Blitz to see life in the air raid shelters.

Mike is traveling as a newspaper man, from America. He was due to go to Pearl Harbor first, hence the accent implant that means he needs a cover that is American. His drops were re-arranged with little explanation. Now he is on his way to see the evacuation of Dunkirk from the small boats along the English Channel.

Lately in the net, there have been slippages. Historians arriving a few minutes late or a few blocks away. It may be due to the fact that a drop will not open if there are witnesses. But each of these historians experience large slippage. How will that effect them getting back to 2060?

Willis has written an amazing book. It is one of the few WWII accounts that make the reader feel like they understand how people felt. If you are a fan of history or just great writing, read this!

Willis, Connie. (2010). Blackout. New York: Spectra.

The Alice Network

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is an amazing historical novel about a missing cousin and a female spy network.

1947 - Charlie St. Clair in traveling from the United States to Switzerland with her mother. They are going because Charlie is unwed and pregnant. But Charlie has other ideas - she is searching for her cousin, Rose, who has missing since the middle of the war. Everyone else has stopped looking.

Charlie has the name of someone in London who might know what happened. So when their ship stops in the UK, Charlie ditches her mother and heads to London - based on a name scribbled on a scrap of paper.

Eve Gardiner is in no mood for visitors. In fact, she really only speaks to one person - her driver, Finn. What they don't know is the reason Eve is angry and usually drinking.

Eve Gardiner was recruited to join a female spy network in 1915. She was sent to infiltrate a restaurant in France - a restaurant owned by a man who gladly served German officers.

Charlie convinces Eve and Finn to go with her to find her cousin - who worked for a restaurant and an evil man during the war. A story that will bring up all of the demons of Eve's past.

Quinn has written an incredible book. Go buy a copy right now if you have not already done so!

Quinn, Kate, (2017). The Allice Network. New York: William Morrison.

The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope #8)

The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal is the eighth book in her Maggie Hope series - an espionage / mystery series set in WWII.

Maggie Hope has done a lot for the war effort - from helping to break codes to being dropped into France during Nazi occupation. But someone thinks she knows too much.

After being drugged, Maggie finds herself on an island off of Scotland. She is there with other British soldiers and spies in what amounts to a fancy prison. No one knows when they will be released - an almost no one knows where they are.

When there is a murder, all of the are suspects. And the bodies drop in the Agatha Christie style mystery, other people are starting to wonder where Maggie Hope is hiding. In fact, she is need to testify in a major criminal case in London - without her a serial killer may go free.

MacNeal has created a wonderful character, set in one of history's most interesting times. This is a must-read series.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2018). The Prisoner in the Castle. New York:Bsntam.

To Die But Once (Maisie Dobbs 14)

To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear is the fourteenth book in the Maisie Dobbs series - an historical mystery series featuring a psychologist and private investigator in London.

It is 1940 and the British Army is being forced out of France by the invading Nazis. In the UK, children who have been evacuated to the country are trickling home as no bombs have (yet) been dropped on London. Young men and women are working for the war effort.

Maisie's neighbors come to her about their son Joe. He is working with a painting crew on a government contract, painting on the Air Force bases in the South. But he has not called. They are worried. He is not the kind of young man who would worry his family on purpose.

Maisie's investigation will reveal an underworld connection - someone making a profit while putting the soldiers at risk.

Winspear captures the time period and the tensions, worries and fear that plague a society at war - and on the brink of invasion. Her characters are well created and her stories based on family tales of the wars. For anyone who likes to read, this series is a must.

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2018). To Die But Once. New York: Harper.

The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope 7)

The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is the seventh book in her Maggie Hope series of mystery / espionage historical fiction.

Maggie has gotten herself to Paris - in the midst of the Nazi occupation. It is not only a dangerous place to be anyone at the time, but she must avoid an SS officer who would recognize her as a British spy. But she felt she had to go to look for her half-sister.

Sarah and Hugh are also in Paris, their cover a ballerina and her husband who plays in the orchestra. Their task is to find the report and samples of another spy - the information that will determine on which beach the Allied invasion will take place.

MacNeal is a master of making tension in her readers. Each page is both wonderfully written and crafted, and on the edge of discovery by the Nazis.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is a must-read series.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2017). The Paris Spy. New York: Bantam Books.