Review: The Whisperer's War

Title: The Whisperer's War

Author: Jackie French

Publisher: 5th March 2025 by Harlequin Australia

Pages: 450 pages

Genre: | Historical Fiction | Romance | WW2

Synopsis:

Why does humanity cling to warfare when it destroys the land and people the armies try to claim?

Claverton Castle, 1940. Eagles and Spitfires fly in the skies of England as Lady Deanna, the aristocratic granddaughter of the Duke of Claverton, spends her days shovelling manure and her evenings in blue satin, attending dinner parties to gather intelligence from the many Nazi sympathisers among Britain's powerful upper classes. She is an excellent spy: the information she gleans may prove vital in the months ahead. But when she becomes enmeshed in the German plot to restore the Duke of Windsor to the throne of England and ensure an alliance with Hitler, she must feign cooperation and risk her life for the sake of her country.

As war devastates Europe, 'Lady Dee' must solve other mysteries, too. Why do the three orphaned children she has taken into her home and grown to love refuse to reveal their identity? What reason can British Intelligence have to warn her away from Sam Murray, a decorated Australian pilot and the only man she feels she could ever marry? Is the wounded soldier who stumbles along the secret caves below her home truly the missing Duke of Claverton?

From bestselling author Jackie French comes a book about the conflicts between love and duty, and the royal betrayals kept secret from the public for so long.

My Thoughts

Jackie French has done it again with an outstanding her story, ‘The Whisperer's War’.   This book is a blend of fact and fiction with Jackie having researched some incredible and unbelievable facts especially related to the English Royals during WWII. Lady Deanna, or Dee, is an English aristocrat and she makes for an outstanding female lead. The tale revolves around aristocrats, Royalty, orphaned children, soldiers, spies and village living during Germany’s attempt to invade England. Jackie has undertaken extensive research with the inclusion of many actual events that have been documented at the time. 

‘… even those only vaguely fascist before the war to whisper that England should forge an alliance now, before Hitler finally crossed the Channel. How long before those murmurs became demands?’

Each chapter begins with a recipe of the time or WWII jokes that provide a different insight into the social and cultural attitudes of the day. This book really has it all with themes ranging from race and religion, to politics and prejudices; from clandestine plots and secret agent activities, to love and romance, all in perfect synchronicity. It highlights the daily life of the English dealing with wartime rationing, the shortage of luxuries and the fear of bombings. From the English countryside, to the streets of war torn London. Incredibly the reader then finds themselves in outback Australia with a whole other set of discriminating circumstances.  The Whisperer’s War is highly entertaining historical fiction that I found very hard to put down. 

‘There was no eternal safety, not for humans or for eagles, even now that her family was free of the world of whispers.‘

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Hidden Book

Title: The Hidden Book

Author: Kirsty Manning

Publisher: 29th August 2023 by Allen & Unwin

Pages: 368 pages

Genre: historical fiction

Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Jade Lily comes a compelling novel based on a true story of a WWII European heirloom that brought down war criminals and travelled through history ... to be found in an Australian country shed in 2019.

Europe, 1940 Imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Spanish fighter and photographer Mateo Baca is ordered to process images of the camp and inmates for a handful of photo books being made for presentation to top Nazi figures. Just five books in total, or so the officials think ...

 

Mateo manages to make a secret sixth book and, with the help of a local woman, Lena Lang, it remains hidden until the end of the war.

 

Australia, present When thirteen-year-old Hannah Campbell's Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in calico cloth which Roza, Hannah's mother, quickly hides.

 

Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering.

 

At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to 'bear witness' to history.

A startling story of clandestine courage and treachery in World War Two, and how we must meet and overcome our pasts to move into our futures.

My Thoughts

Australian author Kirsty Manning is a firm favourite with readers and this time offers a fictional story wrapped around historical facts. Kristy sets out to honour the people involved with saving clandestine photos from Mauthausen Concentration Camp that were used to convict Nazi war criminals. History buffs are sure to appreciate her research efforts in creating compassion and awareness from this sad time.

‘There are so many stories, big and small. We need to tell them all.’

The Hidden Book is a dual time narrative based on true events surrounding a book of photos that was smuggled and then hidden from Mauthausen during WWII. The first timeline is from 1944 with several narrators at the time the book was being made. The second timeline is the present day when Hannah (grandchild) embarks on a journey to discover the history behind this mysterious book. 

‘… if she destroyed the images the prisoners had entrusted to Lena, how would anyone eventually know what went on inside those dark walls?’

Whilst I honour and respect the topic, I just found this book lacked depth in the contemporary timeline. I found the inclusion of Hannah’s story troubling at times with huge time jumps and began questioning the reasoning behind it being there at all. The links - not to her grandfather's story but that of her own storyline - were too tenuous especially concerning her romantic relationships - that I began to question why they were even alluded to. I found her personal life story irrelevant and detracted from the book as a whole.

The Hidden Book at its heart is a story about WWII and the brave actions of those to ensure the truth of the trauma be revealed. Readers who enjoy historical fiction that is based on real events are sure to find value in this tale. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Paris Agent

Title: The Paris Agent

Author: Kelly Rimmer 

Publisher: 28th June 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 322 pages

Genre: historical fiction, mystery, WWII

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Two otherwise ordinary women become spies in WWII France in this sweeping new novel of historical suspense by New York Times bestselling author Kelly Rimmer

Twenty-five years after the end of the war , ageing British SOE operative Noah Ainsworth is reflecting on the secret agent who saved his life when a mission went wrong during his perilous, exhilarating years in occupied France. He never knew her real name, nor whether she survived the war.

His daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers. What follows is the story of Fleur and Chloe , two otherwise ordinary women who in 1943 are called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they're at the mercy of a double agent within their ranks who's causing chaos.

As Charlotte's search for answers continues, new suspicions are raised about the identity of the double agent, with unsettling clues pointing to her father.

My Thoughts

Kelly Rimmer continues to deliver and once again she packs an emotional punch with her latest, The Paris Agent. In short, it’s an incredible story that you simply must read that is told through a dual timeline narrative from 1944 during WWII and later in the 1970s.

‘Sometimes in war, impossible calculations needed to be made.’

I was left shaking my head upon turning the final page with the adage, ‘people really couldn’t make this stuff up’ - and they don’t! Upon reading Kelly’s Notes at the end of the book readers are enlightened on what was fact and fiction. It is absolutely distressing to realise that some events of pure evil did in fact happen! Based on the true story of WWII agents Violette Szabo and Diana Rowden (and many others included) readers come to understand (through Kelly’s detailed research) and will find themselves once more overwhelmed by the absolute courage, sacrifice and heartache. It’s nothing but brutal and confronting as Kelly rips your heart out for these characters. 

"The only thing I know for sure is that the war ended because women like Josie stepped up."

Kelly’s writing is unsurpassed with the seamless weaving of timelines, fact and fiction and heartrending emotion. What these SOE agents experienced makes you appreciate and send thanks for the sacrifices that make our lives what they are today. Even the more contemporary timeline of the 1970s (often a weaker link) is so strong with the various threads all being wound together from past and present for a worthy conclusion. 

‘Hold them in your heart at the end," I said to her softly.

"Even when the world around us goes to hell, we can find peace in our minds.”

A box of tissues should never be far from hand when reading a Kelly Rimmer book. A story about duty and diligence, secrets and lies, betrayal and bravery, tragedy and trauma, loss and love. Kelly’s books never disappoint.

“My mother used to say that even in the worst of times, we must look for ways to do good," she said quietly. "I think I had forgotten until just now. So thank you.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Title: The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Author: Patti Callahan Henry

Publisher: 3rd May 2023 by HarperCollins Australia

Pages: 334 pages

Genre: historical fiction, mystery, WWII

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Can a fairytale solve the mystery of her lost sister?

1939: Fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora evacuate their London home for a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the Aberdeen family in a charming stone cottage, Hazel distracts her young sister with a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own: Whisperwood.

But the unthinkable happens when Flora vanishes near the banks of the River Thames. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister's disappearance, carrying the guilt into adulthood.

Twenty years later, Hazel is back in London, ready to move on from her job at a cosy rare book shop for a career at Sotheby's. With a cherished boyfriend and an upcoming Paris getaway, Hazel's future seems set. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing a picture book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the storybook world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora's disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years? Or is something sinister at play?

For fans of Kate Morton and Kristin Hannah, this is a captivating, poignant celebration of sisterhood and the magic of storytelling.

My Thoughts

"Telling stories is one of the greatest powers we possess. It's like a dream you can fill with what you want. And the knight doesn't always have to save the princess, sometimes she saves herself?"

The Secret Book of Flora Lea is an exceptionally well written book interweaving historical fact and fiction with touches of magic and mystery. It is a dual-timeline narrative that follows Hazel throughout her life. Firstly during WWII at the time of the London Blitz, Hazel and her sister Flora are evacuated as part of Operation Pied Piper. Interspersed are chapters of Hazel from 1960 working in a rare bookstore where she comes across a manuscript that details ‘Whisperwood’ - the story she would tell Flora during their childhood days. How could this be and what happened to Flora all those years ago?

"I know this is the biggest wound of your past, and I am so sorry. I wish it had never happened to you, but you can’t go chasing wild geese all over England and America, looking for your own fairy tale?"

This book is simply wonderful! With themes of war, grief, love, family, hope and healing it recounts Hazel’s journey and the guilt she has carried ever since her sister disappeared on that fateful day. It unknowingly is holding her back and stopping Hazel from opening her heart fully to life and love. This book perfectly captures all that readers love in the role of stories and books in our lives (the literary references sprinkled add to the magic). 

"What a fairy tale is meant to do," she said, "if it's meant to do anything at all, Tolkien says, is give us new perspective in our world, the consolation of a happy ending. A recovery of sorts. Like we leave that world to see ours anew."

With equal parts heartbreak and hopeful, The Secret Book of Flora Lea is such a beautiful story that truly captured my heart. It is full of magic, yet simultaneously, equally real to life. Embark on this tale of sisterly love, family heartbreak all brought together through the magic that comes from fairytales and wonderful storytelling. 

"For when you see that the world shimmers just like the outline of Whisperwood's doors, mystery and enchantment are everywhere just waiting to be noticed. In an unmapped realm in your own souls, I hope all of you find the land made just and exactly for you."

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: A Shadow in Moscow

Title: A Shadow in Moscow

Author: Katherine Reay

Publisher: 13th June 2023 by Harper Muse

Pages: 384 pages

Genre: historical fiction, Russia, mystery, WWII, Espionage, Thrillers

Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

A betrayal at the highest level risks the lives of two courageous female spies: MI6's best Soviet spy and the CIA's newest Moscow recruit. As the KGB closes in, a compromise must be struck if either woman hopes to survive.

Vienna, 1954

After losing everyone she loves in the final days of World War II, Ingrid Bauer agrees to a hasty marriage with a gentle Soviet embassy worker and follows him home to Moscow. But nothing deep within the Soviet Union's totalitarian regime is what it seems, including her new husband, whom Ingrid suspects works for the KGB. Upon her daughter's birth, Ingrid risks everything and reaches out in hope to the one country she understands and trusts--Britain, the country of her mother's birth--and starts passing along intelligence to MI6, navigating a world of secrets and lies, light and shadow.

Washington, DC, 1980

Part of the Foreign Studies Initiative, Anya Kadinova finishes her degree at Georgetown University and boards her flight home to Moscow, leaving behind the man she loves and a country she's grown to respect. Though raised by dedicated and loyal Soviet parents, Anya soon questions an increasingly oppressive and paranoid Soviet regime at the height of the Cold War. When the KGB murders her bestfriend, Anya picks sides and contacts the CIA. Working in a military research lab, Anya passes along Soviet military plans and schematics in an effort to end the 1980s arms race.

Alternating points of view keep readers on their toes as the past catches up to the present when an unprecedented act of treachery in 1985 threatens all undercover agents operating within the Soviet Union, and both Ingrid and Anya find themselves in a race for their lives against time and the KGB.

My Thoughts

I have read many of Katherine’s books and enjoyed them all. It was almost ten years ago when I read her Jane Austen retellings and just a couple of years ago The London House, which I still remember well. So, I knew I was in for a great read …. I just did not realise how great a read this would turn out to be. 

‘She laid down her pride and truly became the shadow she needed to become.’

A Shadow in Moscow is an incredible Cold War novel that is so sophisticated and compelling that I highly recommend it. Katherine masterfully interweaves two stories  - one of Ingrid starting in Vienna in 1954 and then Anya in Washington 1980 and the convergence of the two plots is mindblowing. I love the two viewpoints, the two eras, the two contrasting lives. There is just so much to this tale. 

“… you said you wanted to make the world a better place for her. So did I. Our ideas of what that world should be differed. They still do.”

This is a masterclass on how to write a spy novel. The richness of history interwoven through fact and fiction is seamless. To be in the mind and understand what these people went through is truly eye opening. Katherine so eloquently opens readers eyes to both the pros and cons of Soviet politics and philosophy in a way that was most compelling from the conclusion of WWII, to the Cold War and living behind the Iron Curtain. This is a fresh take on post war/Cold War spy novels - feminine at its heart with two incredibly strong female protagonists and their determination to build a better world. 

‘Nothing feels right here. Some people believe we are closer than ever to the utopian and global Marxist-Leninist world dream, but we aren’t. It’s slipping away because it was never attainable’

As the story draws to its tension filled ending you will be on the edge of your reading seat in this absorbing Cold War tale. Memorable characters detailing incredible tales of bravery and espionage that lead to shattering conclusions. Everything about this book is well done. As I stated at the outset, I have been a fan of Katherine’s books for many years, but this one … well I think it is top of the list. It is that good! Be sure not to miss it. 

“That’s the pain of the Cold War, Ingrid. Cold can burn low for a long, long time, never reaching the heat necessary to burn out . . .”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

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AUTHOR BIO

Katherine Reay is a national bestselling and award-winning author who has enjoyed a lifelong affair with books. She publishes both fiction and nonfiction, holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and three children. 

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