BLOG TOUR: Year Zero - Rob Gittins

The worst atrocities in battle... begin when war is won

Berlin. May 1945. A city without institutions in a continent that has become a wasteland.

Thousands of former Nazis have been killed in Allied purges, many more incarcerated in the very concentration camps they themselves established.

But the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, has a problem. One of those former Nazis is actually a British spy, Edward Kayne, who has intercepted a top-secret document that Churchill insists is vital to settling the peace.

Martin Geller is selected to journey into the heart of darkness and extract Kayne, but a carrot is dangled before him. His daughter, Zaya, had been abducted two years before as part of the Lebensborn programme – the kidnapping of children deemed to be ripe for ‘Germanisation’. Zaya is now in the same camp.

Geller sets off on a two-pronged mission – to extract Kayne and rescue Zaya. But Geller will discover that far from settling the peace, the document that Kayne has intercepted threatens the opposite.

Can Geller save his daughter from the gates of hell? And how does Geller reconcile the rescue of Kayne with his knowledge that he may be condemning the world to a new Armageddon?

What did I think?

Year Zero gripped me from the start with a shocking prologue that haunted me throughout the novel.  Why are people willing to kill anyone in their path to discover the whereabouts of an old lady?  Why is Zaya so important?  Well, I couldn't even begin to imagine the answer to this question and even more shockingly is that it has a basis in fact.

It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of the book as it flicks back and forth between several locations from London to Tibet and several places in between, but each location is stated at the start of the chapter.  Once I got a handle on all of the characters though, I was totally riveted by this breathtaking historical thriller.

Rob Gittins has a real talent for bringing his books to life and oh my word, I really felt as if I was there with the characters struggling to survive in the concentration camps.  The more I read, the more I wondered how much was actually based on facts.  I don't know a lot about the Nazi party, other than their horrific practice of genocide, and I have found myself researching some of their (bonkers) theories after reading Year Zero.  

Haunting, vivid and riveting, Year Zero is a stunning historical thriller.  It is quite intricately plotted so you need to keep your wits about you while reading and it is well worth a read.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: A Death in Berlin (Berlin Wartime Thrillers Book 3) - Simon Scarrow

BERLIN. MAY 1940. AS HITLER PREPARES TO INVADE WESTERN EUROPE, THERE IS BLOODSHED CLOSER TO HOME

'Scarrow's Berlin is sharply drawn with closely observed detail, a place that reeks of threat and fear - and not just from the Gestapo' Financial Times

CI Horst Schenke is an investigator with the Kripo unit. Powerless against the consequences of the war, he fights to keep criminals off his patch. But with doubts growing about his loyalty to the Nazi regime, he is walking a tightrope. If his relationship with a Jewish woman is exposed, a dreadful fate awaits.

Berlin's gangsters run their crime rings with impunity. Decadent senior Nazis protect them. Schenke is different. He won't turn a blind eye when innocents are caught in the crossfire between warring gangs. But dangerous enemies know everything about him. They will do whatever it takes to bend him to their will . . .

From the seedy wartime nightlife scene to aristocratic homes frequented by the Führer, as the distant war spirals ever closer, A Death in Berlin conveys the horror and banality of evil - and the terrible danger for those who dare stand against it.

The stunning new Berlin wartime thriller from the author of Blackout and Dead of Night.

 

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, I could not put this fantastic book down!  A Death in Berlin is the third novel featuring CI Horst Schenke but it is the first one that I have read and I absolutely loved it.  You can definitely read it as a standalone and it has certainly made me eager to read the first two books.

This period of history is often a depressing subject to read but it's important that we never forget these awful events.  Simon Scarrow brings wartime Berlin to life in this outstanding novel as rival criminal gangs fight to be top dog.  Corruption is rife and the gangs are protected by members of the Nazi party so the police have quite a task on their hands when they investigate ration fraud and a murder.

I loved the character of CI Horst Schenke; he doesn't buy into the Nazi ideology that has caused him to hide his relationship with Ruth, a Jewish woman.  It does mean that he has a secret that can be used to blackmail him, despite the imaginitive precautions he believes he has been taking to communicate with Ruth.

Filled with danger and suspense, A Death in Berlin had me on the edge of my seat as I raced through the pages as fast as I possibly could.  I was gripped from start to finish and I am well and truly hooked on this magnificent series after just one book.  Very highly recommended and unmissable for fans of historical fiction.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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The Sky Over Rebecca - Matthew Fox

Winner of The Bath Children's Novel Award 2019

There was a single trail of footprints, the first I'd seen all morning. They were fresh tracks, I saw, the edges of the impressions in the snow quite hard. Small feet. Like mine. Someone my age.

Then they stopped.

When mysterious footprints appear in the Stockholm snow, ten-year-old Kara must discover where they've come from - and who they belong to. They lead Kara to Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, and her younger brother Samuel. Kara realises they are refugees - from another time, World War Two - and are trying to find their way home.

The grief and loneliness that Rebecca and Samuel have endured is something Kara can relate to - feeling like you're always on the outside looking in - and she finds herself compelled to help them. Through her eyes, we rediscover the magic that lies in the world around us, if only we have the courage to look for it.

Kara is a heroine for modern times: fragile but fierce, in this utterly compelling story from a stellar new voice in children's literature, Matthew Fox.

 

What did I think?

What a joy to read; I read this beautiful book in one sitting.  I’m a little older (just thirty years or so) than the 10-12 year old age group it is written for but I absolutely loved it.

Kara is an inquisitive and intelligent child living in Stockholm with her single mum.  When Kara finds an intriguing snow angel and an historical coin she begins an adventure that leads her to an island in the middle of the lake and two Jewish children hidden there.  Only Kara can see Rebecca and her brother Samuel as they are from a different time and only Kara can help them escape the Nazis who are persecuting them.

We must never forget the atrocities of the second world war and I applaud Matthew Fox for bringing the holocaust to the attention of a new generation in such a poignant, yet magical way.

The Sky Over Rebecca is beautifully written and I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it now.  It’s an extraordinary, compelling and completely unforgettable story.  Highly recommended to readers both young and old.

My rating:

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The Paris Library - Janet Skeslien Charles

 

IN THE DARKNESS OF WAR, THE LIGHT OF BOOKS - HOW LIBRARIANS DEFIED THE NAZIS

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

PARIS, 1939

Odile Souchet is obsessed with books, and her new job at the American Library in Paris - with its thriving community of students, writers and book lovers - is a dream come true. When war is declared, the Library is determined to remain open. But then the Nazis invade Paris, and everything changes.

In Occupied Paris, choices as black and white as the words on a page become a murky shade of grey - choices that will put many on the wrong side of history, and the consequences of which will echo for decades to come.

MONTANA, 1983

Lily is a lonely teenager desperate to escape small-town Montana. She grows close to her neighbour Odile, discovering they share the same love of language, the same longings. But as Lily uncovers more about Odile's mysterious past, she discovers a dark secret, closely guarded and long hidden.

Based on the true Second World War story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable novel of romance, friendship, family, and of heroism found in the quietest of places.

What did I think?

Oh my goodness, this book is simply perfect.  Aside from the wonderful story, this is definitely a book for booklovers and if I could fall in love with a book, The Paris Library would be the one to win my heart.  It's like a love letter to books and libraries and Janet Skeslien Charles' beautiful writing has provided me with so many amazing phrases about books that I'll never forget.  I suggest you keep a notepad beside you while you're reading as there are so many literary gems (and book recommendations) that you will want to write down.  It's the first time I have ordered a book mentioned in a book I have been reading, while I was still reading it!

Set in the American Library in Paris in 1939 with the threat of Nazi invasion hanging over the city, Odile and her co-workers try to keep the library open as a sanctuary for all of their patrons.  With a growing sense of suspicion and unease, emotions are heightened and friendships are put to the test.  Although they try to keep things as normal as possible, nothing will ever be the same again.

The dual timeline sees us catching up with Odile over 40 years later when she is living in Montana and she becomes friendly with her teenage neighbour, Lily.  The pair share a love of all things books, particularly the Dewey Decimal Classification that can be applied to almost every part of life.  There really is a book for everything!  Lily is another wonderful character, she is a bookworm so everyone reading the book is guaranteed to love her.

Running alongside the story of Odile and Lily is the true story of Occupied Paris and I'm getting goosebumps just typing this now.  The description of a deserted Paris is so far removed from the lively, vivacious city we know it to be that it caused me to hold my breath in fear of making a sound to disturb the silence.  It's heartbreaking to see the effect of war; people turning against their friends and neighbours causes just as much devastation as bombs being dropped from the sky. 

So beautifully written and completely enthralling from beginning to end, The Paris Library is haunting, heartbreaking, captivating and so very highly recommended.  It's a perfect piece of historical and contemporary fiction and a simply wonderful novel.  I could write so much more about it but you really need to stop reading my review and start reading this stunning book for yourself.

I received a beautiful hardback edition as part of a Tandem Collective readalong; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Night Gate (The Enzo Files Book 7) - Peter May

 

In a sleepy French village, the body of a man shot through the head is disinterred by the roots of a fallen tree. A week later a famous art critic is viciously murdered in a nearby house. The deaths occurred more than seventy years apart.

Asked by a colleague to inspect the site of the former, forensics expert Enzo Macleod quickly finds himself embroiled in the investigation of the latter. Two extraordinary narratives are set in train - one historical, unfolding in the treacherous wartime years of Occupied France; the other contemporary, set in the autumn of 2020 as France re-enters Covid lockdown.

And Enzo's investigations reveal an unexpected link between the murders - the Mona Lisa.

Tasked by the exiled General Charles de Gaulle to keep the world's most famous painting out of Nazi hands after the fall of France in 1940, 28-year-old Georgette Pignal finds herself swept along by the tide of history. Following in the wake of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa as it is moved from château to château by the Louvre, she finds herself just one step ahead of two German art experts sent to steal it for rival patrons - Hitler and Göring.

What none of them know is that the Louvre itself has taken exceptional measures to keep the painting safe, unwittingly setting in train a fatal sequence of events extending over seven decades.

Events that have led to both killings.

The Night Gate spans three generations, taking us from war-torn London, the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Berlin and Vichy France, to the deadly enemy facing the world in 2020. In his latest novel, Peter May shows why he is one of the great contemporary writers of crime fiction.

What did I think?

Peter May is my Dad's favourite author but to my shame, The Night Gate is the first of his books that I've read.  I actually didn't realise it was part of The Enzo Files series until I started reading but it reads so well as a standalone that you don't need to have read the earlier books to enjoy it.  I didn't just enjoy it, I LOVED IT!!!

With a dual storyline that kept me riveted from beginning to end, I can see why Peter May is a bestselling author.  His research is meticulous, giving his writing such authenticity in its detail which makes the story come alive.  I loved both storylines; the mystery and danger of hiding works of art during Nazi occupied France in 1940 and the present day murder of an art dealer coupled with the discovery of a wartime corpse during the Covid pandemic of 2020.  

Although this is the first time I have encountered Enzo Macleod, I really felt as if I knew him as Peter May includes useful snippets of Enzo's history for anyone new to the series.  Enzo's colourful past has certainly made me want to read the earlier books as soon as possible.  I love the way that Enzo's brain works, he really doesn't miss a trick although he sometimes forgets that his body isn't quite as able as it used to be.  Investigating a murder during a pandemic certainly has its challenges.

I don't have any interest in art whatsoever, so for Peter May to draw me into the story and keep me interested just shows what an amazing writer he is.  Adding an air of mystery to the Mona Lisa had me intrigued and I didn't realise that she had been on quite a journey during the war.  It's quite moving to think that brave people put themselves in danger by hiding her and other works of art.

Intriguing, mysterious and so moving that it gave me goosebumps, The Night Gate is an exceptional novel that is destined to top the charts for quite some time.  Make sure you grab a copy as it's not to be missed.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour; all opinions are my own.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BCC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland’s most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels. He has won several literature awards in France, received the USA’s Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy; and in 2014 was awarded the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award for Entry Island. Peter now lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally.

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