Reviewed by Emma Crowley
1942, Geneva: As her radio crackles with heart-breaking news from occupied France, Valérie Hallez gazes towards the snow-covered Alps after a long day helping her father, a local watchmaker. With a Nazi invasion looming, she is sick with worry for the future of her country, and for Philippe, her childhood sweetheart with soft brown eyes. Valérie might not be able to join the army like him, but she is determined to play her part in the fight against evil…
In defiance of her father, Valérie helps the French Resistance by smuggling messages among her father’s watch deliveries. And when darkness falls, she risks everything to hide Jewish refugee children in his old workshop. Philippe fears for her safety, as her work for the Resistance could come with a heavy price. But nothing will stop her delivering vital information and getting terrified children to safety before they are sent back to the Nazis.
But when Valérie is entrusted with an urgent letter for the Allies, she finds herself in an impossible position. The information it contains could alter the course of the war. But if she hands over the message now, it will cost Philippe his life. With Nazi spies closing in on her, Valérie must act now… But can she really trust the man she loves, and will she find a way to save both him and her country before it’s too late?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Watchmaker’s Daughter to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Wow, is all I can say. How on earth can this only be the debut novel from Dianne Haley? Where has she been all this time? Why hasn’t she had many more books published as The Watchmaker’s Daughter was a brilliant read from beginning to end. So much so that I read it in one sitting barely coming up for breath and was completely gutted when it ended. Thankfully, I learned at the end of the book that this is the first in a planned series because Valerie and Philippe are two fantastically constructed characters that I am desperate to read more about.
The entire book was so tightly plotted with no room for filling in pages or just chapters there to pad out the story. Right from page one, the author has you in the palm of her hands and that grip does not relinquish until you reluctantly reach the last page. There is no messing around with a long drawn out introduction informing the reader of background information to the characters or what is going on. This story didn’t need that at all. Instead, the action starts right from the get-go and anything you need to know is told as you read along whilst the plot keeps moving forward at a rapid pace that never lets up.
What I loved about this story was the setting of Switzerland. I’d never read a book set here before and especially not during World War Two. Everyone knows, that Switzerland was neutral during the war and I naively thought oh right then not much occurred there as the country kept out of what was going on its doorstep. Well this book proves the opposite and sheds a light on the bravery, courage and resilience of so many who put their own lives on the line to help those in need. Countless Swiss citizens secretly helped Jewish refugees escape from occupied France.
Our main female character, Valerie, lives in Geneva with her father who makes mechanisms for watches. As the city is near to the boarder with France and in the winter of 1942 when this book begins the Germans have occupied the Vichy region of France and many refugees are desperately trying to escape over the border. Valerie, alongside her friends Emilie and Marianne, is involved with the resistance and she hides those who Emilie has managed to smuggle over the border. She keeps everything secret from her father and can use the excuse of delivering parcels for him around the city to pass messages and gather information for the resistance group. At first I found Valerie to be quite nervous and apprehensive about what she was doing and you couldn’t blame her for if she was discovered by the Swiss authorities or indeed the Germans than the consequences didn’t bare thinking about. But as the story progressed I found she went through such a transformation. She became brave and fearless and the love she had for Philippe who was away in the Alps working on top secret defences for the country to be remarkable and very strong.
Valerie can’t understand why her father doesn’t seem to have the same stance that she has when it comes to what the Germans are doing. It’s like he is hiding under a rock working away on his watches and just hoping the war and its affects will not hinder his life. But even though Switzerland is neutral the war still has far reaching consequences and the threat of invasion is real and even more so if any Swiss citizen is found to have collaborated with the Allies or the resistance. Valerie put her life on the line time and time again to help those less fortunate than herself and so did her friends. She is a character who deserves nothing but admiration and respect and although she may be stubborn at times she is mighty and fierce as is demonstrated when she sets off to try and prove Philippe’s innocence. This quote really sums up the dedication and bravery of Valerie. ’I can’t sit on the side-lines and watch events as they happen. I have to try and change them’. And change them she does with danger, intrigue, mystery, terror and mistrust at every turn. Her love for Philippe and wanting to help the war effort in any way she can is what drives her on and makes her a character that you want nothing but a positive outcome for. Although there are plenty of people who would like to see the worst befall her.
I loved how the male perspective of the book wasn’t brushed over. Too often we just read of the woman’s man away fighting in the war and we never learn of what they go through. Instead here, Philippe is given a strong voice and he makes a great team with Valerie when they are together although circumstances keep them far apart rather than in each other’s arms where they wish to be. Philippe is away in the mountains at a fortress of sorts and it really blew my mind that this existed. That the Swiss were so fearful of invasion that they had top secrets plans set in motion if the worst did happen. I had a real soft spot for Philippe and loved when the story returned to where he was stationed. It was like himself and Valerie were on an even keel and of the same mind when it came to the outcome they wanted for the causes they believed so firmly in. Because they were so invested the reader feels likewise.
I found the descriptions of where Philippe was and what work was being done utterly fascinating and I loved the thriller/suspense aspect where sabotage and underhand tactics are suspected, and the blame falls on him. It seemed like it was a forgone conclusion as to the outcome for Philippe but the author led the reader to believe that there were several characters who could be the culprit. It was all so cleverly done and extraordinarily woven alongside Valerie’s aspect of the story and together combined to make a read that blew me away time and time again. So much so that you forget everything going on around you and just have to keep on reading to discover what would happen next.
Without doubt The Watchmaker’s Daughter is an absorbing, thrilling, tense and powerful read where the characters take you on an exhilarating, nail-biting and dangerous journey. You are rooting for them every step of the way, literally on the edge of your seat in fear of what the next turn of the page will bring. So often, the tag lines of historical fiction books can say gripping and heart wrenching and they never live up to that description but this book certainly does. I began reading expecting another run of the mill World War Two book which I have read so many of and don’t get me wrong I love this genre but at some points you feel like this has all been done before so I was surprised and excited by how much I became so deeply invested in this book and for all the characters.
I got that buzz that I love of discovering a new author and you wish that you could read more and more of their work and that’s why I find it hard to believe that this is a debut as it reads as if the author has been publishing books for years. Dianne Haley has written a very accomplished first novel which is packed full of action, twists and turns, mystery, suspense and of course romance and I was there for every moment of it loving what was unfolding and never guessing how the story would pan out. The Watchmaker’s Daughter had me from page one and these days that occurs few and far between so that’s a sign of how good this book really is. I hope we won’t be kept waiting for book two for too long because Valerie seems to have lots more work to do and I am dying to know what is next around the corner for her.
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