Reviewed by Emma Crowley
As the mountains come alive with bright alpine flowers, Jewish families flee into Switzerland from Nazi-occupied France. Young Resistance fighter Valérie Hallez has hidden Pierre and his little son in the dusty attic of her mother’s bookshop. At night, by flickering candlelight, Pierre tells Valérie of his fear that his precious wife and daughter have been captured. And as they both look to more hopeful days ahead, Valérie writes letters to her soldier fiancé Philippe, dreaming of the day when they can be safely reunited.
With the police going door to door hunting refugees, Pierre and his son must go further into Switzerland before they are caught. But Pierre will not leave without his wife and daughter, and nobody in the Resistance knows what has happened to them. Desperate to reunite the family, Valérie puts herself in more and more danger. But when Philippe discovers that the Germans have her listed as a key Resistance fighter, he begs her not to go back to the border. If she does, he might never see her again.
Valérie knows the Nazis will kill her if they find her, but she cannot bear to abandon the mother and child. Breaking her promise to Philippe, she crosses over into France to look for them. But one of Valérie’s friends in the Resistance is betraying secrets to the Nazis, and her life is in terrible danger. When Philippe hurries to save her life, will they both survive? And will Valérie’s efforts to reunite the family be in vain?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Under a Brighter Sky to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Thankfully readers weren’t kept waiting too long for the second instalment in The Resistance Girl series by Dianne Haley because her debut book, The Watchmaker’s Daughter was amazing and I didn’t want it to end. I’m delighted to say book two, Under a Brighter Sky, was just as good and I was completely hooked from beginning to end and given the characters are only midway through the war I hope there will be lots more to come from what has been an incredibly gripping series so far. These books are different from the usual World War Two historical fiction books that saturate the market. They are like a crime/thriller with the historical element thrown in and I think they are providing readers and specifically female readers with lots of danger, daring, edge of your seat stuff that has your heart racing wondering will everything go wrong or will the heroine Valerie and the excellent supporting cast of characters make it safely through the war?
Valerie is the main character from whom all the other subplots fan out and they are all equally exciting and edge of your seat stuff. Yes, I found the first quarter or so a bit slow to get going and I questioned whether the brilliance and tension I had felt in book one would be present but I needn’t have worried at all. Dianne Haley, despite this only being her second book, writes as if she has published in this genre for years and she had everything so carefully plotted out and its execution was pure perfection. Despite this being book two there is no need to have read the previous book as plenty of background information is slipped in and the reader is brought bang up to date. But saying that, do read the first book as you’ll appreciate even more how superb this series is really shaping up to be.
What I really love about these books is that they are set in Switzerland very near to the French boarder and the theme of Switzerland’s neutrality is always called into question. Valerie and her fellow conspirators could have sat back and done nothing but it shows what admirable character traits they have that they are willing to forgo a somewhat easy existence during the war to put their lives on the line in order to help others in peril and in need of saving.
When we return to Valerie, she is still coming to terms with the loss of a good friend and fellow resistance member. The anger and grief she is experiencing fuels her and she is even more determined to find who caused such a loss in her life. She continues to deliver messages for the resistance as she cycles about Geneva delivering parcels for her watchmaker father. She also aids Jewish refugees escaping from German occupied France and helps the network to keep them hidden once they are brought across the boarder. Valerie is always on the go never resting. She is living through a nightmare but is always so persistent and dogged in her one quest which is to make sure as many people as possible are saved from the evil clutches of the Nazi’s.
I found Valerie to be practical and resourceful and always on the look out for ways in which she can help with the bigger picture. She demonstrates such bravery and courage and goes against the odds all the time. When she learns that a Jewish family were separated trying to cross the boarder and now Annemarie and her young daughter Madeleine are exposed to even more danger then she is determined to reunite them with their father and son. This is one strand of the story which was perfectly developed but there are many more and they are all linked together in the most brilliant way. Once I got to the quarter mark of the book, I thought the book had found its rhythm and the action never let up. With each turn of the page you are constantly guessing what is around the corner. There is no let up and the reader and all the characters barely draw breath as it is so action packed. But that’s what I like in a book, that feeling that it can’t be left out of your hand and that to put it down for any minute was leaving the characters hanging when they are only too ready and willing to share their story of daring, fearlessness and fortitude.
Within this impressive story, there are so many twists, turns and surprises and one of the main strands is trying to guess who within the resistance network is supplying information to the Germans? There is a traitor in their midst and Valerie is strong willed and tenacious in her quest to uncover who it is. She wants revenge for the loss of someone close to her and wants to stop more unnecessary deaths occurring. For so many of their plans are being discovered and this leads to such danger for both the members and those they are trying to protect and to bring to safety. I never guessed who was to blame and that’s thanks to the clever writing from the author that always has you second guessing characters. There was one character in particular, the way they were acting made me very suspicious of them and it sounds strange saying it but I felt ashamed that I had laid the blame at their door when it turned out to be someone completely different.
Valerie constantly takes dangerous risks and lives her life on a knife edge with threats and danger lurking around every corner but still there is some time made for romance even though her fiancée Philippe is away in the Alps at a fort which would defend the country if an invasion occurred. Both Valerie and Philippe would do anything for their country and wish more than anything to prevent more people ending up in concentration camps. I loved how Philippe is not forgotten even though he is away from Geneva for the majority of the book. His element of the story forms an integral part to the overall plot and again as with all the others it is fascinating and thrilling and the reader is constantly wondering how does everything connect together? Not to mention Philippe’s friend Christophe who has gotten himself into a mess which needs sorting out even if his intentions were very good.
From the first word to the last I loved Under a Brighter Sky and again as with book one I wish it could have gone on and on. Dianne Halley is a marvellous author who writes solid, engaging and sublime stories with characters you truly come to care for and with storylines that have you both enthralled and intrigued. The climax to this book was incredible but it also left the reader fearful and racing through the pages to see the eventual outcome. Hopefully, there is lots more to come from Valerie and co as this has to be one of the best books/series I have read this year and no doubt about it will feature in my top books of the year come the end of December. Do yourself a favour and make sure who don’t miss out on a stunning, action packed read.
No comments:
Post a Comment