Germany, 1944: Nazi banners blowing in the wind, Maggie Sullivan takes her first steps into enemy territory. Armed only with a camera and a US press pass, Maggie never backs down from danger. But close to her heart is a secret; one that she can never share. Maggie was born in Germany. Years ago, she and her mother were forced to flee Berlin, leaving her siblings behind. The US Army are Maggie’s protectors for now, but she wakes each night in a cold sweat wondering: what will they do if they discover her past?
Every day Maggie works tirelessly to prove the horrifying truth about what Nazis are doing in the camps. But inching closer to the barbed wire, an inscription on an officer’s report grips her with an ice-like fear. Her family’s name. She’s desperate to know more, but it would risk her entire mission. She must save the innocents, even if it means letting the secrets of her own past slip through her fingers…
Then the unthinkable happens. Just as she snaps her first shot of the camp, Maggie feels rough hands snatch the camera from her grip. Someone knows about her secret, and if she’s captured, her photos will never leave Germany. As Maggie fights to prove her innocence, will her story be lost forever? Can she survive long enough to help free the prisoners in the camp and heal the trauma of her past?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Photographer’s Secret to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Photographer’s Secret is the powerful new book from Ellie Midwood. A warning regarding sexual abuse is there at the beginning so people are aware and therefore the themes explored throughout the book are strong and for some will be triggering and therefore the warning is appreciated so readers can have time to prepare themselves. But really you can’t fully prepare for what you are about to read. The end note from the author had me stopping in my tracks and appreciating all the more the effort, dedication and sensitivity that went into the writing of this book. To be honest, I was anticipating the usual sort of book that I have come to expect from stories set during World War Two but this was totally different. A real eye opener and at times a very challenging and difficult read. This is not a story that you will race through. It is dark and heavy but the story did need to be told and the way in which it was, was fantastic and hard hitting. It really makes the reader sit up and think. I slowly made my way through this as I’ve stated it’s not something to be rushed through and then forgotten about. There are dark themes throughout as we follow the main character Maggie O’Sullivan through the last months of the war as she reports from the front for the American newspaper she works for.
Maggie is a journalist and photographer who is on a mission to expose the truth behind the evil inflicted by Hitler on so many innocent people. Back home in America there are many who do not believe what is being reported. They defy the existence of labour and extermination camps but Maggie with her camera alongside several other female journalists many of whom were based on real life people from that time, is determined to awaken the eyes of the American population. Maggie is an outstanding character and extremely well written. There are many sides to her. She has her sharp edges and the reasons for this and her mission become more evident and clear as the book progresses. She is not someone you can exactly warm to and I don’t think she was meant to be written as if she was. But you do feel empathy and solidarity as her story slowly starts to reveal itself.
The chapters throughout alternate between Maggie in the past when she was a young girl and the present day as she gets herself right into the heart of the unfolding situation of the last months of the war as she travels through Belgium and Germany. The chapters from her childhood without going into any detail because this would ruin the storyline are pivotal in explaining what motivates and drives her on in the present. In fact, it’s extremely difficult to say much without giving away crucial plot points and therefore running the reading experience for people. As I read the chapters based on her childhood things started to emerge that had me joining the dots and establishing connections and when I realised what exactly was going on and how this had such a devastating impact on her feelings of horror and disgust arose within me.
Maggie’s childhood and innocence were stolen from her and based on what we learn it’s very hard to come back from this and become a person who is not affected and can carry on their life as normal. Her sister Norma has her own situation which is equally as horrifying but and I know loved is the wrong word to use here but what else can I say but I did love how the connection between the sister and the main theme of the book came together. There was a particular chapter when Maggie explains why she is doing what she is during the war and although it was just explained within one paragraph. It was so powerful, raw and emotive and it helped me make sense of everything.
Maggie uses her photographs to document the good, the bad and the ugly sides of war and as she does so she edges ever closer to the real reason why she has come to Europe. She is on a personal mission and this has made her one very driven and determined young woman. Until she has the closure she so desperately seeks she will never rest. She places herself in dangerous situations and gets right to the heart of the fighting and its aftermath. There are awful descriptions of the brutality inflicted by the SS and the German soldiers but they need to be here as it helps the reader paint a bigger picture of Maggie and you understand her motivations much more and feel that yes she is doing the right thing. For herself and for her family. Maggie is stubborn, reckless , tough, passionate, fiery, careless and mad but I use all those adjectives in a good way. Without these characteristics she would have crumbled at the first hurdle. She writes the articles and photographs the scenes that others would have shied away from and yes in some ways she is hardened to what she is witnessing but she needs to be in order to keep motoring on until she reaches the source of her mission. Ultimately, so she can in some way attempt to right the wrongs of the past because until she does so there is a torment inside her that will always struggle to get out.
The pace of the book is slow and steady throughout and it needs to be. For to rush through the storyline would be an injustice to the themes and message being explored. Maggie needs all her courage and strength to venture down the dark path she knows is heading in her direction but if she can find the source and confront it then she will perhaps emerge stronger on the other side. She is shaped and moulded by her experiences, trauma and heartache but she will not let it always define and overtake her as it is threatening to do. By telling the stories of the men, women and children who have suffered during the war she is ever edging closer to her own truth and the confrontation that has needed to happen for many years. Whether she emerges victorious from it or not you will have to read to discover for yourself. There is a small element of romance in the book. It’s very much downplayed and there is a sense of ambiguity about it that had me thinking am I imagining it? Is it even there at all? I’m glad that this wasn’t the a major focus of the book and that it was left for the reader to decide the relevance of it or not.If it had been a domineering force it would have detracted from the overall themes and that would have been an injustice to Maggie and so many others.
The Photographer’s Secret, although not an easy read, is a must read. It can’t have been easy for Ellie Midwood to have written it but she should be proud of her accomplishment in giving the reader a stunning story full of anger, retribution, compassion and sacrifice. It’s packed full of emotion and is a compelling read that is hard hitting and will stay with you long after you have read the final word.
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