Category: World War II Era (1939-1945)

Before The Dawn by Candace Camp

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, World War II Era (1939-1945)2 Comments

Before the DawnBarbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone
Publication Date: August 19, 2019
Number of Pages: 340

What a phenomenal read! I was absolutely gobsmacked. This book focuses on the lead-up to World War II as well as events during the war. We have three couples – four if you count the one who lost her husband and remarried. The main couple is American stage actress Alyssa Lambert and French underground operative Philippe Michaude and their tale is a heartbreaking and intense one. The secondary focus is on Jessica Townsend and her husband Alan – and then after Alan is killed, she falls in love with Stephen Marek. The tertiary and less featured couple is Claire Stanton and her Polish love Casimir Andrzej Dubrowski – also known as Ky.

Just as a note, this book was originally published in 1988, but the story is timeless and I believe there have been some edits and re-writes in this new release. This story is set in a period that is much later than I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. As an American, I don’t often think of what our dragging our feet before entering WWII cost our friends in England and other European nations. This story definitely brings that home – perhaps that wasn’t the author’s intent, but it was certainly an outcome of the story.

Alyssa Lambert has arrived in London for a visit with her best friend Jessica before another friends, Claire, wedding. It is her plan to visit with her friends in England and then head over to Paris to visit with her father who is a political advisor to President Roosevelt. Upon her arrival, she is amazed that England doesn’t seem to be taking the German threat seriously. It seems to be business as usual even though there are many who are trying to convince the powers-that-be that Germany fully turning on England is just a matter of a short time.

In Paris, Alyssa discovers a complacent French population as well. They pride themselves on having the worlds best military and don’t fear the Germans getting through their defensive lines. On Alyssa’s first night in Paris, she meets Philippe Michaud who is very rich and owns a factory that makes trucks, tanks and other equipment that can easily be used in war. Philippe is one of the few in Paris who can see what is coming. He’s made a commitment and plans to defend his country even when the Germans have invaded. What he didn’t count on was meeting and falling hopelessly in love with Alyssa.

This story is filled with so very much intense heartache, intrigue, suffering, and great love. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll cheer. You’ll hold your breath. You’ll jeer. Your emotions will run the gamut.

I definitely recommend this read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Death of a Busybody by George Bellairs

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

Death of a BusybodyDeath of a Busybody by George Bellairs

Barbara’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Chief Inspector Littlejohn #3
Publication Date: 9/5/17 (Re-release)

I’d actually give it 3.5 stars if I were able, the mystery is good and you aren’t sure who the villain is until almost the end of the book.

This book is the third one in a long series of books by author George Bellairs and was originally published in 1942 and the original hardcovers with dust jackets are quite collectible. The mystery is quite good, the townspeople hospitable, the police force all cooperate with each other and a villain you aren’t sure of until almost the very end.

If you enjoy mysteries, you’ll probably enjoy this one. I found some of the character names humorous. For instance, Miss Tither (as in church tithe) was the victim and was found in the church cesspit.

You also need to understand that there are some references to what would have been a current event or person at the time and you may not be familiar with them. They didn’t bother me enough to make me stop and look them up. The thing that kept sort of jarring me out of the story was that the words were written as the person speaking would have pronounced them. So, I often found myself stopping and going back over some of the words to parse them out before I could be sure what was being said. Another thing you might want to know that it contains a lot of words that are no longer used in general discussion or writing.

All of that said, I did enjoy the mystery and getting to know the inhabitants of Hilary Magna. It was thoroughly enjoyable to read a story where there were no rivalries in the police offices and the local people were a good and cooperative group.

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”