This
is the second in The Peacemaker series (see my review of All God's
Children here). While it can be read alone, the story is better
understood if All God's Children has been read.
From
the first novel: Anja is a Quaker woman whose husband and daughter
were killed by the Nazis. She managed to escape with her son, Daniel.
Anja is now aiding downed Allied airmen travel over the mountains to
France, then Spain and eventually back to their own troops.
As
this novel opens, an American plane goes down near Anja's
grandparents. Daniel helps Peter, a wounded airman, hide from the
soon arriving Nazis. He is taken in and hidden by Anja's
grandparents. Plans are made for Peter to traverse the secret
resistance route and because the Nazis are on to Anja, she and Daniel
must escape too.
This
is a great historical novel. Schmidt bases the novels in this series
on historical facts so they are very interesting to read. The
resistance had safe houses along the torturous route for rest. People
along the way took over the task of leading individuals to the next
safe spot. The dangers of going over the mountains showed the
dedication the resistance had in helping Allied troops escape Nazi
held territory. It was good to read how nuns and monks helped protect
those whose lives were in danger. Along with the adventure of
traveling the escape route was the very real possibility of betrayal
by Nazi sympathizers who infiltrated the resistance.
Readers
of historical fiction will like this novel. There is lots of
adventure, several periods of suspense, and some romance thrown in. I
also found it interesting to become more familiar with Anja's Quaker
faith. A very good novel of the World War II era.
Anna
Schmidt is the author of over twenty novels. She has received the
Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award and has been a finalist for
the RITA award for romantic fiction. She enjoys her winter home in
Florida.
Barbour
Publishing, 320 pages.
I
requested and received a complimentary egalley of this book from the
publisher for the purpose of this independent and honest review.
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