A powerful read that will stay with me for all of the right reasons. A book set in two timelines, this tells the story of Anya and Nikolai during the war and of Laura in present day. Anya and Nikolai are spies and have been sent over posing as workers on the estate in Norfolk. Anya, known as Anna is a land girl and Nikolai, known as Nicholas is to work in the house listening as the master works in the house of commons. Present day and Laura following a traumatic break up with her long term boyfriend has gone over to Norfolk to stay with some friends, one of whom works on the estate. Laura is to work on the walled garden and restore it. When digging she finds a cigarette case containing a note and a ration card which piqued her interest. Who does the case belong to and what does the note mean?
I loved this and found myself racing through the pages- to me the sign of an excellent writer to keep my interest throughout. I liked Laura and the mix of the two timelines works very well for me. Oh wow! The chapter about the water and the wake of a boat, the past, present and future stopped me in my tracks, it was so moving, powerful and evocative. A love story, a war story and so very much more.
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When Anya is sent to rural England to work as a spy, she’s glad to escape a terrifying situation at home in war-torn Russia. But as she settles into life as a land girl, she fears she’s made a terrible mistake.
With her life at risk every day, she can only turn to her fellow informer, Nikolai, who she finds herself impossibly drawn to. They both desperately want to join the fight against the Nazis and when they are told Russia has switched allegiance, they start to believe their love might stand a chance.
But no one can ever know their secret history, and being together puts them in the gravest danger. So they devise a plan. If they’re ever separated, they will find their way back to each other. They just have to follow a series of secret coded messages. Clues no one else could possibly understand. Starting with a small key, left in the place that has become most precious to them: the secret garden.
Now, England: When Laura agrees to restore a beautiful garden in the grounds of an English stately home she sees the opportunity for a new start, away from heartbreak. But when she finds a box buried under the weeping willow tree, she is spellbound by its contents – a key and a cryptic note. As she begins to piece together the fragments of a love story that stretches across wartime Europe, Laura doesn’t realise it, but she is embarking on an unforgettable journey. One which will change her own life forever.
Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.
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This sounds like an enticing read. Will get it. Great review. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThank you for your lovely review! I so appreciate it.
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