From the author of "The Day I Died" and "The Lucky One" comes a suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie's holiday estate to care for evacuated children, but when a body is discovered nearby, the idyllic setting becomes host to a deadly mystery.
... riveting ... The novel evokes Christie’s style, complex plots, and atmosphere, but with impressive updates in terms of intimate relationships and psychology ... Rader-Day introduces many hints, some of which prove to be omens and some distractions. Even paying close attention to these, most readers will be unable to guess at the details of the unfolding plot or the nature of mistaken identities ... Readers of historical novels will love the mix of history and fiction, admiring the way facts are easily feathered into the flow of the story. Highly recommended.
Told from multiple perspectives (even those of individual children), Rader-Day's novel is in many ways a portrait of grief and trauma. Each character is suffering due to displacement, rationing and German bombings. There are no real monsters, just people forced into circumstances they never thought possible. Bridey is a particularly compelling character—the reluctant detective, longing to move on with her life, but unable to let sleeping dogs lie ... as taut as a bow string, with every character capable of snapping at a moment's notice.
Rader-Day, known for masterfully weaving historical elements into her female-focused literary thrillers, imbues this wartime whodunit with palpable emotion as Bridey reconciles her family’s bombing deaths through a plan to save another life.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
