Historical fiction written about the Black Forest during the Nazi Reich.
It was written with such beautiful detail and urgency. I adored the main heroine, Franka, and her determination to do right rather than mess with political ideology. The stillness and urgency of the piece conflicted but wove together a beautiful story of how our pasts can shape the person we become.

DNF

Had to return to library before I finished it. Was very good. Will try to finish later

Poorly conceived book about woman who hides a mysterious man whom she found in the snow with a parachute. Couldn't finish it.

I enjoyed this book- it had everything it needed in terms of plot and characters. However I found the writing to be sub par and it made it harder to believe the characters/ dive into the story.

This was a lot more engaging than I expected it to be. I was sucked into the story almost immediately by the peculiarity of the opening scene: a young 20-something girl named Franka ventures into the forest, intending to kill herself, when she comes upon an injured soldier in a German uniform. It's World War II, and she's German, but it's clear that she doesn't approve of the Nazi regime (which the author refers to more often as the National Socialists, for which the slang term Nazi is short. A rather timely reminder, that). She decides to save him anyway--as a nurse, it goes against her grain to walk away from another human being who needs her help. But in his delirium, the soldier murmurs something in English. Despite the fact that he maintains his German persona once he regains consciousness, Franka is now convinced that he is not who he claims to be. But how can she convince him to tell her the truth?

The story is a slow boil, mostly told in flashback as first Franka trusts John (as his name turns out to be) and tells him her story, and then in turn, he tells her his. Eventually he tells her about his mission, but due to his injury, he can no longer carry it out unaided. He enlists Franka's help. From there, the story picks up, as the pair encounters one obstacle after another. There weren't any major twists or surprises, but I was still on the edge of my seat, concerned that this was going to turn out to be one of those bittersweet stories so popular these days. But, I was glad to be wrong--at the very last second, I got my happy ending after all!

My rating: ****1/2
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Political content: none (historical only)
Violence: present but not gratuitous

The story was interesting but the ending felt rushed. The entire book had been methodically written and the final portion almost felt like it had been "tacked on" in order to wrap up the story. It left me wondering what happened in between the two time points. I actually think I would have preferred to have left it at the point where Franke and John successfully crossed over the border.

Franka, in saving the life of a stranger, saves her own life. They become partners on a very dangerous mission. I like how the author fills in the backstory pieces at time, letting the reader get to know the characters gradually while providing mystery and intrigue. I did not like that he used a real scientist's name, but then changed almost everything about that scientist. Dempsey should have just used a fictitious name. That part of the story was more alternate history than historical fiction.

WWII historical fiction set in Germany’s Black Forest. Based on a true story. Touches a bit on the resistance within Germany and on American spy missions. Doesn’t go indepth on either, so it was good but I wanted a little more from it. I still recommend it though!