I am so drawn to historical fiction and since the majority of that genre seems to center around WW2, I read a lot of that time period. When I come across a WW2 book that appears to have a different plot line, I always get so excited and that’s exactly how I felt when I saw this book on NetGalley. 

In 1938 Berlin, Audrey James is living with her best friend’s family while she is finishing up her schooling at a music conservatory. The Kaplans are Jews and while Audrey is not she realizes Berlin isn’t the safest place. When Ilse’s family is attacked by SS Officers, Audrey does what she can to protect Ilse, even joining a German Resistance cell to help stop Hitler before another war breaks out. 

In the modern day story line, Kate Mercer’s life has been turned upside down after a tragic car accident and she leaves London to work at a small, run down guesthouse on the Scottish border in an attempt to regroup and find herself. While the elderly proprietor is standoffish at first, she soon begins telling her story to Kate and the two women soon bond.

I really wanted to like this book, and I did for the first 60%. The last 1/3 was so long and there was so much going on I found myself skimming pages just to try to finish. I love how the author tried incorporating many different areas of WW2 especially as I have never heard of any of the topics included- the German Resistance, Mona Parsons, and Elsa Koditschek. While in real life none of these three things happened together and Heather Marshall admits to taking creative liberties to put all three together for this book and while it flows cohesively, it’s a lot. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for an advanced copy of this. The Secret History of Audrey James hits the shelves on February 25th.