It took me awhile to decide what book I was going to submiss for the Historical Fiction Alphabet challenge. Then it dawned on me that I was reading a book taking place (a lot of the time) in Cape Cod.
In 1940, while war is going on throughout most of Europe, President Roosevelt has promised that the United States would not enter the war.
In a small town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Iris James serves as postmistress. She knows the town and their business very well. She falls in love with the town’s mechanic, Harry Vale. Harry spends a lot of time in the watch tower over the Atlantic Ocean, watching for German U-boats. He has a hard time convincing the towns people that the U-boats will show up in their sleepy little town.
Emma Trask is married to the town’s working doctor. They are both young and just starting out. However, an event happens while he is delivering his first baby in the town that makes him want to escape. He goes to England, where war is raging to volunteer his services as a doctor, leaving poor Emma as home in a town she hardly knows. Iris tries to look out for her.
Meanwhile, Frankie Bard is in England as a reporter. She works with none other than Edward R. Murrow. However, major event shake her to the core and just ends up near the end of the book in the same small town as Iris and Emma. Their 3 fates sealed and intertwined through a letter.
This was a delightful book. Sarah Blake weaves all of the sub-stories together seamlessly. Frankie is my favourite character. We get to meet the people she comes across and hear her war stories. On her last assignment she rides the trains in Germany and France, recording interviews with the Jews desperate to get to safety.
Though there were a few things in the book that were predictable then didn’t detract me from enjoying the story. The end seemed a bit rushed to me but not overly sentimental. It seems that Sarah Blake really did her research and I recommend this to Historical fiction lover, especially those who enjoy WWII fiction.
4.5/5
Thanks to Amy Einhorn Books and B. Kienapple of Penguin Group (Canada) for this book.
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