Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for HAKUNA MATATA: Paradise can be Hell (A Jan Norge and Hilda Baker Thriller Book #1) by Stewart Giles on this Books ‘n’ All Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
***
Book Description
The first in the new series featuring detectives Jan Norge and Hilda Baker.
It starts with a body in a burned out car.
Jan Norge, recently transferred from Norway hits the ground running with his first case on UK soil. The body in the car is just the start of a journey to hell and back.
As Jan and Hilda dig deeper into the cause of the burned out car, they find themselves drawn into a world of secrets, lies and murder.
Everything leads back to one family. On the surface, the Hunts are a normal, middle-class unit, but they’re anything but. All of them are keeping secrets from the others, and when these secrets turn deadly, Jan and Hilda run out of places to look.
In a case that has its roots on the paradise island of Zanzibar, Jan Norge and Hilda Baker have to disregard everything they believed about human nature in order to beat the most dysfunctional family either of them have ever come across.
HAKUNA MATATA: Paradise can be Hell (A Jan Norge and Hilda Baker Thriller Book #1) by Stewart Giles is an intriguing first crime thriller/British police procedural book in a new series featuring DS Hilda Baker and DC Jan Norge, a new transplant from Norwegian law enforcement, in the small town of Hartlepool, England. This is an interesting read with unique new characters, so you are going to want to start this series right here from the beginning.
Each chapter goes back and forth between the members of the Hunt family and the Hartlepool detectives. Starting with the dysfunctional Hunt family and their vacation in Zanzibar and at home in England, the discovery of a burned-out car containing a burned body. Hilda is a brash and talented DS who is paired up with the new member of their team, DC Jan Norge, who is a very talented detective, but he keeps secrets and is a Taylor Swift music lover. The two shouldn’t work, but they do. Lies, secrets and murder are a tangled web that Hilda and Jan must pull apart to get to the truth and find a killer.
This is an intriguing and fascinating start to this new series. The Hunt family is severely twisted and amoral. I liked how their story unfolded in opposing chapters with the investigation into their lives. I admit that the beginning of the book was a bit confusing, but once the investigation began to pull me in, I was hooked. Hilda and Jan are characters that always surprised me. Hilda seems very outspoken to be a small-town detective, but it worked because she also showed empathy when needed. Jan made me laugh with his Swiftie addiction, but as we learn of his past, it is heartbreaking. I am excited to read the next book in this series. Mr. Giles always gives me an intricately plotted crime thriller/police procedurals with surprising twists and these two new characters are going to be interesting to follow and see how they develop.
I highly recommend this riveting new crime thriller/British police procedural!
***
Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2013 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series and was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brings together the brooding, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor. Dropzone followed shortly after and the third in the series, The Raven Girl finished things off.
Miranda is something totally different. What was to be a stand-alone psychological thriller, it is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before. The ending begged for a sequel and, Mistress was born. Medusa completes the Miranda trilogy.
There are now 25 DS Smith books available with many more planned for the future.
I wanted a break from the crime thriller genre so I came up with The Divide – a macabre horror tale of survival, but crime will always be my true love.
A new series featuring Irishman, DI Liam O’Reilly begins with Blood on the Island, and that was followed by ten more mysteries set on the island of Guernsey.
When I’m not writing I love sailing, guitars and jumping out of perfectly good planes. I’m lucky to have a huge lake on my doorstep as well as a world-class skydiving drop zone.
Still Waters and An Amish Baby in Her Arms by Patricia Johns have gripping plots. The characters in the stories must navigate their Amish life with their desires and wishes.
The characters of both books make for wonderful stories. Anyone who enjoys an intense plot, with riveting characters, should read these books.
Book Description
Unsure of her future within the Amish community, Beth Peachy arrives in Lancaster County for the summer to care for her ailing grandmother. Yet with dementia threatening to steal away Mammi’s memories, Beth’s visit quickly evolves into an urgent search for answers to questions that her relatives seem determined to avoid. How can Beth possibly make a lifelong vow to the Amish church when her own family is concealing so much of the past from her?
Beth’s childhood friend Danny Lapp faces his own dilemma as his ex-Amish older brother turns his back on their family upbringing, dishonoring his Plain heritage. Struggling to find some sort of connection with his brother despite their deep difference of opinion, Danny is determined to find a solution before church leadership becomes involved. As Beth and Danny reconnect and seek to help each other in their search for answers, they find themselves stirring up not only surprising revelations about the past, but questions about a possible future–together.
###
Elise’s Thoughts
Still Waters has two of the female characters trying to navigate the Amish world versus the English world. Tabitha Schrock left the Amish faith because she wanted to become a veterinarian. Although she has no regrets about that choice, she decided to come back to the Amish community after divorcing her husband who cheated on her. She is getting closer to a friend, Jonas who is willing to help her. Unfortunately, they are attracted to each other but because of Amish rules they can never be married. Tabitha is not the only Amish character who is struggling with her life choices. There is also Beth Peachy who came to Lancaster County to help her ailing grandmother. She wants answers about her dad’s history since he just died. She is also struggling with her Amish faith since she wants to pursue things she enjoys. Danny Lapp is hoping Beth will stay in the Amish faith because he is in love with her.
A powerful subject matter is how Beth’s grandmother, Mammi, has the first signs of dementia. This presents anguish, grief, and peace with the characters since it is hard for Beth to get answers.
***
Book Description
A widow reeling from loss…
Can the storm deliver her a family?
Miriam Yoder thought she’d never feel happy again after the loss of her husband and unborn child—until a baby is abandoned outside her workplace. Seeing this as an opportunity for her heart to heal, she cares for the helpless infant during a fierce storm with her late husband’s brother. But Amish farmer Isaac Yoder has been keeping secrets. Hiding them from Miriam as he temporarily works alongside her at his aunt’s chocolate shop is one thing…but caring for a baby together presents a new challenge. Can their growing connection withstand the weight of the truth and open Miriam’s heart again?
###
Elise’s Thoughts
An Amish Baby in Her Arms is also a powerful book. The female lead, Miriam also questions parts of the Amish faith. She married her true love, Elijah, but he was a bad husband who drank, gambled, had infidelities, and abused her emotionally. She had a hard life after losing Elijah in an accident and the baby she was pregnant with. Now a feminist of sorts she has decided to never remarry and to be responsible for herself, never depending on a man again. Elijah’s brother Zach also has secrets since he was in love with Miriam and did not think she should marry Elijah.
They were thrown together in a storm after finding an abandoned baby. They navigated the dangerous weather to travel to her grandfather, but the storm got even worse and Zach had to stay there. Working alongside each other, caring for the baby, and being in such close contact, they both started having feelings for one another.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for Still Waters? Was it comparing life as an Amish person versus an English person?
Patricia Johns: I wanted to write about the well intentions of family and how different generations react to the traditions. The characters are struggling to find their place in life, and it is not all perfect.
EC: How would you describe Tabitha?
PJ: Tabitha has given up a lot since she has come back to the Amish life. She feels different and unique. She wants to fit in but also wants more from her life. She is impressive, confident, hopeful, lonely, and is compassionate. Right now, she feels like an outsider.
EC: How would you describe Jonas?
PJ: Jonas does not want to be under his father’s wing and to do something different, like raising sheep. He is loyal, trustworthy, and lonely.
EC: What about the relationship between Tabitha and Jonas?
PJ: He has only eyes for her and is frustrated because of their situation. They both have feelings for each other but realize there is no future.
EC: How would you describe Beth?
PJ: Beth’s family wants to believe that retaining an Amish faith will be an idyllic life. Yet, her family have many secrets they have not revealed. She is considerate, she questions if the Amish life can give her everything she wants. Because of this she is vulnerable, frustrated, and searches to find her place. She has a healthy rebellious streak because she constantly asks questions to get to the whole truth.
EC: What about the relationship between Danny and Beth?
PJ: She sees him at times unreasonable and feels he is not willing to bend or compromise. He wants to have the pure Amish experience. He does not want to acknowledge that times people do not have a great Amish life.
EC: What about the Beth’s dad experience?
PJ: He is the broken rule. He is the walking, talking exception. He is the key to the mystery.
EC: There is a lot in the book about the Amish traditions and rules. Please explain.
PJ: They only have education through the 8th grade. Marriage is not allowed if divorced. Living in sin is absolutely forbidden. Women in the Amish community lead in the home but nowhere else. The problem comes up when the husband is no good then the women are very vulnerable.
EC: How did you get the idea for the book An Amish Baby in Her Arms?
PJ: I had this image in my head of a baby on a doorstep during a crushing storm.
EC: How would you describe Zach, the male lead?
PJ: Protective, feels guilty, has secrets, and is reserved. He questions why the Amish keeps the English at arm’s length. He has guilt surrounding his brother’s death, guilt about his feelings for his late brother’s wife, and guilt for not agreeing with the fact that the Amish separate themselves from everybody else.
EC: How would you describe Miriam?
PJ: She has grief over losing her baby and husband. She does not want to be reliant on any man again. Miriam is hardworking, stressed, kind, considerate, tough, and determined. She is an Amish feminist even though she herself would not describe herself in that way since she wants to support herself and not be reliant on a man again. She is not looking for a man to rescue her.
EC: What did Miriam go through while married to Elijah, who is now dead?
PJ: She has gone through a miserable heartbreaking experience and never wants to experience it again. She is determined not to put herself in that vulnerable position again. Her late husband, Elijah, broke her spirit, did not respect her, was irresponsible, uncaring, not devoted to her, caused her pain, disorder, unhappiness, and made her lose her self-esteem and sense of purpose.
EC: How would you compare Zach to Elijah?
PJ: Zach is the direct opposite of Elijah. He builds her up, is kind, and supportive. He makes her life easier, respects her, and sees her value.
EC: What is the role of the baby, Ivy?
PJ: She is most vulnerable who needs care and love. She is the catalyst that has Zach and Miriam opening their hearts to this baby, so their own hearts are more open to each other. They must work together to take care of this baby.
EC: What about the role of the storm?
PJ: It isolates Zach and Miriam together. It keeps the rest of the world out and forces them to deal with their personal problems.
EC: Next book?
PJ: It is titled Through the Valley and wraps up this series, “The Amish of Shepherd’s Hill.” The plot will have Tabitha’s long deserved, long awaited happily ever after. Although you could read this last book as a stand-alone you will appreciate it even more if the previous two books in the series are read first.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for PLAY WITH FIRE (Vancity Fire Book #1) by Sophie L. Henderson on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour blog tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
***
Book Description
I may look dainty, but I’m just as tough as every other firefighter. That might all go up in flames when my ex walks into the fire hall…
As the only woman in the fire hall, I’ve worked hard to earn my crew’s respect. But my plan to pass probation without drama goes up in smoke the moment my ex-boyfriend Brodie – the hottest reporter in town with serious Clark Kent energy – makes me the star of his latest feature.
The fire hall is in trouble, and the only way to save it? Prove the city needs us: telling my story in the process. As Brodie and I are forced to work together, I can’t help but notice his attempts to impress me. But it won’t work. I’ll never forget how he broke my heart when he dumped me three years ago.
When I take a risk at a call out and recklessly enter a burning room to rescue a young mother, the first person to come to my rescue is Brodie and I feel the heat between us as he manhandles me back to safety. I can’t start things up again with him…can I?
The captain’s ‘no-dating’ rule means my job is as much on the line as my heart. I’m the one keeping the city safe from danger, but Brodie makes me feel protected in a way I’ve never known before.
Can I say no to my smoking hot ex to save my career or will playing with fire mean I’m going to get burned again?
PLAY WITH FIRE (Vancity Fire Book #1) by Sophie L. Henderson is the first book in a new steamy contemporary romance series. This an emotional and sexy second chance romance with a female firefighter heroine, a hero who is a local newspaper writer, and extended family drama.
Savannah is working her dream job as a firefighter in Vancity. She is still on her initial probation, and it is all going well until her captain tells her she is going to be shadowed and then featured in a newspaper article to promote their small community fire house. This is a problem because her rich father does not know about her career change and the reporter writing the feature is her college boyfriend who dumped her and broke her heart.
Brodie is finally going to get the promotion to feature writer for his paper if he can write a great article about the local fire house. He is willing to do anything for that promotion, even though it will probably involve his bully of an older firefighter brother. What he does not expect is that his article will feature the new female firefighter who just happens to be the girl he left behind.
This romance is well written with an interesting dynamic between the hero and heroine. Savannah is a tough, dedicated firefighter who felt well researched and her reason for becoming one was very emotional. Brodie is the black sheep of his firefighter family and has had his self-worth badly damaged over the years by his father and older brother and yet he continues to strive for what he wants. Both are dealing with parents that interfere, not in a good way, and they need to learn to communicate not only between themselves as adults, but to also stand-up to the interfering parents. There are several smokin’ hot sex scenes, but they are not gratuitous, and a few where quite entertaining. There is a lot going on in this plot, but the author does a nice job of bringing everything together in the end. I will definitely be looking for the next book in this series.
I recommend this second chance, sexy, contemporary romance.
***
About the Author
Sophie L. Henderson writes steamy romcoms full of chaos, heart, and characters who swear a little too much to be considered polite. Originally from a tiny village in England, she spent seventeen years wrangling jazz hands as a drama teacher before finally listening to the voice in her head (the one telling her to write, not the one asking for another snack). She now lives in Vancouver with her husband, where she’s embraced views of snowcapped mountains from the beach, over-invests in the hockey, and talks to hummingbirds like they’re her best friends.
Disgraced U.S. President Darmond has been ousted from office, but his minions have taken aim at everyone they perceive to be enemies. Off-the-record contractors on a secret list are being eliminated, one by one.
Jonathan Grave and his Security Solutions team manage to turn the tables when the assassins come for them. But the ultimate attack will strike deep at the heart of what’s best about American values.
High-tech weapons, terror-driven fanatics, and top-level betrayal shred the peace of a peaceful gathering in the rolling hills of rural North Carolina. In this showdown, the winner will take all.
***
Elise’s Thoughts
Scorched Earth by John Gilstrap highlights, as with all his books, political corruption. It should remind readers of the late Vince Flynn’s book, Term Limits. Now that Vince is no longer writing books, fans of his might want to turn to John Gilstrap who has picked up the torch in a brilliant way.
This novel has vengeance, murder, greed, and political corruption. It picks up where the previous Graves novel, Zero Sum, left off.
Disgraced U.S. President Darmond has been ousted from office, by former FBI Director Irene Rivers. But not all the collaborators were taken out and now some of Darmond’s partners are attempting to kill off-the-record contractors that Rivers used when she didn’t know who to trust within the FBI.
Jonathan Graves and his Security Solutions team are one of those off-the-record contractors that had an attempt on their lives. After managing to survive the killer who came after them, they decide to seek justice by finding out why and who was responsible. He and the team will do what they do best, bringing justice to victims of evil.
The first chapter grabs readers’ attention and the action does not let up. Readers will be turning the pages at a frantic pace. Gilstrap writes a suspenseful and engrossing plot with gripping scenes. People will root for the good guys while also rooting for the bad guys to get their due justice.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
John Gilstrap: The idea comes from the fact of how a terrorist realizes that Americans watch the news and see pictures of dead children and not appear terribly upset about it. In this story the bad guys are terrorists that have specific plans to kill a lot of children, the American Jihad.
EC: What was it like to write a Graves book without Irene Rivers as a player?
JG: Although she is no longer director of the FBI, she had used while director, off the record contractors like Jonathan Graves to get things done. Irene has longed believed that her FBI agents are out for their own careers. They will do whatever the President wants. I painted Irene to be the last honest person in Washington. She hired these contractors because she could not trust the system to get things done. Now that she is gone people are trying to kill these contractors to get retribution. Irene can never be involved in a Jonathan book, and he can never be involved in an Irene book. As a practical matter it would be difficult to decide who does what in a scene if both Jonathan and Irene were present.
EC: Is it hard to write a story without Irene?
JG: Yes, it is hard to write a story without her, a challenge. It is like having broken in shoes and having to wear new shoes. He no longer has her to protect him. In this book it was not necessary for a work around for Jonathan, but I must think about things for future books.
EC: What do you want to say about the Senator, Maxine Bridges?
JG: She realized that while director, Irene has been investigating her for back pocket stuff. Irene had bits and pieces on her. The Senator is killing the contractors that have any information that can hurt her. She is trying to protect herself. She is also doing bad things to justify the actions of her son. She is also a pedophile, using sex from young men who want to be appointed to the military academies.
EC: What about the other bad guys?
JG: I imagined them to be former military who got paid basically nothing. Now they are offered a lot of money and have talked themselves into believing there is no difference in killing, a life is a life.
EC: Can you explain the quote you have about politicians and the media?
JG: You are talking about this one, “When the swamp rats are angry, they destroy their enemies through stories real and fake, leaked to the media.” I am cynical about politicians and so is Jonathan. The media destroyed Irene because it is about clicks, taking sides, and making sure their narrative is forwarded. They shaped facts to support the narrative they wanted to about Irene. Half the country thought Irene was wrong to bring down the US President and half the country thinks she is a hero.
EC: The airborne attack using paragliders reminded me of what Hamas did on October 7th. Am I correct?
JG: Yes, it is based on October 7th.
EC: Next book?
JG: It will be an Irene book, no title yet. It will be published in December 2026. She has accepted the sheriff position. The one daughter, Ashley, who did not go to West Virginia with Irene will go there now. I might have her have a romantic relationship with Billy Stubblefield who was in Burned Bridges.
The Jonathan book will come out nine months after the Irene book.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
When a VA therapist is brutally stabbed, Kate Holland is stunned—the man had clashed with her own shrink days earlier. But the shock deepens when Kate discovers stolen military-grade explosives hidden in his home.
The victim had been investigating a war crime overseas, and now the fallout is erupting in Arkansas. With Ruger at her side and Arash in the fight alongside her, Kate follows a trail of secrets and corpses toward a killer who won’t stop until innocent blood is spilled.
To stop him, Kate must risk everything—including the fragile trust she’s building with the two allies she can’t afford to lose.
BLOOD ON THE WIRE (Hidden Valor K-9 Mysteries Book #5) by Candace Irving is another outstanding action packed and thrilling addition to this series. I enjoyed every book in the entire series and Kate and Ruger’s journey, but I believe you could read this book as a standalone and still love it due to the strategically placed background information you may have questions about.
Special State Investigator Kate Holland and her K-9 Ruger are called to investigate the stabbing death of one of the Little Rock VA’s psychologists. When she gets to the scene, she realizes she met this doctor arguing with Kate’s own doctor just a few days earlier. As Kate and the local detective search the doctor’s home, they discover two safes. One has a cache of military grade C-4 and the other has a notebook filled with writing in code.
As Kate investigates the murder, she discovers the doctor was looking into a crime from two years ago in Afghanistan. There are suspects that are almost too convenient and many tangled stories of truth and lies. As the body count increases, Kate realizes someone is trying to get rid of all ties to the real killer and crimes of the past.
I love this series! I look forward to reading not only an intricately plotted suspense/mystery, but an intimate story of a vet’s healing journey through PTSD and a terrible wartime incident all while she navigates her current job, her work and personal connection to her dog, and finally her learned ability to open up in her personal relationships. The intricate plot and twists in this book left me continually guessing until the very end.
I highly recommend this suspenseful police procedural/K-9 mystery! This is a well written, engrossing series and I cannot wait for more.
***
About the Author
A former US Navy Lt., Candace Irving is the daughter of a librarian and a retired boatswain’s mate chief. Candace grew up in the Philippines, Germany, and all over the United States. Her senior year of high school, she enlisted in the US Army. Following basic training, she transferred to the Navy’s ROTC program at the University of Texas-Austin. While at UT, she spent a summer in Washington, DC, as a Congressional Intern. She also worked security for the UT Police. BA in Political Science in hand, Candace was commissioned as an ensign in the US Navy and sent to Surface Warfare Officer’s School to learn to drive warships. From there, she followed her father to sea.
Candace Irving writes gritty military thrillers. She is the author of the Deception Point Military Detective Thriller Series and the Hidden Valor Military Veterans/K9 Psychological Suspense Series. She also writes military romance and romantic suspense as Candace Irvin (without the “g”).
Amidst the chaos of bombs and falling ash, eight-year-old Elsie has nobody left but her big brother Jack and their friends, all orphaned, runaway evacuees. Their world has shattered, their parents gone. Until Lisette, a beautiful jazz singer with golden hair and a voice that lifts spirits, finds them.
Lisette takes the children under her wing and soon Elsie, who hasn’t spoken since her mother’s death, begins to find her smile again. But Lisette, too, is healing from her own grief. As she cares for the rag-tag band of orphans with the help of enigmatic war hero Mr Wyngate, can Lisette open her heart to love again? And as the bombs continue to fall over their city, can she keep the children safe?
###
Book Description – The Lifeboat Orphans
Fifteen-year-old Connie is leaving war-torn England for the safer shores of America, looking after a nine-year old orphan boy with sad blue eyes. But the ocean is rife with Nazi vessels. And when their boat is torpedoed, in the fear and chaos Connie can’t stop thinking about handsome Jack, who stayed behind in London. Will the orphans survive, and will Connie ever be reunited with her first love?
Back in London, sixteen-year-old Jack desperately misses Connie, his brave, kind friend, after their tearful goodbye when her ship set sail. As bombs set the skies ablaze, he listens to an old radio for any news about the dangerous Atlantic crossing. When he intercepts a secret message that could change everything, he races to the war office. Will they listen to a young lad like him, and can he save Connie and countless other lives?
***
Elise’s Thoughts
The Lost Orphans and The Lifeboat Orphans in “The Runaway Evacuees Series” by Ellie Curzon, the pen name for Catherine Curzon and Helen Barrell, are two books that have touching, heart-warming, and heartbreaking moments, with a tinge of humor. The setting of London during the Nazi blitz of WWII shows how Londoners faced fear, survival, loss, and horror, but also were courageous, kind, brave, and strong. Both books are historical fiction based on the true story of the Blitz kids.
The Lost Orphans, known as Connie, Jack, Elsie, Ned, Ben, and Susan, were sent to the countryside to be safe, but instead were beaten, starved and were used as slave laborers. They escaped and fled back to London’s East End, sleeping where they could. The children banded together to not only survive but to help others by putting out fires, helping those buried under debris, and warning of unexploded bombs.
Readers meet two adults, Lisette Souchon and Adam Wyngate who become surrogate parents to the orphans after they helped rescue eight-year-old Elsie. This make-shift family stays together to make sure each survive.
The story began with The Lost Orphans and ends for now with The Lifeboat Orphans. The story flows from one book to the other. In the first book the narrators are Elsie and Lissette, while the second book is narrated by Connie and Lissette.
After an argument between Connie and Ned, he runs away and while rescuing someone has a wall fall on him, causing injuries. If he can make it to America Ned’s injuries might be helped by a specialist doctor. Connie, Ned, and Mr. Wyngate travel by ship to get to America that must navigate away from the German U-boats’ torpedoes.
With both books readers will experience, along with the characters, the intensity of the situation, the devastations, and the loss of life. People will worry for the children, while also cheering for them. These stories are gripping, riveting, and hard to put down.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: The idea for the series?
Ellie Curzon (alias for Helen Barrell and Catherine Curzon): Our previous series, The Codebreaker Girls, had Mr. Wyngate as a character. We loved him and wanted to get into his backstory. We wrote an entire novel about him, since he has been in each of our WWII novels as a returning character. He is essentially like a secret agent. We adapted the solo book about him, and it morphed into these stories with The Lost Orphans.
EC: Were these books based on anything real?
HB: My gram was an evacuee and did come home because she had an awful time. She was pinched and the family she was staying with in the countryside kept most of her rations. Her mom said, ‘come on home.’ She was a little girl traveling alone on the trains. We wanted to write about what war does to children.
CC: One of my interests is WWII history. The Lost Orphans were based on a real group of children who were called The Dead-End Kids. They were children who were evacuated and came back. They were befriended by a nineteen-year-old who led the group. They put out fires and rescued people from bomb blasts. Some were killed doing it. They became the spirit of the city. Their story had been forgotten. Their story is stranger than fiction. It seems far-fetched but is true.
EC: How would you describe Mr. Wyngate?
CC: He is based on the real stories of those in the SOE and intelligence services who did dangerous work. He is entirely fictional. He has very clipped language and never uses any spare words. Everything is snappy. I absolutely love writing him. Wyngate is direct, caring, brave, mysterious, proud, resilient, and has resolve. He is also the hero to one of the orphans, Elsie. He is her superhero. Based on Wyngate’s own past he knows what it is like to be a child that nobody wants. He wants to make a massive impact on these orphans’ lives.
HB: We have a joke that Ian Fleming knew him and based James Bond on him. Elsie has nobody except her brother Jack. He is like a hero to her who has walked out of the cinema screen. For him, Elsie represents his little sister. They have invincible links. Elsie feels that he understands her.
EC: How did you divide the stories of the orphans between the two books?
H & C: The first book was more Elsie’s story, while the second book was more Connie’s story. The first book was from Elsie’s and Lisette’s point of view, while the second book was from Connie’s and Lisette’s point of view. Connie is older and had a very hard life. In the first book, The Lost Orphans, they struggled to get out of dangerous situations and did not know what their life held, while in the second book, The Lifeboat Orphans, they are settled in a little home, have a profile, and have adults helping them. Connie daydreams that she and Ned were brother and sister.
EC: How would you describe Lissette?
HB: We each write different characters. Catherine wrote Mr. Wyngate and I wrote Lissette. She is French and a nightclub singer in Soho. We wanted to explore how Soho was a bit Bohemian. She makes Mr. Wyngate able to let his guard down with her. She and Mr. Wyngate became unofficial foster parents to the orphans. They stepped up to the plate.
CC: All these characters have no one. Lissette has her mom back in France, Wyngate is completely on his own, and the orphans lost everything. At first, they had no one and now they all have each other.
EC: What about the relationship between Jack/Connie and Lisette/Wyngate?
H & C: People think Wyngate is a bit of James Bond, with a girl in every port. But his lifestyle has it not happening. Both he and Lisette have emotional bruises along the way. Jack and Connie still have that youthful innocence with a belief in romance. This leads to a funny moment where Lisette and Wyngate realize they need to talk to the children about the birds and the bees. Connie and Jack had to grow up very fast. They acted as parents to the younger children. Both couples start as friends. We wanted to write the relationships with parallel lines.
EC: In the first book Elsie had become mute while in the second book Ned lost his hearing. Please explain.
HB: We like to explore different disabilities. I started going deaf when I was thirty and wanted to explore it with the orphan, Ned. Regarding Elsie, my brother who has different learning disabilities became mute.
EC: What do you want to say about the nuns and countryside farmer cruelty?
H & C: On a plotting level they were the springboard that pushed the story into action. My gram told us stories of being an evacuee. She was pinched and was left to go hungry. Some of the things did happen where the nuns did beat the orphan children with their rosaries. It was hard to write about it. I did not understand how they did not have compassion for the children left in their care. In this series the antagonist is the war. We wanted to show why the children were running away and from whom. At the same time there were good people as well like the Jewish Soup Kitchen that fed the orphans. We wanted to showcase the blitz spirit where most of the Londoners came together.
EC: What is the role of the blitz?
HB: We wanted to show readers a little of what the British went through by the Nazis. It brought Lisette, Wyngate, and the orphans together, and to show the abuses. Anyone writing about WWII cannot avoid writing about the blitz. When I wrote about sheltering in the station, a lot of it was remembering what my grandma used to tell me. Every morning, they would come out wondering if their house was still standing. That is why we wrote the scene where Elsie and Jack and the others came back to their house and found nothing there.
EC: Was the journalist Esther based on truth?
CC: She is not based on anyone real, but there were women who were war correspondent trailblazers. Like Esther’s reporting, the real orphans were reported on in the press. They became for a little while celebrities. They had their moment in the sun. They were constantly helping. A good story did help with wartime morale. It was quite an important weapon in the homefront arsenal, the morale of the British people. As reported, we wanted to show the bravery, tragedy, and selflessness. Here were these children who put themselves in danger to do something.
EC: Why the celebrities?
CC: The music was important. I love vintage music. Noel Coward and Vera Lynn are real. She is legendary and when someone brings up ‘wartime music’ in England people would say Vera Lynn. There are certain types of music that Englanders of any age would realize it came from WWII. For me, there are certain types of music that transport me. I vicariously lived Coward and Lynn coming to a benefit in England and Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in America.
EC: Is Pippa the dog based on any dog?
CC: Pippa is my dog. We started writing the series just after she died. Nothing has hit me as hard as her death. I felt like I lost a part of myself. Helen suggested to name the dog in the series after my Pippa. She is grey and peachy. I love having her in the book because that makes her immortal. She is Elsie’s dog and helps the children with their adventures.
EC: Next book?
H & C: It is a new book in the same genre with some returning characters, set in France. It is a story of remarkable women who pushed back against the Germans. Imagine a French village on the Normandy coast. The characters have bravery, friendship, and personal sacrifice. It will be out fall of 2026.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
