THE NURSE’S SECRET by Amanda Skenandore is a historical fiction novel with romantic elements featuring a young female protagonist set in 1880’s New York City’s Bellevue Hospital. This is a standalone novel with great characters, a bit of sweet romance and a suspense murder mystery plot intertwined throughout.
New York City’s Bellevue Hospital is the first hospital in the U.S. to initiate a nursing school based on the principles of Florence Nightingale. The young ladies must be of high moral character, educated and from upper class homes. There is a strict code of decorum, discipline and work ethic that must be followed to remain in the program. Una Kelly is none of these things. Una is a con artist, pickpocket and thief who is found at the scene of a murder, arrested, and then escapes. She cons her way into the nursing program with the help of a friend to hide from the police.
With the help of her roommate, Una finds she is capable of pulling off this deception and even finds she is good with the patients. A young doctor in training is interested in the unique nurse probationer, but Una is afraid to admit she is not who she seems. But when a woman from her past shows up and threatens Una’s ruse, she is killed in the same method as the man Una is accused of killing.
Una knows someone is killing in Bellevue and it is like the murder she is accused of. She sets a trap, but she may end up the victim of this serial killer.
I loved this book and all the characters. Una is street smart and thick skinned due to her upbringing, but she also knows how to use her natural intelligence to get along in her ruse and she begins to really care about her patients. Una’s gradual change in caring for her roommate, Dru and the step-by-step acceptance of her friendship really emphasized her emotional changes. The sweet romantic elements worked to also show a side of Una where she is slightly vulnerable. I felt all the secondary characters were fully fleshed and believable for the historical period. The descriptions of 1880 New York display the research involved in this story along with all the historical medical treatments and techniques for both doctors and nurses. The suspense plot of this story is paced well throughout and has a believable ending.
I highly recommend this engaging historical fiction!
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About the Author
I’m lucky. I come from a family of diehard scientists—the kind who tell jokes about irrational numbers and use the Vulcan salute instead of waving goodbye. But there was always room in our house for the arts too. My sisters—one a conservation biologist, the other an astrophysicist—paint and play the flute. My father, a physicist, is also a movie buff. My mother, a mathematician, dabbles in everything from theater to stained glass. Me, I’m an infection prevention nurse. But first and foremost I’m a writer. Even when my pen is still, my mind is aflight with stories.
I’m lucky. I come from a family of readers. Books filled our shelves and trips to the library were routine. Even though I struggled with dyslexia and was slow to learn, my parents insisted I not give up. Now, I don’t read fast but I read often and wide—fantasy, scifi, paranormal romance, YA, literary, and of course, historical fiction.
I’m lucky. I married a man of great character and enduring flexibility. When I told him at thirty I wanted to quit my job and try to be a author, he said go for it. When I’d gone five years without selling a book or finding an agent, he said try a little longer.
I’m lucky. I finally found an agent, the wonderful Michael Carr, and sold my book, along with three others yet to be published, to Kensington Publishing.
My husband and I live in Las Vegas, NV with our pet turtle, Lenore.
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels is playing baseball like no other since the legendary Babe Ruth. Ohtani’s dominance as a two-way player, one that pitches and bats effectively, has taken the Major League by storm. Since entering the league, he won the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year, competed in the 2021 Home Run Derby, started in the 2021 All Star Game as both a pitcher and hitter (the first player to ever do so), won the 2021 Most Valuable Player award, and was named to Time 100’s list of most influential people of 2021. The question on everyone’s mind is how is this Japanese phenom doing this? And how far can he go?
As the next generation of baseball superstars cement themselves, Ohtani, who can pitch a 100mph fastball and was a Top 3 home run leader at the end of the season, stands out amongst them all. Major League Baseball has found the new face of the sport.
In Sho-time, Jeff Fletcher will examine the player’s path from his early days in Japan, his transition to the MLB, and a start-to-finish inside look at his historic 2021 MVP season. Along the way, Fletcher will detail other players who have crossed over from Japan to the major leagues, how Ohtani brought his phenomenal talent to the game at a time when technology is exploding as a means toward maximizing performance, and the role that Ohtani and his otherworldly teammate Mike Trout are playing in helping to lead baseball into the next generation.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Sho-Time by Jeff Fletcher tells the inside story of the Los Angeles Angel’s Shohei Ohtani, a “two-way” baseball player. From the time he started playing baseball for the Angels he has become a celebrity. Shohei is a unique player, a unicorn to use baseball language, because he can pitch and hit, in the same game. Ohtani just made history as the only player to be named to the ALL-STAR team as both a pitcher and hitter two years in a row.
Jeff Fletcher uses his own experiences to explain the Shohei phenomenon. As the writer for the Orange County Register for the last eight seasons, he uses his vast knowledge of baseball and the Angels to delve into the challenges, triumphs, and journey of this baseball superstar.
The book covers Ohtani’s path through Japanese baseball including a championship with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, to his desire to play American Major League baseball. Readers get details about the recruiting war by Major League clubs, why he picked the Angels, Ohtanis’s 2018 Rookie of the Year campaign, the injury-riddled seasons, and his MVP year in 2021 with 157 strikeouts, an ERA of 3.18 ERA, 46 home runs and 10 triples. Most people believe that Ohtani is a dominant pitcher and a powerful designated hitter, a once in a lifetime player.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why is he considered a one-of-a-kind player?
Jeff Fletcher: There has not been anybody succeeding in such a significant degree as both a hitter and pitcher since Babe Ruth, who did it more than 100 years ago. Ruth was a pitcher who realized he was a good hitter and decided not to pitch anymore. He did not intend to be a two-way player the way Shohei has. He does not match up with anyone.
EC: In the book there is this quote by Babe Ruth, “I don’t think a man can pitch in his regular turn and play every other game at some other position, to keep that pace year after year.” Do you think Ohtani will be able to do it?
JF: I do not know the answer to that. Since no one has ever done it, there is no precedent for it. He obviously has had some injury problems. Hopefully he can be productive and healthy as he had this last year and a half. Everyone should enjoy it while it lasts. What Ohtani did was harder than what Babe Ruth did. The level of competition today in the Majors is so much higher, especially with the analytics and the defensive positioning. Yet, today no one could do what Babe Ruth did, playing outfield for four days and then pitching. It has certainly helped Ohtani to be a designated hitter when he is not pitching.
EC: How would you describe Ohtani as a player and a personality?
JF: As a personality he has a good sense of humor that can be seen through his interaction with his teammates, happy, and enjoys playing baseball. As a player he has so much talent, being able to pitch and hit at such a high level, which is incredibly difficult.
EC: Is he a better pitcher or hitter?
JF: I think he is a little better pitcher because he is more consistent. If someone ranked all the pitchers and hitters in baseball, he probably is higher on the pitcher list. Shohei has had stretches as a hitter where he has struggled a month at a time. But he has never really had that as a pitcher, except for injuries.
EC: He will be a free agent in 2024, do you think he will sign a new contract with the Angels?
JF: It is hard to know the answer since there is no precedent how a player like this will be paid. The problem is no one can predict what his performance level will be like. Although this is true for all players, there is nothing to compare it to for him. Eventually his contract will need to have clauses and triggers, such as he gets paid x amount if he is a pitcher and a hitter or will be paid y amount if he only does one skill. I do think he will sign a contract with the Angels. They know what they have in him, a great player and someone very good for business. The only reason he would not sign is if he does not think the Angels can win.
EC: Why do you think he signed with the Angels?
JF: He did not decide to go with a team that had another Japanese player. This was and is not his primary goal. His goal is what feels comfortable to him. He did not choose the Angels because they had this great winning tradition, because they don’t. It was basically the people who talked to him convinced him it is a comfortable environment to be in and this is still the case.
EC: In your book you discuss Ohtani being managed by Mike Scioscia versus Joe Madden. Who was the better manager for him?
JF: Hindsight is 20-20 so obviously Joe Madden. He got the better performance out of Ohtani. Mike Scioscia treated Ohtani the way he pitched in Japan. He did not hit the day before or the day after he pitched and very rarely hit the same day he pitched. Also, they were under the impression Ohtani would not speak up if he were tired or needed a break. All that was true at the time. Now he says when he needs a break and when he does not, knowing himself a little better.
EC: Why was he better in 2021?
JF: He did a lot of training at Driveline in the winter before the 2021 season. This helped give him real hard data on what his energy levels were like. In that way, he would know when he needed a break.
EC: Did he ever comment that he has an advantage being a hitter and a pitcher. When he is hitting does he think like a pitcher and vice-versa?
JF: He has said he feels it is an advantage for him that he is a hitter and a pitcher. He sees the way pitchers approach him and the way hitters do it. He files all that a way. He has a nice perspective that other hitters and pitchers don’t have considering he is a two-way player.
EC: Relationship with Mike Trout?
JF: They are like other teammates. There is a scene in the book how Mike Trout called him during home run derby and said just relax. Mike Trout understood what the spotlight is like.
EC: Will he be a role model for other children who come up through the system and will there be more two-way players?
JF: I don’t think so. What he does is so difficult. A player would have to have a lot of physical talent.
EC: In your book you quoted him saying that Home Run Derby was fun, but tiring. Will he play this year?
JF: I don’t think it had any impact on his performance for the second half of the season. It makes no sense. Home Run Derby was on July 13th, and he started his slump on August 20th. This year, I am sure he can use the break so I do not think he will participate. Either will Mike Trout. He has never had an interest in doing it because he also wants to relax.
EC: Do you think Ohtani and Trout are striking out too much?
JF: Ohtani is striking out less than last year, while Trout is striking out more. First off everyone is striking out more than people would like to see. Strikeout numbers for the last 15 years have gone up exponentially. I think there are more strikeouts than hits, which is disturbing.
EC: Where can people get the book if they want to?
JF: Bookstores and on Amazon. It is available on Kindle and on Audio. It has been translated into Japanese. I am doing a book signing in a little bookstore in Tustin, the “RV Company” on July 17th. People can go to my website, https://jefffletcherwrites.com/ to get the latest information.
EC: Will this book appeal to all baseball fans?
JF: Yes. People who are not Angel fans might enjoy the book more since Angel fans might know a lot of stuff. Anyone who wants to learn about Ohtani might want to read this book since he has done something that no one has done in a hundred years.
THANK YOU!!
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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 excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for THE EDGE OF SUMMER by Viola Shipman on the HTP Books 2022 Summer Reads Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book summary, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links. I am always excited to be reading a new Viola Shipman book and this was no exception. Enjoy!
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Book Summary
Bestselling author Viola Shipman delights with this captivating summertime escape set along the sparkling shores of Lake Michigan, where a woman searches for clues to her secretive mother’s past
Devastated by the sudden death of her mother—a quiet, loving and intensely private Southern seamstress called Miss Mabel, who overflowed with pearls of Ozarks wisdom but never spoke of her own family—Sutton Douglas makes the impulsive decision to pack up and head north to the Michigan resort town where she believes she’ll find answers to the lifelong questions she’s had about not only her mother’s past but also her own place in the world.
Recalling Miss Mabel’s sewing notions that were her childhood toys, Sutton buys a collection of buttons at an estate sale from Bonnie Lyons, the imposing matriarch of the lakeside community. Propelled by a handful of trinkets left behind by her mother and glimpses into the history of the magical lakeshore town, Sutton becomes tantalized by the possibility that Bonnie is the grandmother she never knew. But is she? As Sutton cautiously befriends Bonnie and is taken into her confidence, she begins to uncover the secrets about her family that Miss Mabel so carefully hid, and about the role that Sutton herself unwittingly played in it all.
THE EDGE OF SUMMER by Viola Shipman is an emotional Women’s fiction/cozy romance which tells the tale of a daughter’s search for family which she was told did not exist until she discovers the truth when her secretive mother dies.
Sutton Douglas grew up poor in the Missouri Ozarks with only her mother who everyone called Miss Mabel. Miss Mabel was a seamstress for minimum wage at the overall factory, but an artist with her Singer sewing machine and buttons at night. Sutton would sit for hours dividing and playing with her button collection. Sutton’s mother was incredibly private, and she raised Sutton to be self-sufficient and work hard for what she wanted.
Sutton grows-up to become a designer for a Chicago department store chain, but when Covid hits, she loses not only her mother, but her job. She decides to take the few clues her mother left her and move for the summer to the tourist lakeside community of Douglas, Michigan she believes her mother is from originally. Sutton begins to cautiously befriend the people of the small community. With the help of Tug, who is personally interested in her, she begins to uncover secrets that may not lead to the answers she wants but may lead to what she needs.
When I pick up a Viola Shipman book, I always make sure tissues are close by, not just for sad, but also happy tears. Sutton’s story gave me both. There are many generational secrets in this story which affect Sutton and her journey, first with her mother and then in Douglas. The start of her relationship with Tug was sweet and it was nice to have her happy with that aspect of her life, to counterbalance with all the bad going on in her relationship with Bonnie. My one complaint with the story was that while Sutton came to Douglas to search for her mother’s past, beside talking to a few people, I never felt like she was seriously searching. All the discoveries seemed to happen accidently. Besides that, I was emotionally pulled into the mystery of Sutton’s story. Once again, Michigan itself is beautifully described and plays a major part in the story.
I recommend this latest in a long line of beautifully written Women’s fiction from Viola Shipman!
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Excerpt
BUTTONHOLE
A small cut in the fabric that is bound with small stitching. The hole has to be just big enough to allow a button to pass through it and remain in place.
My mom told everyone my dad died, along with my entire family—grandparents, aunts, uncles, and all—one Christmas Day long ago.
“Fire,” she’d say. “Woodstove. Took ’em all. Down to the last cousin.”
“How’d you make it out with your little girl?” everyone would always ask, eyes wide, mouths open. “That’s a holiday miracle!”
My mom would start to cry, a tear that grew to a flood, and, well, that would end that.
No one questioned someone who survived such a thing, especially a widowed mother like Miss Mabel, which is what everyone called her out of deference in the Ozarks. Folks down here had lived hard lives, and they buried their kin just like they did their heartache, underneath the rocky earth and red clay. It took too much effort to dig that deep.
That’s why no one ever bothered to check out the story of a simple, hardworking, down-to-earth, churchgoing lady who kept to herself down here in the hollers—despite the fact me and my mom both just appeared out of thin air—in a time before social media existed.
But I did.
Want to know why?
My mom never cried.
She was the least emotional soul I’d ever known.
“How did you make it out with me?” I asked her countless times as I grew older, when it was just the two of us sitting in her sewing room in our tiny cabin tucked amongst the bluffs outside Nevermore, Missouri.
She would never answer immediately, no matter how many times I asked. Instead, she’d turn over one of her button jars or tins, and run her fingers through the buttons as if they were tarot cards that would provide a clue.
I mean, there were no photos, no memories, no footsteps that even led from our fiery escape to the middle of Nevermore. No family wondered where we were? No one cared? My mother made it out with nothing but me? Not a penny to her name? Just some buttons?
We were rich in buttons.
Oh, I had button necklaces in every color growing up— red, green, blue, yellow, white, pink—and I matched them to every outfit I had. We didn’t have money for trendy jewelry or clothes—tennis bracelets, Gloria Vanderbilt jeans—so my mom made nearly everything I wore.
Kids made fun of me at school for that.
“Sutton, the button girl!” they’d taunt me. “Hand-me-downs!”
Wasn’t funny. Ozarks kids weren’t clever. Just annoyingly direct, like the skeeters that constantly buzzed my head.
I loved my necklaces, though. They were like Wonder Woman’s bracelets. For some reason, I always felt protected.
I’d finger and count every button on my necklace waiting for my mom to answer the question I’d asked long ago. She’d just keep searching those buttons, turning them round and round, feeling them, whispering to them, as if they were alive and breathing. The quiet would nearly undo me. A girl should have music and friends’ laughter be the soundtrack of her life, not the clink of buttons and rush of the creek. Most times, I’d spin my button necklace a few times, counting upward of sixty before my mom would answer.
“Alive!” she’d finally say, voice firm, without looking up. “That’s how we made it out…alive. And you should feel darn lucky about that, young lady.”
Then, as if by magic, my mom would always somehow manage to find a matching button to replace a missing one on a hand-me-down blouse of hers, or pluck the “purtiest” ones from the countless buttons in her jar—iridescent abalone or crochet over wound silk f loss—to make the entire blouse seem new again.
Still, she would never smile. In fact, it was as if she had been born old. I had no idea how old she might be: Thirty-five? Fifty? Seventy?
But when she’d find a beautiful button, she would hold it up to study, her gold eyes sparkling in the light from the little lamp over Ol’ Betsy, her Singer sewing machine.
If I watched her long enough, her face would relax just enough to let the deep creases sigh, and the edges of her mouth would curl ever so slightly, as if she had just found the secret to life in her button jar.
“Look at this beautiful button, Sutton,” she’d say. “So many buttons in this jar: fabric, shell, glass, metal, ceramic. All forgotten. All with a story. All from someone and somewhere. People don’t give a whit about buttons anymore, but I do. They hold value, these things that just get tossed aside. Buttons are still the one thing that not only hold a garment together but also make it truly unique.”
Finally, finally, she’d look at me. Right in the eye.
“Lots of beauty and secrets in buttons if you just look long and hard enough.”
The way she said that would make my body explode in goose pimples.
Every night of my childhood, I’d go to bed and stare at my necklace in the moonlight, or I’d play with the buttons in my mom’s jar searching for an answer my mother never provided.
Even today when I design a beautiful dress with pretty, old-fashioned buttons, I think of my mom and how the littlest of things can hold us together.
Or tear us apart.
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Author Bio
VIOLA SHIPMAN is the pen name for internationally bestselling author Wade Rouse. Wade is the author of fourteen books, which have been translated into 21 languages and sold over a million copies around the world. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman as a pen name to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire his fiction. The last Viola Shipman novel, The Secret of Snow (October 2021), was named a Best Book of Fall by Country Living Magazine and a Best Holiday Book by Good Housekeeping.
Wade hosts the popular Facebook Live literary happy hour, “Wine & Words with Wade,” every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EST on the Viola Shipman author page where he talks writing, inspiration and welcomes bestselling authors and and publishing insiders.
Harry Booth started stealing at nine to keep a roof over his ailing mother’s head, slipping into luxurious, empty homes at night to find items he could trade for precious cash. When his mother finally succumbed to cancer, he left Chicago—but kept up his nightwork.
Wandering from the Outer Banks to Savannah to New Orleans, he dons new identities and stays careful, observant, distant. He can’t afford to attract attention—or get attached. Still, he can’t help letting his guard down when he meets Miranda Emerson. But the powerful bond between them cannot last—because not all thieves follow Harry’s code of honor. Some pay others to take risks so they can hoard more treasures. Some are driven by a desire to own people the way they own paintings and jewels. And after Harry takes a lucrative job commissioned by Carter LaPorte, LaPorte sees a tool he can use, and decides he wants to own Harry.
The man is a predator more frightening than the alligators that haunt the bayou—and when he strongarms Harry into robbing a Baltimore museum, Harry abandons Miranda—cruelly, with no explanation—and disappears. But no matter what name he uses or where he goes, LaPorte casts a shadow over Harry’s life. To truly free himself, he must face down his enemy once and for all. Only then can he hope to possess something more valuable than anything he has ever stolen.
NIGHTWORK by Nora Roberts is a unique romantic suspense with a young hero who grows up to becomes a gentleman thief with his own set of rules and moral code. This is a standalone that that is mainly told from the viewpoint of the hero.
Harry Booth never knew his father, but he always had the love of his mother and aunt, Mags. When Harry is 9 years old, his mother has her first fight with cancer. The sister’s cleaning company cannot keep up with the bills and Harry begins to pick pockets to help with money. By the age of 12, he was breaking into homes, only taking a few things of value and never with a weapon. When Harry graduated from high school, his mother died after two remissions, he set out on his own. He went south and his aunt went west.
This is the start of a tale that follows Harry, Silas, Booth, Sebastian (different identities) all over the U.S., Europe, South America and then back to the U.S. I loved the flamboyant family of thieves and cons he kept as a pseudo family in New Orleans even though that is where his trouble with the antagonist, LaPorte in this story meet. I also loved how he always stayed in touch with Mags no matter what. When he first meets Miranda Emerson, you just knew it wouldn’t last, especially if you remember his taro reading, but when they come back together as adults it works.
This is a very enjoyable book. Booth’s travels and escapades are interesting, Miranda is his perfect match, and all the other secondary characters are colorful and entertaining. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous and quick. There are ups and downs in the plot that keep you turning the pages.
I enjoyed Harry and his story very much.
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About the Author
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for AMONG THE INNOCENT by Mary Alford on this Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
When Leah Miller’s entire Amish family was murdered ten years ago, the person believed responsible took his own life. Since then, Leah left the Amish and joined the police force. Now, after another Amish woman is found murdered with the same MO, it becomes clear that the wrong man may have been blamed for her family’s deaths.
As Leah and the new police chief, Dalton Cooper, work long hours struggling to fit the pieces together in order to catch the killer, they can’t help but grow closer. When secrets from both of their pasts begin to surface, an unexpected connection between them is revealed. But this is only the beginning. Could it be that the former police chief framed an innocent man to keep the biggest secret of all buried? And what will it mean for Leah–and Dalton–when the full truth comes to light?
Genre: Amish Mystery Published by: Fleming H. Revell Company Publication Date: June 7th 2022 Number of Pages: 297 ISBN: 0800740262 (ISBN13: 9780800740269)
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
AMONG THE INNOCENT by Mary Alford is an action-packed Amish crime mystery/suspense featuring two law enforcement officers brought together by a serial killer who has returned to the quiet community of St. Ignatius, Montana to finish what he started ten years previously. This is a standalone mystery/suspense with a setting and characters I wish were going to be in a series.
Ten years ago, Leah Miller was a young teen who was the lone survivor of a horrific crime, where her entire Amish family was killed in front of her. Leah barely survived, she left the Amish and was taken in by the local sheriff and his wife. Now as a member of the sheriff’s department herself, she is called to the murder scene of young Amish girl with the same MO as her family’s killer who they all believed was dead.
Dalton Cooper is the new Sheriff, and he has his own reasons for accepting the job in this small town which tie to the death of the accused murderer of Leah’s family. As they work the case, they realize that the true killer has returned, and the previous sheriff seemed to be hiding information. They also begin to have feelings for each other, but they feel the present case needs to take precedent.
Another Amish girl is murdered, the killer is toying with Leah and the tenth anniversary of the Miller family’s death is near. Will Dalton and Leah be able to discover the truth before the dark past wins?
I found this mystery suspense to be a page-turner that I could not put down. Leah and Dalton were both broken and not moving forward with their lives, and it took their coming together to solve this case and discover the facts from the past that would allow them to heal. They were both fully fleshed, realistic characters that I empathized with immediately. The serial killer was intelligent and frightening. Ms. Alford did a great job of placing plot twists and red herrings in just the right places to make the plot fast paced and surprising. The setting of this story was very interesting, too. A mixture of small-town Montana, Amish community and Indian reservation all interconnected. This could also be considered a Christian mystery because the characters do pray for God’s assistance at times, discuss their lack of faith due to their pasts and the romantic elements are no more than a few kisses.
I highly recommend this Amish mystery/suspense!
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Excerpt
Prologue
He drove by the house again. The second time today. All because of her.
The sight of his car rolling down the dirt road in front of her isolated farm filled Beth Zook with thoughts not proper for an Amish girl. A cloud of dust followed the car, instantly covering the freshly washed sheet she’d hung out to dry minutes earlier. Despite the sweltering July heat, he’d put down the window. Was it because he wanted her to see him as he eased by?
He waved when he saw her looking, and she reacted like a moth drawn to a flame. Beth had never met anyone so unpredictable before. One minute he teased, the next his eyes smoldered with such intensity that it frightened her.
Looking at his handsome face sent the butterflies in her stomach scattering. A flash of a smile revealed white teeth, perfect like everything else about him.
Beth waved back, then glanced over her shoulder. What would Mamm and her sister say if they noticed? She covered her mouth to suppress the giggle. She’d been giggling a lot lately.
Too soon . . .
Her head warned it was too soon for these emotions, yet
her heart threatened to explode from her chest each time they were together.
Heat flooded her cheeks as she recalled his kisses from the night before. She’d been so afraid her parents would wake and hear her slipping out of her bedroom window. A sense of fear and adventure had followed her each step of the way as she’d crossed the yard in the pitch-black dark of night to the old Miller barn where he’d waited for her.
At first, she’d been afraid to go there after what had happened all those years ago. Four members of the Miller family had been found dead inside that barn. Leah Miller, the oldest daughter, was the only survivor. Whispers around the community about the unspeakable evil that had transpired that night could still be heard.
When Beth told her suitor about the murders, his eyes gleamed with excitement. While he seemed to enjoy envisioning what had happened back then, the barn gave Beth the creeps. But she kept that to herself because he made her feel special. Beautiful. Important. For the first time in her life, she longed for things not found among the Plain people of St. Ignatius. A life of pretty things. Like he promised.
Last night when they’d met, he’d asked her to run away with him. Her heart had overflowed with eagerness until reality tamped down her happiness, and Beth realized she wasn’t ready to leave her home. Her family. While she remained torn between staying Amish forever and leaving with him, he’d told her he would drive by her house every day until she said yes. Part of her was thrilled—intrigued at the consuming way he watched her. The other part was scared. Beth did not understand his almost feral wildness.
She took the dust-covered sheet down and reached for the next one, pinning it to the clothesline with unsteady hands. When Mamm wasn’t watching, she’d sneak inside and rewash the soiled one. That way there wouldn’t be questions to answer. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the car slowing.
Brake lights flashed. She picked up the next sheet and hung it. When he honked, she whirled toward the sound while praying the family wouldn’t come to investigate. He slid out and leaned against the rotting fence post near the Miller property. Many times, Beth wished she could be as daring. He did not live by the same rules as the Amish. In his world, anything was possible. She still couldn’t imagine why he wanted her. A man so handsome could have his choice of any girl, Englisch or Plain. Why her?
When he realized he had her attention, he motioned her over. Beth felt obliged to shake her head, though she’d thought about him throughout the day. Was eager to see him again. She anticipated his kisses with every beat of her heart.
She touched her hands to her burning cheeks. Such thoughts were not gut, but she couldn’t help how she felt. With him, Beth felt truly alive. The hardest part was she had no one with whom to share how she felt. Her friend Eva listened, but Beth sensed she might be jealous.
She’d almost told her older sister Colette about him last Saturday night before the biweekly church service, but she’d lost her nerve. Married and ten years older, Colette had three kinner of her own.
Besides, her sister was always so serious. She would not understand this reckless feeling.
Until her sixteenth birthday, Beth hadn’t either. She’d loved everything about the Amish way of life. Then, she’d started her rumspringa and had gotten a taste of the freedom of the Englischer world. She liked it. Before him, she’d planned to join the church and eventually marry Caleb Wagler, but not before enjoying every minute of her running around. Now, Beth was not sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life in St. Ignatius, living on a farm like her sister with a house full of kinner pulling on her apron. He offered her excitement. Adventure. Love. How could she not accept those gifts?
She hung the last of the sheets and picked her way across the patches of grass in the bare yard to where he stood. The glint in his eyes as he watched her wasn’t anything like the way Caleb looked at her.
Beth stopped a few feet away. With the fence separating them, she snuck a peek over her shoulder. “You should not be here.” She tried to sound stern but failed miserably.
Without warning, he jumped the fence. Beth giggled as he grabbed her hands and tugged her closer. “Yes, I should. You belong to me, Beth Zook.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his proclamation, and she couldn’t help imagining what their life together would be like.
Foolishness, Beth. You waste the day with all your imprudent thoughts, she could almost hear Colette saying.
“Mamm will notice I’m gone soon. You must leave now.” She tried to tug her wrists free, but he tightened his grip to the point of pain, and a flash of anger glittered in those deep dark eyes. “You are hurting me,” she murmured, tears forming. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen before. A cruel side she didn’t much like.
He let her go. Smiled. Everything became right again with the curve of his lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Beth.” The gentleness in his tone soothed her worries away. “You’re just so pretty.”
“You are such a flatterer.” She playfully swatted at his arm but secretly loved the way he spoke.
He leaned close and planted a kiss on her lips right there in broad daylight. Her legs turned to gelatin. A sigh escaped as warmth coursed through her limbs. After another stolen kiss, he released her.
“It’s true. Don’t be coy. You know you’re pretty.” His gaze skirted past her to the house. “And you deserve more than this life. Come away with me now.”
More than anything she wanted to, but when she thought about her mamm’s pained reaction to her middle daughter forsaking their faith, she couldn’t do it. “I told you, I cannot run away with you. And I have to go back to my chores.” She turned. Then, emboldened by his claims, she swung around, framed his face with her hands, and kissed him earnestly.
He chuckled at her brazenness. He snatched her hand once more. Though she secretly relished his desire to be with her so badly, she pretended differently. “Please, you must let me go. Mamm will see.”
“I don’t care.” A second passed before he finally relented. “Only if you promise to meet me tonight at our place.”
The eagerness in his eyes sent a shiver through her body. It made her hesitate. This was the man she adored. Surely, there was nothing to fear.
“I have something special planned for you,” he added with a cajoling smile when she wavered. “Something you’ll like.”
“If I can,” she whispered and pulled her hand free. They both knew she’d be there. As she ran across the scorching earth, Beth peered over her shoulder. He still stood next to the fence, grinning when he noticed her looking. She stumbled over the uneven ground. Heard him laughing.
As she stepped up on the porch, the front door opened and Mamm stood in the doorway, hands on hips. Her wrinkled brow furrowed at her daughter’s labored breathing.
“Komm, help your sister prepare supper.” Her mother studied Beth with narrowed eyes. Took in her flushed face. Her nervous hands. Had Mamm ever felt this way about Daed?
“Who is that out on the road?”
Beth struggled to keep her face blank. “Someone passing by, I suppose.” With one final glance his way and a secret smile, she hurried to go inside.
Her mother cast another disapproving stare at the car as Beth entered the house.
“I have something special planned for you.”
It was hard to keep the excitement to herself. She couldn’t wait to see the mysterious surprise he had in store.
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Author Bio
Mary Alford is a USA Today bestselling author who loves giving her readers the unexpected, combining unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots that result in stories the reader can’t put down. Her titles have been finalists for several awards, including the Daphne Du Maurier, the Beverly, the Maggie, and the Selah. She and her husband live in the heart of Texas in the middle of 70 acres with two cats and one dog.
Berlin, Germany, 1930—When the Nazis rise to power, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and her academic husband benefit from the military ambitions of Germany’s newly elected chancellor when Jürgen is offered a high-level position in their burgeoning rocket program. Although they fiercely oppose Hitler’s radical views, and joining his ranks is unthinkable, it soon becomes clear that if Jürgen does not accept the job, their income will be taken away. Then their children. And then their lives.
Huntsville, Alabama, 1950—Twenty years later, Jürgen is one of many German scientists pardoned and granted a position in America’s space program. For Sofie, this is a chance to leave the horrors of her past behind. But when rumors about the Rhodes family’s affiliation with the Nazi party spread among her new American neighbors, idle gossip turns to bitter rage, and the act of violence that results tears apart a family and leaves the community wondering—is it an act of vengeance or justice?
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Elise’s Thoughts
The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer has a unique perspective. It delves into forgiveness, family bonds, choices made, both good/evil, right/wrong, prejudice, and relationships during the 1930s and 1950s. The story shows the deep flaws and frailty of Germans living under Nazi rule.
The novel is inspired by the true story of Operation Paperclip: a controversial secret US intelligence program that employed former Nazi scientists after WWII and had them live together with their American counterparts.
There are alternating timelines, settings, and narrations. The story begins in Berlin during the 1930s where Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and her academic husband benefit from the military ambitions of Germany’s newly elected chancellor, Hitler. Jürgen Rhodes is offered a high-level position in their burgeoning rocket program. Although they fiercely oppose Hitler’s radical views, it soon becomes clear that if Jürgen does not accept the job, their income, their children, and their lives will be taken away.
Sofie and Jurgen beloved Jewish friend, Mayim lives with them at the beginning of the Nazi regime. But as the years pass, they know that Mayim must leave because Jews are no longer accepted. Through Mayim’s eyes readers get a glimpse into the Nazi atrocities, how many Germans were sleeper Anti-Semites who came out of the woodwork after Hitlers’ rise to power, and how the Jews try to flee to different countries to escape the prejudice, threats, and killings.
The other setting in the 1930s is El Paso Texas where the Davies family is struggling to survive on their farm. Between the depression and the terrible drought Lizzie realizes her dream of staying and becoming a farmer is no longer a reality. Her brother Henry enlists to fight the Germans during WWII and she marries Calvin, her best friend. But theirs is a marriage of convenience with no intimacy whatsoever.
Twenty years later, during the 1950s in Huntsville Alabama Jürgen is brought from Germany to America along with other German scientists to help America start their space program. This is where Operation Paperclip comes into play. Many of these scientists are Nazis, worked in the SS, and ran labor camps, yet, had their German past in Germany completely wiped and became thriving American citizens. He is eventually joined by Sophie and their two youngest children. But they must struggle with their past as many Germans are not always welcome in Huntsville. Lizzie and Sophie’s life interconnect when Calvin and Jürgen, both scientists, work together on the rocket program. Both Lizzie and her brother Henry, who suffers from PTSD after seeing the Nazi atrocities, are hostile to the Rhodes family. The story shows what happens when resentment, prejudice, rage, and acts of violence along with denial come together.
This is an emotionally complex plot that shows how hate can fester, grow, and destroy people’s lives. This thought-provoking novel delves into choices people make because of obligation, fear, force, or a willingness to turn a blind eye. It is a riveting tale of morality and how far someone will go to be able to live their lives, both figuratively and literally.
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Author’s Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Kelly Rimmer: I live in Australia, about an hour and a half from the Parks Radio and Telescope Observatory. They had a festival in 2019 to commemorate the role the Parks played with the moon landing. They relayed communication and telemetry signals to NASA, providing coverage for when the Apollo spaceship was on the Australian side of the Earth. While I was there, I visited an exhibit about the US space program. I saw how there was a line that said how German and US scientists worked together starting in 1950 in Huntsville Alabama to help the space program. I was determined to learn how that could happen and wanted to know about Operation Paperclip.
EC: Can people learn from fiction?
KR: For me, that is fiction’s superpower. People can learn about themselves. Even though it is an escape people can learn about the world. The power is that people can learn facts and spur people’s reactions unlike other medias.
EC: How would you describe Sophie?
KR: Readers should be uncomfortable with all the choices she made. I don’t think she and her husband made good choices. She has lived quite a privileged life. She does not want to make waves even when she hears her friend Lydia speaking of her other friend Mayim in anti-Semitic terms. Over time, she does evolve.
EC: How would you describe Jurgen?
KR: He is deeply flawed. His career trajectory follows Wernher Von Braun exactly. Although the character is from my imagination, not his career. He sees his role as protecting and sheltering his family. He never resisted, sabotaged, or tried to help the laborers. I do not intend for readers to like him. Realistically, people made the choices not to speak up. He is even more extreme than Sophie in not helping others. He represented those scientists who knew that in the wrong hands, which is Hitler’s regime, that the rockets would not be used for space, but as weapons.
EC: The plight of the Jews was mentioned in this book?
KR: There was Kristallnacht, the Jews who had their whole lives destroyed, and were killed. Sophie became a bystander to one of the most atrocious events in human history. It does not start with Auschwitz, but the small acts of aggression and hatred. The Jews were blamed for WWI and the economic conditions of the times. Everything was the Jews fault long before the persecution started.
EC: What was Mayim’s role?
KR: I wanted the book to be about friendship. Her and Sophie loved and accepted one another. They adore one another. I wanted to so how ordinary citizens can become part of these acts of history by not speaking out. The bigger picture does really matter.
EC: There were three couples that represented different views: Jurgen and Sophie, Claudia and Klaus, Lydia, and Karl. Please explain.
KR: Lydia and Karl were not open about their Anti-Semitism in the early days of the Nazi regime. I put in this book quote, “The Nazis didn’t make people like Lydia and Karl anti-Semitic. They only uncovered what already existed.” They very quickly got swept up in the Nazi party agenda. Jurgen and Sophie are reasonable people who do feel guilty because they are complicit. Claudia and Klaus did take a stand refusing to join the Nazi Party. It cost them, but they had dignity. Lydia/Karl were pure Nazis, Jurgen/Sophie were reluctant Nazis, and Claudia /Karl were not Nazis.
EC: What about the role of Lizzie and Henry?
KR: I wanted to write about the intersection of a small town in America with the German families living in WWII. 2019 was the end of a three-year drought in Australia. Everything was covered in dust, wary and draining. It was hard on people mentally who feel completely powerless. When I looked at the timing of when all would meet in Huntsville, I decided to have these characters living through the Texas dust bowl. They are very devoted to their families. Lizzie has seen the War through Henry’s eyes who was a veteran.
EC: What do you want readers to get out of the book?
KR: I was told by a reviewer: “Hate is taught, and empathy is a skill.” This is exactly what the book is about. It could happen again. My characters lived day to day and did not try to see where things were headed. Small day to day choices does matter. It matters to speak up when things were wrong. It troubles me that the US rocket program achieved something amazing, going to the moon. But it was built on Jewish lives. The moon landing does not happen if there was not Mittelwerk, a German labor camp. I hope people delve into the history after reading this novel.
EC: Next book?
KR: It is about women in the British Special Operations Executive, a secretive organization. It is set in France and Britain in the early 1940s. Hopefully, it will be out next year. They did so many heroic feats.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
