Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

WHAT DO WE HAVE? A psychological thriller? A true war story based on facts with fictitious characters? A suspense? Some of all of these. What we have is a mix of storyteller and history teacher with many long expository intrusions, flashbacks and author-voiced settings. PLOT gripped me immediately. We go deep into Franka's emotions as she slogs into the Black Forest woods, deep in snow, to end her life. After all, she's lost all her loved ones to war and the Gestapo. So she trudges to her "farewell location," carrying her dead father's revolver. She stumbles upon "a body, crumpled like a bunch of rags in the pristine white." From his Luftwaffe captain's jacket and the ruffled parachute, Franka's knows "he's one of the monsters who had destroyed this country and taken away everyone she had ever loved." DILEMMA. The airman is still alive. Franka is a nurse. Her sense of saving lives causes deep psychological turmoil -- let him die, go ahead with her suicide plans -- risk her life to save this stranger whom she hates? And then she hears him speak a few words in English! I'M INTRIGUED. Also, the author's descriptions make me "see." They're sharp without being long and add to the depth of the action. PACE -- the first half of the novel is the airman recovering from his limiting injuries and preparation to avoid the intruding Gestapo. It's a bit slow. Then as the Gestapo closes in, the tension becomes more severe. All the previous historical flashbacks deepen this tension. This book becomes a true action novel with a satisfying ending. . OVERALL -- this story and characters gripped my sympathy, and at times my deeper emotions. This was a wrenching time during World War II, heavy on moral dilemmas, grief, excruciating conflicts within and without, and love for both your friends and your enemies. TAKE-AWAY: "Don't let anyone dictate to you who you are, or what's in your soul" (Franka's father.) RECOMMEND. Even though there were problems arising from the difficulty of the book's concept, I think it still deserves five stars.