It is said that behind every great man is a great woman.
Marie Benedict disproves this over and over again in her books as she writes about underestimated, overlooked and invisible women in history. She looks for possible truths about these women and creates captivating historical fiction. Lady Clementine is no exception, as I became totally consumed by the powerful influence she had beside Winston Churchill throughout their marriage. Between Benedict's detailed research and her imagination, she made Clementine come alive with endless possibilities. The reader becomes intimately involved in Clementine's lonely childhood, her unusual marriage, and her struggle with motherhood. I find myself cheering her on, and enjoy each of Marie Benedict's exploration of these amazing women!

I will preface this with the fact that this is the first book I've read of Steinhaurer's. This story takes place at a restaurant in Carmel-by-the -Sea. The meeting is between two ex-lovers, one still a spy, the other an ex-spy. They are revisiting a tragedy that took place when they worked together in Vienna 6 years before. There is a question of an agent being compromised. The brief story focuses mainly on these two characters with confusing flashbacks and a predictable outcome. I missed the thrills, twists and turns I've come to expect from mystery books. I'm not so sure setting a spy thriller at a restaurant table is particularly successful. However, given the quality of the writing, I would certainly explore other books by Olin Steinhauer.

Not often does one find a book that focuses on the plight of the refugees at the end of WW II, and almost never a very real insight into the overwhelming challenges the Holocaust survivors faced. This book quickly drew me in, and gave me a capsule view of two such survivors. Jacob and Sarah meet in a very unlikely way in Heidelberg at the end of the war. Both have survived unimaginable horror and trauma. Jacob, with a deep, revengeful anger toward his brother's SS murderer, and Sarah with unfathomable pain from the horror and loss she endured. Together they have to try and work through this past into beginning to build a future and this is the focus of the story. It was informative, emotional, suspenseful, and I find myself thinking about it over and over. Great book group book!

Unlike many WWII books, this story is not focused on the horrors of the battlefield, but rather on the long term emotional toll war exacts at home for generations. It is a very heartfelt journey with three close women friends who fall in love with their soldiers and how these relationships and their lives are forever and completely shaped by the war. We are pulled into their experience from the first page and are riveted to each of their lives for the next 20 years. It gave me tremendous insight into my own mother's life as it was deeply affected by her soldier going off to war.

I fell deeply into an adventure that began with Jaffy Brown being rescued from the terrifying jaws of a tiger as it escaped down a London street. From here I was immersed deeper and deeper into a tale that was both magically engaging and outlandishly unbelievable. Birch has a way with words that transported me into this journey in a way that caused me to see very strange sights, smell a wide range of odors both good and bad, hear sounds foreign to my ears, and taste unimaginable horror. But underneath the intense experience was a powerful story of love and friendship. If you liked "The Life of Pi", this book might draw you in as well!

Myla Goldberg captured my interest in the first pages of "The False Friend" as she brought me into a jolting and raw memory of an episode from the childhood of the main character, Celia. From there her story carried me through a very slow and painful reentry into the world of Celia's worst nightmare. Goldberg's ability to immerse me in some very mercurial childhood relationships while also bringing me home to reenter the relationships with Celia's parents and boyfriend shows her strength as a writer in making the reader share intimately in her relationships. Life is not always what it seems is an apt wrap up to her intense exploration to find a deep truth. It was a compelling story!

From the very first paragraph I was harshly pulled into the world of the Vietnam war. With an incredible ability to enable the reader the experience every setting to the fullest, Marti Leimbach bombarded all of my senses. Because of these details, I was masterfully drawn into every experience in this surrealistic setting of war. It was a story of relationships and humanity fitting into a war zone. Relationships were filled with mystery and intrigue that come and go within the constant that is war. It is a war novel that a woman can experience in a way most don't achieve. An excellent read that keeps the reader riveted!