"Perched high atop a cliff in Ireland, a lonely Victorian mansion is home to Temple House School."

The house itself sets the tone for the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Louisa, a scholarship student at the school, and her art teacher, Mr. Lavelle. It had been assumed by many that they had disappeared together.

The author, Rachel Donahue, paints a vivid picture of this mansion-school. It is a cold and dreary place. It is the perfect setting for a mystery. With the power of words this school is almost an actual character in this book.

A young newspaper reporter has been assign to write a series of articles by her editor about the disappearance of the student and the teacher nearly twenty-five earlier. She is the detective, and she will find the answers to the mystery. In doing so, she will shatter the lives of others.

Other themes in this story include coming of age, love, and unrequited love.

This is not a happy book. There is no happily-ever-after for anyone. The author moves the reader to want to know what really happened to the student and the teacher.

Woman Before Wallis by Bryn Turnbull is a well researched book of historical fiction. The time period of this story occurs after World War I and through the decade of the 1930s. It's focus presents a lifestyle of the rich and famous both in the United States and in England.

Thelma Morgan Furness is the women before Wallis. Though married to Viscount Duke Furness, she becomes involved in a four year affair with Edward, Prince of Wales. When Thelma's sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt goes to court in the United States to gain custody of her daughter, Gloria Vanderbilt, Thelma leaves England and the Prince to give her support. This opens the door for Wallis Simpson to take Thelma's place in the arms of Edward.

The scandal reveal in the court proceedings and the power of the Crown revealed during the trial makes for interesting reading.

I enjoyed the reading of this book. Historical fiction provides the reader with new insights to past history

I do confess that I almost stopped my reading of DAUGHTER of the REICH by Louise Fein. The brainwashing used by the Nazis to convince the youth of Germany to buy into their world of hate was painful to me. I am glad that I finished the book and was able to see redemption in Hetty as she became her own person.

Hetty Heinrich is the daughter of an SS officer and the editor of a pro Natzi newspaper in Leipzig, Germany. She thought that her father was a great man. She believed everything he told her about the Jewish population until her own experience told her something different. At one time Hetty was proud to be a part of the new Thousand Year Reich

The book is a story that focuses on friendship, loyalty, and love. Karl is Hetty's older brother. She could tell him anything. As Karl became involved in gliders and airplanes, he became less involved with Hetty. She felt she was losing her best friend. Walter was Karl's best friend until he wasn't. Walter had saved Hetty from drowning when she was little. She looked upon him as her hero. Tomas has been Hetty's friend since the days of the old neighborhood. He became a Natzi gangster and a proud member of the German army. Erna is Hetty's best girlfriend from school. They shared secrets.

It is not often that a book is written from the point of view of a young Natzi girl. It helps to explain why the German population allowed Hitler to become the monster that he was. A population must be carefully taught.

During World War II, there was a severe shortage of military pilots to ferry new planes from factories to military bases throughout the country. Planes needed to be tested after their engines had been overhauled and pilots were needed to tow targets so gunner trainees could practice shooting with live ammunition. A civilian, volunteer group of experienced women pilots fulfilled the needs of the United States Army Air Force through a two year experiment. Army pilots were released from domestic flying to meet the enemy overseas.

"By December of 1944, over 1,102 women were wearing silver wings. They had flown more than seventy-seven different types of planes and had covered over 60 million miles. They had served as test pilots, flown personnel, and trained ground gunners to find planes as they strafed them. With the exception of combat flying, the women were doing every type of assignment their male counterparts performed. Thirty-eight of them had given their lives."

THE WOMEN WITH SILVER WINGS by Katherine Sharp Landeck is the story of these brave women who were a part of the Women's Army Air Force Service Pilots. (WASP)

This is a history book. It is the story of women who answered a call to help this nation win a war.

REMEMBERANCE, a book written by Rita Woods, tells the story of three women who lived in a time when slavery existed in Haiti and a young America. Though they lived in different time periods, they each shared a cultural heritage that could be traced back to Haiti. Each of them had special gifts or powers that they used to help others and help themselves as they struggled to become free. Abigail, Margot, and Winter each had their own story. The fourth women, Gaelle lived in the late 60's in Cleveland, Ohio. This was an historical time of racial unrest. Although not a slave by definition, she was a victim of poverty and was soon to be evicted from the a home she had lived in for over twenty five years. This story is similar to the evictions the slaves experienced from their "masters" who moved them or sold them from Haiti, New Orleans, Far Water, and Kentucky

This story also documents the cruelty of the institution of slavery and the inhumanity of men and women on men, women, and children.

The book is historical in that there was a slave uprising in Haiti in 1791. Thousands of people died in New Orleans because of an outbreak of yellow fever in 1857. The Fugitive Slave Laws we're passed by Congress. This created a new job market for bounty hunters. What was not historical is a place called Remembrance. You will want to know about this magical place.

In spite of that, the book, REMEMBRANCE is a book you will remember long after you have turned the last page.

Abraham Lincoln arrived in Springfield,Illinois, in 1837. He was born and raised in Kentucky. His family was dirt poor and he had little formal education. On a borrowed horse, a few law books, a change of clothes, and a personal debt of $1,000.00, Lincoln hoped that he could succeed as a lawyer. He was a real country bumpkin. The first person he met in town was Joshua Speed. He was a storekeeper who offered to provide him with a bed in the room above the store. Over the course of time, he taught Lincoln how to function in polite society. He groomed him for his ultimate future.

Mary Todd arrived in Springfield in 1839. She arrived with plenty of fancy clothes. Her family was a part of high society in Kentucky. Her hope was to find a husband. Her sister Elizabeth Edwards and her husband provided a home for her. Elizabeth took it upon herself to find an appropriate husband for her sister.

These two young people would never had met if they had stayed in Kentucky. The story of the courtship and marriage of Mary and Abraham is told through the eyes of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed. Often times the same event is described differently by the two storytellers. The social mores of Springfield and the complexities of the personalities of the couple made courting a real challenge. Added to that was the strong disapproval of Elizabeth Edwards to that relationship.

This is a book of historical fiction. The author,Louis Bayard, makes the reader feel like he/she has a ringside seat to the couple's courtship. Though it is never stated, he also makes a strong argument that without the support and love of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed there never would have been a President Lincoln.

A person chooses to read historical fiction because the reader wants to learn something while being entertained by a strong story line connected by real events in time. The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner accomplished both of these elements.

Did you know that over eleven thousand legal German immigrants were interned during World War II in detention facilities within the United States? Many of them were also pressured to be repatriated to war torn Germany as a part of an “Exchange Process” during the last year of the war in Europe

This story details the life of Elise Sontag and her family. When Elise’s father is arrested by the FBI under Executive Order 9066 as an enemy alien, a peaceful life in Davenport, Iowa, is disrupted. Poverty and uncertainty will follow the family as they are separated from each other, reunited in an internment camp in Texas, and finally repatriated in Germany where allied pilots were still bombing German cities. The story is also about a friendship between Elise and Mariko,a Japanese internee at that same camp in Texas.

Now at the age of 77, Elise has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She knows her mind is slipping. She wants to reconnect with Mariko who she has not seen or heard from in over 60 years.

The Last Year of the War was a book that I enjoyed. At my age (75) a person can not waste time reading something that is not enjoyable. I also appreciated all the new things I learned while I was reading this book. I cared about the characters and was interested in the story line. I plan on reading other books by Susan Meissner.