Book Recommendation: Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin
Sarah Sundin is on fire with her latest release! Read the ReviewEmbers in the London Sky by Saraha Sundin
Sarah Sundin’s latest release is about resilience, of a city and of a mother in her desperate attempts to find her lost child. In the first scene, we meet Aleida Maartens, a Dutch wife determined to escape from her abusive and domineering husband. But he thwarts her plans when he arranges for them to escape the invading Germans. In the confusion Aleida is separated from her son and her husband is killed so she must travel to England alone to find the child she loves so dearly and forge a future for them in a city under threat. In London, she meets charming and charismatic Hugh Collingwood, a radio correspondent for the BBC. Although she is wary at first, Aleida and Hugh become friends. He helps her in her quest to find her son and she helps break down the walls he’s built to keep people from getting too near with her direct way of speaking. As the pair keep their calm and carry on through both the German blitz and threat closer to home, their friendship blooms into love. Embers in the London Sky is gripping from beginning to end and tears at the heart of any mother who has ever been worried for her child.
Three things I loved
The opening: The first chapter of this book is utterly gripping. The reader is dropped right in the middle of the action right next to Aleida as she tries to escape. We feel the full effect of her husband’s abusive behaviour and experience the shock and grief of discovering she is separated from her beloved son, all in the first gripping 1500 or so words.
This is the kind of scene that seals the deal in the bookshop because you know with a writer like Sarah Sundin if the first scene is this good the rest of the book will be brilliant.
A radio journalist hero: I might be biased here because my husband was a radio journalist when I met and married him! But Hugh is absolutely delightful. I liked the distinctions Sundin made between the deceitful nature of the charm of Aleida’s first husband and that of the charismatic Hugh. I adored the behind-the-scenes details of the BBC during wartime. The regular gatherings of journalists and correspondents at the Heart and Swan pub were some of my favourites.
An unexpected murder mystery: I loved the murder mystery storyline that bubbled away in the background and its gripping conclusion. The mystery and suspense elements were elegantly woven into what is primarily a love story, with plenty of twists and a satisfying climax.
Embers in the London Sky is available at Amazon US and Amazon Australia.
