The highly awaited new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The German Midwife (also published as A Woman of War).
Venice, 1943The world is at war, and Stella Jilani is leading a double life. By day she works in the lion’s den as a typist for the Reich; by night, she risks her life as a messenger for the Italian resistance. Against all odds, Stella must impart Nazi secrets, … resistance. Against all odds, Stella must impart Nazi secrets, smuggle essential supplies and produce an underground newspaper on her beloved typewriter.
But when German commander General Breugal becomes suspicious, it seems he will stop at nothing to find the mole, and Stella knows her future could be in jeopardy.
London, 2017
Years later, Luisa Belmont finds a mysterious old typewriter in her attic. Determined to find out who it belonged to, Luisa delves into the past and uncovers a story of fierce love, unimaginable sacrifice and, ultimately, the worst kind of betrayal…
Set between German-occupied 1940s Venice and modern-day London, this is a fascinating tale of the bravery of everyday women in the darkest corners of WWII, for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris.
Praise for The Secret Messenger:
‘Rich and captivating…a vivid story of love, sacrifice and betrayal.’ Woman’s World
‘Intriguing, pacy and fascinating.’ Suzanne Goldring, author of My Name is Eva
‘Unique, emotional and life-affirming.’ Melanie Hudson, author of The Last Letter from Juliet
‘A beautifully written novel, perfect for historical fiction lovers.’ Soraya M. Lane, bestselling author of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘Another fantastic page-turner.’ LP Fergusson, author of A Dangerous Act of Kindness
‘I felt I was walking alongside Stella over bridges and along canals at every heartstopping moment… Wonderful.’ Molly Green, author of An Orphan’s Wish
‘One of the stronger novels that pays homage to the women involved in the movements of resistance.’ Reader review
‘Refreshingly different. Even if you think you have read enough war books this year I strongly recommend you read this one.’ Reader review
‘If you like WWII stories, this is a must read.’ Reader review
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A very well written book about the French Undergound in Venice during World War 2. Description of the geography of Venice gave one the feeling of being there. Character development was well done. The switching back & forth between decades was virtuously seamless. A great historical fiction read!
From the very beginning it became a book I did not want to stop reading. The entire story was inspirational and the ending was a complete surprise. I recommend this book for anyone who likes history!
I enjoyed the story, but thought the end was a little weak…
Was a good read
The Secret Messenger is a book about the resistance during WWII in Venice Italy. It follows a story of a Luisa who finds an old typewriter in the attic and inside is a picture of her grandmother. She goes to Venice on a quest to find out about the history of her grandmother during WWII.
The second story the book tells is about Luisa’s grandmother Stella during the war. This is a really good story and the really interesting part of the book. Stella works for the resistance along with her best friend Mimi. Luisa is a messenger , than she writes for the resistance newspaper, and finally works as a typist at the German headquarters in Venice. There are dark night rows across the water to visit Jack, nights sneaking home after curfew, her brother being caught by the Nazi’s, the odd officer at the German headquarters Christian . A typewriter with the broken letter E causes the Nazi’s to put out wanted posters for the author of the newspaper and a hunt for the typewriter. When they suspect Stella they search her apartment but no typewriter is found although earlier she hid it there. Who took the typewriter? Does Stella get caught or does she get away from the Nazi’s? Who is the mysterious Jack she visits? These questions and more as well as escapes and near disasters are addressed within the pages of this book.
It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I liked the story of Stella. I was not so thrilled with the story of Luisa. I kept skipping through those pages to get back to Stella’s story. I think I would have just liked the book to be about Stella without the Luisa story.
It is a good book and I couldn’t wait to get back to it and find out what happened next. I would recommend the book.
An interesting, fictitious account, of Resistance efforts in Venice during the WWII German occupation. I would have preferred to have less back and forth between the 1940s and modern times, as it seemed distracting. The author would end the old and modern sections on cliff hangers and then switch to the other time period. Overall the background history seems pretty accurate. Venice during the Occupation was a bit different than other Italian cities so the book did a good job of showing what Venice was like. I found the British slang terms a bit jarring when the Venetians were speaking it.
Heart stopping !
This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I was so impressed with it I’ll definitely read more. It was beautifully written and the research that went into it was obvious. The storyline draws you in and you become invested in the lives of the character’s portrayed. I didn’t really know anything about the Italian resistance and it was really interesting reading. There are twists and turns as the plot unfolds and is cleverly told over two timelines. it all comes together at the end of the book and the threads all pull together so it all makes sense. It was a very poignant read and I thoroughly recommend it.
I received this copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review and all thoughts are freely given
The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham was intriguing to me as it was set in Venice during World War II. Stella worked as a typist for the Nazi regime. After hours she worked for the Resistence, producing an underground newspaper. The typewriter has a distinguishing feature and the Nazis are hunting for the typewriter used. Robotham has written a dual-time period story. The second time period takes place in 2017 when Stella found an old typewriter of her grandmother‘s in an attic of her mother’s. Luisa goes on a quest to find out info about the typewriter. For me, I think the book would have been more interesting if the book was just Stella’s story. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review.
The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham is a suspenseful, harrowing dual timeline historical fiction novel written between 2017 Luisa and WWII era Italy with (Louisa’s grandmother) Stella whom was involved with the resistance.
It was an interesting angle to incorporate the occupation, war, bands of resistance, as well as the female involvement with it in Venice during the latter years of WWII (1944-45). Many books are written involving the geographical regions and descriptions of other occupied countries and incorporating Italy as the main backdrop gives this novel an interesting flare to set it a part from the others.
I enjoyed the suspense, the intrigue, and complicated situations that Stella found herself in again and again in her quest to save herself, her loved ones, and her ideals. It definitely kept me on my toes.
I enjoyed Stella’s story more so the Luisa’s, however the majority of the book is concerning Stella, so that worked out well for my interests.
A great read.
5/5 stars
The Secret Messenger was not only a very good read but I learned alot not only about Venice but Venice’s part in the war.
Stella is a leading a double life, part of the Resitance , carrying messages, publishing a newspaper while during the day she is working for the Nazi’s translating.
The Secret Messenger has a dual timeline featuring her granddaughter Luisa as she tries to uncover her Grandmother’s past.
I found myself thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading and just wanting to get back to the story.
I highly recommend you pick up your copy of The Secret Messenger and if you have not read The German Midwife get that at the same time.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK , Avon for letting me get wrapped up in Stella’s world.