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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Venice, oh Venice! The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham was like touring the beautiful city among the chaos, confusion, and devastation of World War II. Before reading this novel, I was not aware of the intricacies, dedications, and sacrifices made by the Venetians during the war. I too, had heard Venice had experienced a “soft” war. What became utterly apparent is when it comes to war, there is nothing “soft” about it. This is not your typical WWII novel and the story is as unique as the beautiful city set upon the water. The history of Venice during WWII is artfully highlighted throughout as regular people worked daily doing extraordinary things.
Very detailed and very immersive atmosphere. This really transports you to a different time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham is Historical Thriller Fiction. A Split Time novel of 1942 Venice and 2017 London. It is a story of brave women and men working to change the outcome of war. Exciting but sometimes deadly adventures with resistance activities involving every part of their lives. A writer’s passion is both a blessing and a curse in Nazi controlled Venice. A granddaughter‘s admiration and need to research her grandmother’s history. Unexpected family joys, sorrows and secrets are discovered. Happy I was chosen to read this beautiful story. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars
This book had me hooked from the beginning. The vibrant descriptions of Venice during 1943 and the double life that Stella led had me captivated. The terrible conditions during the war and the risks she took as a messenger for the resistance brought the story to life.
The history is woven throughout the story and the author obviously has done her research. There is lots of suspense with times where I held my breath wondering what would come next. There are two time frames presented within the book, as Louisa into 2017 tries to trace her grandmother’s past.
The main characters were well-developed and I felt like I had really come to know them by the end of the book. The only negative that almost made me not read it, was early on there was a character that used profanity using the Lord’s name. The story was so interesting that I read on and it got better with no more instances.
I was provided with an ARC by the author and voluntarily choose to review it.
The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham is a marvellous dual timeline novel that I just could not put down.
It is set in 2017 and 1944 from the point of view of a granddaughter and her grandmother. The former finds an old typewriter and longs to discover her grandmother’s roots and wartime experiences.
The reader is transported to Nazi-occupied Venice. We witness the bravery of ordinary men and women of the resistance. “We are all soldiers in some way.” They led dual lives, lived on their wits and had to always be aware of their surroundings.
Morale was important. It was the simple things that lifted it up.
The Nazi regime was brutal. They reigned with terror, committing acts of atrocity.
There was always a question of trust. The Nazis knew how to exploit and manipulate people into giving others away.
The Secret Messenger is a testimony to the bravery of the resistance, ordinary men and women who stood up to a cruel regime, putting the war effort above personal safety. It was a powerful and consuming read.
I received a free copy via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
The surprise ending was great!
A beautifully written novel, perfect for historical fiction lovers.
Another fantastic page-turner.
Unique, emotional and life-affirming.
I felt I was walking alongside Stella over bridges and along canals at every heartstopping moment… Wonderful.
Intriguing, pacy and fascinating.
I began reading this book for our monthly book club and at first was not enthusiastic about it, but I was curious. The first two chapters started out a little slow for me because it involved a lot of setup of the book. But I would recommend sticking with it. It does pick up. The story is told from two different time-lines and two different perspectives. I love history, and I have always been intrigued by the resistance organizations who fought against the Nazis during WWII. This book tells the story of two women. The first, Stella Jilani, a woman living a double life. By day she is a typist for the Reich, working in the lion’s den: by night she risked her life passing on messages and information she collects from her day job. The year is 1943, the place, occupied Venice. The second part of the story takes place in 2017, London, and is told from the perspective of Louisa Belmont, a married woman who has just lost her mother. She finds a mysterious old typewriter in her mothers attic after her death. She is determined to find out who the typewriter belonged to and why it is among her mother’s possessions. It has a letter “e” that sticks and is older than she is. Long story short, it belonged to her grandmother, Stella Jilani, a brave, determined woman who sacrificed much in order to fight against the cruel Germans who occupied her hometown of Venice. It is a wonderful, engaging book that keeps the reader immersed and committed to the two characters and hoping for a happy ending. Betraying the Nazis is a dangerous game, and Mandy Robotham spins a wonderful story of fierce love, unimaginable sacrifice and, ultimately, betrayal. But fear not, plot reveal, it has a happy ending.
In modern day London Luisa is grieving the death of her mother with whom she had a strained relationship. Sorting through her mother’s attic, she finds a battered typewriter and old family photographs that increasingly intrigues her.
In wartime Venice, Stella Jilani is leading a double life – working as a typist in a Nazi general’s office whilst risking her life to provide intelligence to the Resistance.
I enjoyed this novel and, as someone equally fascinated by Venice, loved the vivid descriptions of the city. On the whole this is a good story and a well written book.
However, I feel the book’s editors ought to have suggested changes to some passages with excessively flowery language. The emotional impact of some of the most crucial scenes would have been far greater without eyeballs roving over people’s faces and so on.
Exciting!
Another good WWII resistance read! I love my dual, war time storyline novels. Stella is really risking herself by working both sides of the fence. Day time, she works as a typist for the Reich and is translating tons of Nazi documents giving her overload of information that she does her best to memories and note down on bathroom trips. By night, she is part of a group that then puts this information and other important items down in black and white print in a newspaper.
Stella is doing all that she can to help get important information to resistance groups, but also has to be careful how much information they are getting or they will know there is a rat working in her office, and they might start sniffing around. She also gets asked to help transport pieces of a radio, if caught this could be death for her. But she can’t say no, and does all that she can.
Luisa is cleaning out her grandmothers house, when she finds an old typewriter, with some old papers and then a photo. She is not quite sure who is in the photos, she believes her grandmother is the woman, but she is unsure of the man. On the back is written two initials. The S, could stand for Stella but she does not know what the other initial is, as that is not the name of who her grandfather was. Luisa has never know much about her family, as her mother was never one to indulge in information and they were never close growing up either.
Luisa gets the historical bug and decides she has to find out what all of this is, who is in this photograph and what all these paper mean? Off to Venice she goes with determination and drive to not quit until she has answers. With the help of an archivist can she find the answers she’s looking for, as well as pieces to her family history and just who her grandmother was?
I enjoyed this novel, and learning about yet more resistance things that were done to help try and stop the Nazi’s as well as the things people were risking every single day knowing it could be their life next. These novels are so well written, and I learn something new with every one I read. Thank you to AVON for the free book!
This book took some time to get going. Once it did you couldn’t put it down.
Another granddaughter searching for her grandmother’s past, discovering her risky exploits with the Resistance in German-occupied Venice. Filled with history and suspense, keeps the reader fully engaged. Luisa, the granddaughter, mourning the death of her joyless mother, seeks answers to her past, though the mother’s story becomes an afterthought. A realistic and compelling, well-plotted novel.
This is good historical fiction which is what I like to read. It is a good story that happened in WWII.
I want to read others by this author
Unable to put it down. Wonderful, inspiring story of resistance to tyranny. Felt every emotion the characters revealed. Nice unexpected twist at the end.