The Secret History of Audrey James by Heather Marshall

 

My thoughts

I read and loved Looking For Jane. The debut novel by this same author. This is a brilliantly told story. The way this author weaves the two main characters together is nothing short of perfection. 

I loved this line in this story:

""Audrey nodded warily. "Yes. My name is Audrey. Audrey James."" It was just the perfect sentence at the time. It just broke me....

This is a story about two women who are childhood friends living in Germany during the time when Hitler was starting his reign of terror. As he was fooling people into believing that what he was doing was what was best for Germany and it's people. To get rid of any people that were less than. Any people who were considered by him to be unworthy. He made people believe that the Jewish people were causing trouble for Germany. That they were doing much harm to Germany. He started grooming young kids to be in his army. He was a horrible little man who caused so much destruction. 

Audrey was a German child who had hardly any friends. When the Kaplans moved in across the road Audrey ran over and introduced herself to Ilse. The Kaplans were Jewish. This was not a problem for Audrey. She and Ilse became fast friends. They were inseparable throughout their childhood. When things went crazy in Germany with the Nazi's rounding up the Jews Ilse was separated from her family. She saw her father gunned down by a soldier and her mom and brother taken away. She had no one. No one except Audrey. Audrey loved Ilse and would do anything to keep her safe. 

We meet Kate in 2010 and get to know her. She's going through a divorce after the loss of her parents in a horrific car accident. Kate was with them and was the only survivor. She carries a lot of guilt from being a survivor. Her husband and her were already having problems and she decided to move away and found a job at an Inn. The Inn is owned by Audrey. The two get to know each other and Kate gets Audrey to open up about her life.  This is hard for Audrey but also helps her. It also helps Kate to open up about the night she lost her parents. The two survived a lot and bond over their grief. 

This story gives a lot of info about what it was like to grow up in Germany when the horrors were happening. It shows how strong some friendships between a German girl and a Jewish girl were. How they endured during soldiers taking over the home of the Kaplans. What it was like hiding in an attic and fearing for the worst. You feel the fear and sadness that emmetts from Ilse. How Kate kept them both safe by lying and being a housekeeper for the soldiers. Then working for the resistance to try and help as much as she could. It shows how strong the bond is between true friends. So strong that lies told by a horrible man could not be broken. 

Then you find out how the two main characters lives intersect. How they know some of the same people. What happens to each. And in it all a love story happens. Audrey and Kate are two strong willed women. One survived Germany and the other survived a horrific car wreck. While one is way more horrific they are both essential to this story to bring the characters together and help each find closure. 

This book is told from two different times. In the late 1930s mid 1940s, and 2010/2013. I thought this book was so good. It made me do some weeping but it was suppose to do that. 

Do not miss the Author's Not at the end. It has a lot of great info and is so worth the read. 

Thank you #NetGalley, #RandomHouse #BallantinePublishing for this ARC. 

About

An astonishing historical novel of one woman’s dangerous journey through World War II Germany and her life-changing friendship with a young woman decades later—from the #1 international bestselling author of Looking for Jane

Northern England, 2010. After a tragic accident upends her life, Kate Mercer leaves London to work at an old guest house near the Scottish border, where she hopes to find a fresh start and heal from her loss. When she arrives, she begins to unravel the truth about her past, but discovers that the mysterious elderly proprietor is harboring secrets of her own.

Berlin, 1938. Audrey James is weeks away from graduating from a prestigious music school in Berlin, where she’s been living with her best friend, Ilse Kaplan. As war looms, Ilse’s family disappears and high-ranking Nazi officers confiscate the house. In desperation, Audrey becomes their housekeeper while Ilse is forced into hiding in the attic. When a shocking turn of events embroils Audrey in the anti-Hitler movement, she must decide what matters most: protecting those she loves, or sacrificing everything for the greater good.

Inspired by true stories of courageous women and the German resistance during World War II, The Secret History of Audrey James is a captivating novel about the unbreakable bonds of friendship, the sacrifices we make for those we love, and the healing that comes from human connection.