"The Sunflower House", by Adriana Allegri

A Historical Fiction and Romance novel

1939 in a sleepy German village life will change for ever.

This meticulously researched novel uncovers the notorious Lebensborn Program of Nazi Germany. This is a tale of Allina Straus, a Mischling, who was forced into service as a nurse at a state run baby factory called Hochland Home. There she discovers the horrors of the eugenics program. The sole purpose of these homes was to perpetuate the Aryan population by giving birth to thousands of babies who later would be adopted. Allina must keep her Jewish identity a secret in order to survive and not only save herself but the children in her care.

Through the eyes of Allina this tale is one of determination to resist and survive and is more than the SS Lebensborn program it also is one involving a mother-daughter narrative and family secrets hidden in a box embossed with a swastika. Curiosity and questions arise and a heartbreaking story is told. It opens in the present day when Katrine finds the box of letters belonging to her mother. Allina agrees to tell her everything...

“The Sunflower House” is also a love story. When Allina met Karl, a high-ranking SS with his own secrets they marry and join force to save as many children as they can.

I was pulled in from the very start. Not only this story is a fascinating one it is very active, well-said and well researched. It is also easy to empathize with the main characters; they are so realistic I even forgot they weren’t real. Although this novel is a fiction historical truths are woven in, sadly too real.

I enjoyed reading “The Sunflower House”. The story is very compelling and emotional.

Many thanks to St-Martin’s press and Netgalley for this ARC

"An Insignificant Case", by Phillip Margolin

From a Master of courtroom thriller we have another great legal drama hard to put down. Since discovering this author in 2011 and have been huge fan and his stories have never disappointed me. This latest is a standalone drama.

A little too long intro:

We are introduced to a new attorney, a third rate one who graduated from a third rate law school that couldn’t get a position at any major law firm so he opened his own law firm. Charles Webb takes on cases from dubious friends from his past and court appointed cases. Guido Sabatini, a talented artist and a nut job was his latest appointee to defend. Guido had sold one of his paintings to a restaurant owner and has liberated it along with a flash drive from the safe...At the time the restaurant owner and her partner were under investigation for sex trafficking of minors....With bargaining power knowing that the content of the flash drive threatens very powerful figures, Guido played all his cards but toying with criminals that wanted at any cost to retrieve the flash drive ...even going as far as murder may not be a good strategy.

It didn’t take long for the insignificant Charles to be plunged into more than a simple case defending Guido but into a sensational double murder....

My very long thoughts:

I simply love this story there is so much going on and so many twists and turns to face that I didn’t want to put the book down. I was so captivated by the coming and going and the many characters that crossed the pages many of them had important roles in both Charles and the defendant’s life that I didn’t want to miss a beat. This story definitely captured my attention from the start. Everything was so unpredictable even with some surprising reveals and outcomes. It was hard to predict anything....The characters were exceptional and I enjoyed how they played their parts in this drama. I admit at first I thought Mr. Margolin was rehashing the famous saga of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell but no to my relief a totally deferent spin and much more exciting.

This is an excellent read I give high score.

My thanks to St-Martin Press and Netgalley for this ARC I am pleased to share my thoughts