"The Girl Behind the Wall", by Mandy Robotham

This story spins an interesting tale of identical twins separated by a blockade. It opens the summer of 1961 during the time the GDR or East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete bulwark between East and West Germany and unfolds with ease till the crisis ended in 1989. This fictional story is one account that surely represents thousands of people affected by this decision.

This is the story of Jutta and Karin Voight

The sisters suddenly find themselves separated overnight with no means of contact, Jutta stuck in West Berlin and Karin by bad luck was being cared of in an East Germany hospital when the state decided to stem the mass defections from East to West. The author switches the narrative from one sister to the other and from their perspective we have an idea how they managed living apart. Ms. Robotham captures the fear and the uncertainty experienced to a tee and has taken a historical moment and made it come to life. Although sad the style is soothing and so easy to read with its short chapters and a slow but steady tempo to help us digest the content. At times some passages seemed a bit farfetched and a little unbelieve but it added some suspense to give us excitement. Nicely told and nicely played out by Jutta and Karin.

I was given the opportunity to read this ARC from Avon Books UK via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

"Murder Without Pity", by Steve Haberman

This is a slow moving suspense which action takes place against a background of violence and riots in Paris after an Austrian right winger was acquitted by jury. State criminal investigator, Stanislas Cassel, grandson of a French propagandist for the Nazis during WW11, looks into the bizarre murder of a pensioner... what will his investigation uncover?

Drawn from tragic lives of actual people this story is nevertheless fictional it’s a mix of mystery about the past, the present and about a little of everything: murder, betrayal, redemption and particularly of “who- dun-it”. This is a convoluted drama that brings to light how suffering and violence continue long after the war ended. . It may be a plus to be familiar with the Vichy Government politics during the war years and what the French citizens had to face.

The story centres mainly on Stanislas Cassel with all his faults and qualities especially his determination to get to the bottom of this case. In the course of his investigation he finds out the murdered man was keeping boxes of notes, documents and folders in German. Was this man a traitor? Why was he killed? Of course you will have to read the book to find out...

I had a hard time getting into this book it was all over the place and in no time it had lost interest. They were too many characters popping out of nowhere and too many treads that did not match...or was it that I had lost all interest by then. Yes I read it to the last words and today writing my thought I still question why did I last so long with a story that seemed at first interesting but that soon turned out to be a painful college English assignment.

This definitely was not a preferred book but it may be yours so don’t take my words have a look for yourself

"Destroyer of Worlds", by J.F.Penn

Arkane Series book # 8

This fast-paced adventure sends Morgan Sierra and Jake Timber, the main players in this series, from the slums of Mumbai to the temples of Kolkata, to the Taj Mahal in Agra and to Rwanda looking for a fragment of an ancient Hindu sculpture stolen from the Arkane headquarters in London.

As all the books in this series this 8th installment can be read as a standalone and takes off right from the start and keeps an even pacing throughout. The story is fascinating I couldn’t helped but to zip through the pages in no time so deeply involved in the drama that I had a hard time to set it aside. This is by far my preferred series by this author ,“Destroyer of Worlds” tops it all. The vivid narrative and the colourful scenes create images in the mind, so easy to visualise what is going on. Of course Morgan and Jack, two interesting personalities, work so well together and I particularly love their kick-ass attitude...no- nonsense for them. In this story we are deeply into culture, mythology and beliefs all this beautifully mixed into a tale as scary as it is interesting. Ms. Penn research and attention to details is amazing. Only Ms. Penn can blend a bit of history and supernatural into an absolutely awesome read.

Well-done