TANGLED ASHES

I received a copy of TANGLED ASHES by Michele Phoenix from Tyndale Fiction via Handlebar Central.  This adult novel, with plenty of action and mystery, is based on World War II.  I shouldn’t say that’s my favorite topic – it is much too dark and morbid.  However, I do read a lot of novels on the subject.  This fits in well with those, so I recommend this to anyone interested in the Holocaust – if “interested” is the right word.

The book focuses on a Manor in France.  The best part?  It’s a real place!  I hope to visit it someday.  The author paints it into a beautiful, majestic light, interweaving history with nature.  The story jumps between World War II and 2001.  In 2001, Becker is hired to restore the manor for the owner’s wife’s birthday; time to welcome a cast of unique, realistic characters.  I loved the descriptions and the discovered artifacts.  The manor really came to life for me. 

In World War II, the manor was used by the Nazis as a “baby factory.”  Aryan women, whose babies had been sired by Nazi soldiers, came to the Manor to bear their children.  After the baby was born, the women had to leave them there to be raised.  A servant in the house decides to steal one away…  I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoiling the plot.