How Angels Die. David-Michael Harding. Q&CY Books. 2011. 420 pages. ISBN #: 9780615503325.
Monique and Claire, as well as her parents Sean and Estelle, are living in France during the Nazi occupancy of WWII. They appear to be a very divided family at the beginning of this story that depicts a side of the Resistance Movement that is almost never fully explained. Monique cares for the abandoned orphans of the war and meets German soldiers in the evening to dine and dance and more, the more enabling her to gather secret information unavailable by any other means, a job drawing extreme criticism from her sister and father. Claire, however, has her own job to do, one that shows her to be as brave as any soldier, one which she embraces with so much fervor that the reader wonders from where this ferocity arises.
Another family gives a different point of view of countless thousands who loved and died at the hands of the Nazi rapers and killers, but the question is who died and who lived? Anyone associated with Nazi targets is doomed. The risk or stakes are enormous beyond one's comprehension, yet the hatred of those blighting France with their presence takes on many forms of expression, some out of fear, some from revenge, and some out of tragedy-induced realization of one's undying patriotism!
To say more would ruin a phenomenal story very much on par with a Ken Follett, Frederick Forsythe, and other masters of espionage fiction. The tension hypes up to a fever pitch when Monique falls in love with one of her German "friends" and discovers details twice about pivotal German movements and shipment of arms. However, Pieter suspects her awareness and resistance role; these realizations build the plot to a crescendo with devastating but eventually healing consequences. Many more amazing secrets are yet to be revealed!
How Angels Die is not just another WWII story; it's about how individuals and united groups will give all they are to a common cause out of pure love. It isn't a fantasy tale or contrived story at all; it's a well-research realistic viewpoint celebrating the cost of ensuring evil will NOT prevail in history's unfortunately too frequent travesties of justice and fair treatment! Awesome, amazing, and deserving of best-seller status!!!
I found I had an immediate emotional connection with each character. I clearly understood their inner struggle to honor and protect their beautiful country while at the same time trying to satisfy the strong feelings in each of their hearts. Hold on because your heart is guaranteed to enjoy each twist and turn of this unpredictable journey!
ReplyDelete