Overview

A chance discovery inside a vintage typewriter case reveals the gripping story of two sisters on opposite sides of World War II in this captivating novel for readers of Lilac Girls and The Women in the Castle.

New York, present day: On a whim, Juno Lambert buys a 1931 Underwood typewriter that once belonged to celebrated journalist Cordelia Capel. Within its case she discovers an unfinished novel, igniting a transatlantic journey to fill the gaps in the story of Cordelia and her sister and the secret that lies between them.

Europe, 1936: Cordelia’s socialite sister Irene marries a German industrialist who whisks her away to Berlin. Cordelia, feistier and more intellectual than Irene, gets a job at a newspaper in Paris, pursuing the journalism career she cherishes. As politics begin to boil in Europe, the sisters exchange letters and Cordelia discovers that Irene’s husband is a Nazi sympathizer. With increasing desperation, Cordelia writes to her beloved sister, but as life in Nazi Germany darkens, Irene no longer dares admit what her existence is truly like. Knowing that their letters cannot tell the whole story, Cordelia decides to fill in the blanks by sitting down with her Underwood and writing the truth.

When Juno reads the unfinished novel, she resolves to uncover the secret that continued to divide the sisters amid the turmoil of love, espionage, and war. In this vivid portrait of Nazi Berlin, from its high society to its devastating fall, Jane Thynne examines the truths we sometimes dare not tell ourselves.

Review

Juno buys and old typewriter. Inside she finds a manuscript and some letters. She does some research and finds out the author is a journalist like herself. This leads her on a quest to find out more, more than she bargained for.

This story revolves around two sisters, Cordelia in England and Irene in Berlin. Politics and war get in the way of their relationship and causes a huge tear. When the war is over Cordelia travels to Berlin as an interpreter. She finds her sister but it is not easy to repair the fissure in their relationship.

I fluctuated between three and four stars on this read. Basically because of the flow. I settled on four stars because of the ending. But, this story had a slow start, picked up, slowed down again, then ended well. It is very well researched and I enjoyed reading about Berlin before and after the war. It just has some flow issues. But it is not enough to make you put the book down. The mystery surrounding this story is intriguing and unique. So give it a go!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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