Theresa Howes
A LOVE – forbidden in more ways than one in Occupied France
– puts deadly danger in the path of a woman who has been recruited by British
spies to dig out war crime evidence against high-ranking Nazi officers.
But even in the darkest of times and in the midst of war,
artist Marguerite Segal is prepared to put her life on the line to fight for
the people she loves and to help the Allies defeat an enemy more cruel and
brutal than anyone could ever have imagined.
Theresa Howes (pictured below), whose work has been long-listed for various awards including the Mslexia Novel Award, thrills and chills readers with a dazzling debut historical novel which explores the courage, endurance and determination of ordinary people living through the most extraordinary and terrifying of times. Passion, tragedy, hardship and betrayal unite in this gripping and atmospheric story which captures all the uncertainty, suspicion, pain and subterfuge of living in the shadow of the jackboot, and the strength of those who were prepared to risk all for an end to German tyranny.
In June of 1944, Allied air raids are bringing night time
destruction to the Cote d’Azur, compounding the suffering which has been endured
since the German Occupation a year ago. Thirty-nine-year-old artist Marguerite
Segal has been living in this once French haven under a false name with her
friend Simone for ten years after leaving behind a dark secret in London.
They take care of each other as best they can and help the Resistance in their undercover work which includes Marguerite forging identity cards for Jews to hide them from the ‘iron-lawed scrutiny of the swastika’ which has now stamped its ‘black mark of terror’ on every street. But not
everyone can be trusted. People who were once friends have become strangers and even enemies in a new and uncomfortable world. And when Marguerite is recruited by British Intelligence, who recognise her skills, she is asked to befriend Etienne Valade, a local priest who keeps close company with the high-ranking German officers who attend his church. Her mission is to discover which side the priest is on and persuade him to pass on information from the Germans which would provide evidence of their war crimes.Connected by a passion for art, Marguerite – whose own life in France is built on subterfuge – and handsome Etienne, who can see the ‘hidden soul’ in her paintings, soon fall in love but their relationship increasingly puts her at danger of violent reprisals because Etienne is a suspected collaborator and distrust is potent. Marguerite must get hold of the documents that will condemn the German officers but, in a world where everything you do puts everything at stake, can she truly trust anyone... even the man she loves?
Best have your tissues ready for this moving and heartbreakingly beautiful story starring a courageous woman who uses her skills as an artist to forge papers to help Jews and aliens to escape, and is prepared to risk everything to fight for what she believes in. But it is her love for Etienne – a man who shares her passion for art but is looked on with suspicion as a possible collaborator – that puts her in the greatest danger from both the enemy and amongst the people of her French village.
Set against the backdrop of the Cote d’Azur, a place of
charm and beauty living under the menacing shadow of the Nazi Occupation,
Howes’ novel is an enthralling tale of contrasts in which suspicion, oppression,
betrayal and fear exist alongside selflessness, outstanding courage and an
unbreakable will to survive. Tingling with suspense and heart-pounding emotion, and
packed with romance, superbly drawn characters, real history and extensive
research, The Secrets We Keep is a powerful debut from an exciting new
novelist.
(HQ, paperback, £8.99)
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