Quenby Vaughn, an American journalist, loved her job working in London for the World News Syndicate. Investigative reporting suited her perfectly. She had recently written a series of articles about the influx of refugees in England. Her current assignment to discover the truth about an American citizen who had married into a wealthy, upper class British family during World War II intrigued her. Few people knew of how ordinary British citizens and even those of the upper class had supported Nazi Germany during World War II.
Quenby’s story’s focus was Lady Ricker, who was suspected by the British government of assisting the Nazis during World War II. Sorting through stacks of documents had not given her any solid proof that Lady Ricker had operated as a spy despite more than a few coincidences and hints that she had.
In the midst of her research, Lucas Hough, a handsome attorney from a prestigious law firm, contacts Quenby. A mysterious client wants her to research another story of two young German children, Dietmar and Brigitte, and is willing to pay handsomely for her work. The client has hired multiple detective agencies without success. After reading numerous investigative journalistic pieces written by Quenby, he is convinced that if anyone can find the little girl, Brigitte, it is Quenby.
Quenby has no interest in any distraction from her current assignment. But when her editor puts a halt to her work after citing possible legal risks if she pushes to discover the truth about Lady Ricker, Quenby agrees to meet with Lucas and later his client. She still has no inclination to accept the offer and challenge. As she learns the client, Daniel Knight, has an exhaustive dossier on her that reveals the secret of her own mother’s disappearance when she was a child Quenby experiences anxiety as well as curiosity.
The linchpin that finally seals her decision to take the assignment is learning Daniel Knight is actually Dietmar who is searching for his friend, Brigitte who was separated from him in their attempt to flee Nazi Germany.
Melanie Dobson, author of Catching the Wind, writes a powerful and captivating novel with many twists and turns that include a collision of both of Quenby’s assignments. What Quenby doesn’t expect is coming face-to-face with her own story that she has tried to avoid for her entire life.
I love a good story and this surely is one! The backdrop Melanie Dobson paints of true information about what was happening in the heart of Britain during World War II was of special interest to me as a lover of history. I look forward to reading more of her stories and couldn’t put this one down.
To comply with new regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review.