Margarita Morris

I think this is the best book I have ever read. The story covers the intertwined live of a group of people living in soviet ruled Hungary. They common thread running through their lives is the dread of the AVO, the secret police. the AVO arrests citizens on the slightest whim or complaint, which can stem from an overheard conversation, from envy of a neighbor's situation or some possession, or to shift suspicion to a person other than one's self. Ms. Morris has done through research of the AVO and its methods. When she writes of the arrest and subsequent treatment. The conditions of imprisonment and the torture she describes match what little I have learned about those times I can attest to the inhuman situations. In 2004 my wife and I visited Hungary and my cousin took us to see a forced labor camp like the one described in the book. The cabins were slapped together log cabins with hugh gaps between the logs, and obviously no insulation and a single small stove for heat. Punishment was a hole in the ground where no light was allowed in. A cold, damp solitary confinement for people who were already suffering from malnutrition and no real shelter from the weather. What I saw well matches the situations in the book. The Hungarian Revolution is easily understood with the social background Ms. Morris describes. But, as mentioned in the story the revolution was ill-timed. The Voice of America had up to then promised support for any country that ousted the soviets.. But October 1956 was complicated by the closing of the Suez Canal, Europe and the USA, concerned about losing their oil supplies, ignored Hungary. One of the protagonists specifically describes this problem to point out this failure of the west backing up their propaganda. (Not a good way to win the confidence of people you are trying to convince of your support for them. At least in my humble, but always correct opinion.) But, then money talks and B...S...-well! A very solid, convincing telling of a major event in the cold war. Like I said, the best book I have ever read.… (meer)

Once upon the 1800's...Alice was betrothed to a man 20 years her senior. There was no love between them, merely an arrangement that "made sense"...I use quotations because, well, yeah, totally doesn't make sense, but such were the times. She and her lady maid Mary set off for a seaside escape to clear her mind and regain her footing in preparation for the pending nuptials, but sometimes fresh air and a new perspective changes a person's life in more ways than they can imagine...such is certainly the case here. The events that unfold are gasp inducing (an asylum?! ulterior motives?!), smirk generating (the switcheroo! the final boat ride!), and backbone strengthening (oh the things we learn from letters!)...and watching BOTH ladies gain control of their lives for once, even with a potential sudden (and final!) end looming on the horizon, was fantastic! Seriously, I was recounting the story moments after finishing and I got so into it that my "audience" has already added it to their wish list!

Once upon a present day...Rose came to the seaside with her mother to care for her ailing grandmother. Thing is...the fall she recently suffered is gonna be the least of her worries. After almost being mowed down, she finds a happy place spending time with Dan, the bad driver's son. Um, about that happy place...the relationship slowly forming is the happy part, the places they go and things they do...not so much. All their coming together's end in danger, and life threatening situations...and one of these times, it goes a oh so much farther than you'd ever imagine. The spirit and determination these two show in helping not only each other, but family and newly made friends, is heartwarming. I mean, it's not every day the girl you fancy will help you stake out mysterious thugs, explore abandoned asylums, and attempt to rescue you from certain death. Sounds like a keeper...am I right?

All in all, it was a thrilling ride from start to finish. Though I found myself truly enraptured in the history, dying to know what happened next, the present day story definitely had its own fire to content with.


**ebook received for review… (meer)