David R. Gillham

In a world torn apart by war, where husbands, sons and fathers march off to
the front-line in the service of the nation, sometimes to return wounded
and sometimes never to return at all, what is a woman to do? That is the
central question that David Gillham addresses in his book, City of Women.

Sigrid is just a regular hausfrau, a housewife, whose husband has been
called to the front to fight a war that the German broadcasts claim, is
almost won. Cooped up in an apartment, with a mother-in-law who constantly
bickers and blames Sigrid for just about everything, the only solace Sigrid
finds are in the hours spent as a typist at work or when she spends her
time at the theatre, not really paying attention to the film being screened
but instead having an extra-marital affair, and all the excitement in
entails, in the back row of the theatre.

It is on one such day when Sigrid is by herself in the theatre, that a
young girl suddenly seats herself beside Sigrid and begs her to say that
the she has been with Sigrid in the theatre since the beginning of the
show. And when men from the Gestapo walk into the hall, checking
identification papers, Sigrid must make a choice… What is she to do?

It is this answer that plummets her into an alternate life that she’ll
begin to live, by maintaining the façade of a good hausfrau but really
rebelling against all that is ugly in the world. She will learn that none
of the relationships are really the way they seem to be; for betrayals are
found in the company of the best of friends and lovers while friendship and
rescue comes from the most unexpected places. She is after all in a city of
women, a place left with little to look forward if you aren’t fighting
back.

There were a number of moments that I liked in the book. While it wasn’t
wholly unpredictable, given its setting, the narrative is strong and makes
the book a fast read. At times I didn’t like Sigrid or Erica, the young
girl Sigrid takes to mothering, but given that I like the premise of the
story and to see Holocaust from the POV of a German, it made for a 4 star
read.

Recommended to those looking for some World War II or Holocaust fiction.… (more)

This is an intelligent, taut thriller set in WWII Berlin. Sigrid's husband is fighting on the Eastern Front. She's a stenographer, living with her hard-to-please mother-in-law. Life goes on, in its drab and difficult way until she meets and falls in love with Egon, a Jew: and at more or less the same time, Ericha, who works with a group who hide Jews from the authorities, then helps move them on. But who can you trust in this game of cat-and-mouse? Is your enemy always your enemy? And can your friend be trusted? This is a morally suspenseful read, coloured with telling imagery, and understated conversations. Perhaps the ending was rather rushed, rather tidied up. But I was eager to turn the pages, though not so eager to leave the drab, dismal and terrifying world into which I had been thrust.… (more)

Unsolved mysteries are always intriguing for me. I can get caught up in wanting to know what really happened while settling on an outcome that seems reasonable and logical based on the facts available. The tragic disappearance of Amelia Earhart is one of those captivating mysteries. When the short story, Alone with the Stars by David R. Gillham, came across my path, I promptly added it to my Audible library.

Alone with the Stars is a story about Amelia Earhart’s disappearance in 1937. Portions of the story are told from A.E.’s perspective while flying. Lizzie is a 15-year-old, living with her dad in Florida. She’s fascinated by her dad’s radio and spends one hour every afternoon listening to radio transmissions. One day, she hears A.E.’s distress call. Excited to learn that A.E. is alive and asking for help when everyone else fears A.E. is lost at sea. Lizzie records the transmissions she hears and shares them with her father. Together, they set off to the Coast Guard office to pass along her information in the hopes that Lizzie will be believed and possibly A.E. will be rescued.

As an Audible Original, the audiobook is very well produced and is a great listening experience. Narration was well done by Hillary Huber and Emily Bauer.This is a wonderful historical fiction about Amelia Earhart and a young girl inspired by the brave heroine. This is an Audible Original that is available “Only From Audible.”

I have photos, videos, and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog… (more)

I get that people liked the setting (certainly many things were well-written), and I get that the suspense is well-done, but... well, you kinda picked a suspense-guaranteed setting. Is it worth getting a ground-level discussion of complicity wrapped into a story that will keep people reading? Does that redeem the use of a complicated, terrible piece of history as a sexy backdrop? I don't know, but I have a bit of that fast-food aftertaste that sometimes accompanies popular cinema, as if I've been cheated.

I see reading here that I should have expected a romance/thriller, but this book was passed on to me and I never read the back. I thought, instead, I'd get stories about the women in Berlin, with realistic perspectives. Here I was unequivocally disappointed.… (more)