Nellie Wilkerson is an American reporter based in London who wants to be able to cover the 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy. When her boss refuses, saying only male reporters can go, Nellie heads to Southampton, talks her way onto a hospital ship where she helps tend the multitude of wounded. She sneaks into France with her camera to find her story, and finds herself trapped behind enemy lines. She teams up with Jean-Paul, a member of the local resistance, to try and get back to Allied territory.

Jean-Paul’s father was German, a brute of a man, so Jean-Paul chose to stay in France with his (now dead) mother when his parents divorced. But he speaks the language well enough to pose as German when necessary. That’s something that comes in handy.

The two witness the Nazis burn a church, murdering all the townsfolk inside, and find a sole survivor – a girl with Down syndrome. The story therefore becomes their story of travelling across France towards Switzerland to escape the Nazis, in a kind of Sound of Music way.

The story was fast-paced, with plenty of action. The writing was good, but I didn’t find the plot as compelling as I have with some other fiction set around this time and place. It all seemed a bit contrived.

The research was excellent, and many of the most dramatic scenes were straight out of history.

But that was the problem: it felt as if the characters had been created and thrown into the plot simply to show these parts of history. I would have preferred more focus on the characters.

Overall, this was a solid novel, but not one I’d reread.

This novel is part of the Heroines of World War II series, in which each book is written by a different author and with a different setting. The only common factor is World War II, which means each story can be read as a standalone novel.

Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Liz Tolsma

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

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About A Picture of Hope

A Photojournalist Risks Her Life to Save a Very Special Child

Journalist Nellie Wilkerson has spent the bulk of the war in London, photographing mothers standing in milk lines—and she’s bored. She jumps at the chance to go to France, where the Allied forces recently landed. There she enlists Jean-Paul Breslau of the French underground to take her to the frontlines. On the journey, they stumble upon a great tragedy, leaving a girl with special needs being orphaned.

Can Nellie and Jean-Paul see the child to a safe haven while being pursued by the Nazis, who are pressed by the advancing Allies and determined to destroy all they can before they flee?

Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.

Find A Picture of Hope online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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