Author: M. L. Malcolm
Format: ARC
Published: Harper Paperbacks; April 2011
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: A
Source: TLC Book Tours
Synopsis: The search of Leo Hoffman, a dashing spy, for his daughter, Maddy, drives Malcolm's engaging, if at times sketchy, sequel to Heart of Lies. After the death of Maddy's mother, Martha, during the Japanese attack on Shanghai in 1937, Leo married a hard-hearted woman he entrusted to take Maddy to safety in the U.S. By 1942, 12-year-old Maddy has come to live with her aunt, Martha's sister, Bernice Mason, in posh Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Bernice hopes to protect her from Leo, a mysterious man she doesn't trust, who by now has reached North Africa. Leo's encounters with such real-life American intelligence figures as Col. William Eddy and Carlton Coon lend verisimilitude to his WWII exploits. Maddy's later romantic travails with Bradley Harrington Gordon IV and New York mobster Gene Mandretti yield unexpected conflicts. Shifting between Leo and Maddy, Malcolm movingly depicts the enduring love of a father for his child.
My Take: When I accepted this book for review I had no idea this was a sequel. Whoops! The previous book being Heart of Lies. If I had, I probably wouldn't have accepted it. To tell you the truth, I took one look at that cover, scanned the synopsis and was like, right, that sounds right up my alley, and I'm glad I didn't balk at the fact I hadn't read the previous book because I absolutely loved it!
The book starts out during WWII, a favorite time period in history of mine, following Leo Hoffman who appears to be a spy for allies in North Africa. It got a little confusing, partly because there was a lot of name dropping of higher ups and partly because, being a spy network, they only want you to know so much but I could follow along easy enough. Hoffman's heart wasn't in it but he was doing the right thing to try to get out alive to one day get back to the US to see his daughter again.
His daughter is Maddy. Maddy feels like an orphan. Her mother died in Shanghai during the Japanese takeover a few years earlier and she is living with her best friend after it was discovered that the horrible stepmother her father left her with was not suitable. Are you confused yet? Don't be, because upon reading it, your heart goes out to Maddy and you want to follow Maddy throughout her life to make sure that she ends up ok!
While I initially thought, cool, spies in North Africa during WWII, I quickly realized that Maddy's story was far more interesting. While her early years sucked she ended up being one plucky young woman. We quickly learn that she has an aunt on her mother's side who wants to become a part of Maddy's life and that's when things really change for her. We watch Maddy grow up, fall in love, get married and make many choices. Some good, some horribly bad. We also watch her father (the spy!) come in and out of her life. All of this with the backdrop of the mid-twentieth century at play. It's a fascinating book and one that I couldn't put down.
Yes, I want to read the previous book now but even if you haven't I encourage you to pick this one up regardless because you will find yourself more than entertained!
Cover Lust: While I was enthralled with the cover enough to want to pick it up and read it, upon reading it I became confused at just who that young woman is? It's certainly not Maddy. That woman is dressed in clothes from the 1930s and Maddy was an adult in 1950s and 1960s. Odd.
For other opinions about this book, here's the full TLC Tour Schedule:
Tuesday, April 5th: Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, April 6th: My Two Blessings
Thursday, April 7th: Diary of an Eccentric
Monday, April 11th: Rundpinne
Tuesday, April 12th: Amused By Books
Wednesday, April 13th: Book Journey
Tuesday, April 19th: Reading Through Life
Thursday, April 21st: I’m Booking It
Monday, April 25th: Man of La Book
Tuesday, April 26th: Chocolate & Croissants
Wednesday, April 27th: Chefdruck Musings
Thursday, April 28th: BookNAround
Friday, April 29th: Booksie’s Blog
You've made me add it to my TBR list. Great review!
ReplyDeleteGreat Review! Lately I think that "cover has nothing to do with the book" thing is running rampant. I have read a few where the covers just don't suit them lately.
ReplyDeleteI love when a book is so engaging that it makes a confusing plot ok. When you care about the characters it makes you want to work harder at figuring everything out. Great review! I'll definitely be looking into this one and its prequel.
ReplyDeletewow this sounds like a very interesting book. I haven't read a lot of WWII books, this one I'll add to my list
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fabulous review! I tried to write "Heart of Deception" as a stand-alone sequel, and reviews like yours help me think that perhaps I succeeded. To answer your question about the cover, it's Amelia, who'd been plotting to get Leo since the mid-1930s, and is one of the "deceptive hearts" in the story. Thanks again for taking the time to review the book and for your encouraging compliments!
ReplyDeleteI hope you all enjoy this book because it really is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteM.L. Malcolm - Amelia, of course! Maybe that would have jumped to mind more if I had read Heart of Lies. Maddy for me was the bigger character of this book but yes Amelia was much more deceptive!
Did you like this one enough to read book #1?
ReplyDeleteI hate when a cover does not represent the story within. I am reading one now that describes the girl clearly but the girl on the cover is not that girl. LOL.
I'm so glad you loved this one! I had the chance to meet the author at BEA last year and she was such a lovely woman - I'm ashamed to say I still haven't read her previous first book ... :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour!
Ti - yes I want to go back and read the first one at some point. I'm thinking it will discuss the Japenese takeover of Shanghai which is a fascinating part of history to me!
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I was disappointed with the first book which I just read last week, but I am interested in finding out what happens to Maddy, so I wil likely pick this one up at some point.
ReplyDeleteNice review.
This sounds fabulous. I'm glad to know it stands alone so well.
ReplyDeleteOh covers, sometimes they just do not make sense at all
ReplyDeleteAbout that cover...am I the only one who thinks she looks like she has either wings, or a hairy back?
ReplyDeletesoftdrink- you don't like the stole? ;) It must be because it's in black and white!
ReplyDeleteI liked this book, though I would have rather read more about Leo during WWII. I'll link to your review on War Through the Generations.
ReplyDelete