From the author of The German Midwife, this is a story following a Venetian woman leading a double life during a time of war.

By day, Stella works as a translator in a high ranking Nazi officers office. By night, she is a member of the Resistance working in the basement of a bar to churn out a forbidden, resistance newspaper. Stella walks a fine line each and every day as she relays information she finds out from the Nazi communications she translates to those fighting for a pre-war Venice. 

Woven into the story is Luisa, Stellas granddaughter who is on a quest to uncover the true story of her grandparents during the war. 

It’s hard to write a review without giving away a lot of vital details so let me take a second and tell you why I struggled with it and when I reached the turning point that had me hooked. The first half of the book, I felt, moved quite slowly and actually seemed to move around in a circular pattern. Then I realized that in the early days of WWII, things moved slowly and taking it one day a time was the only thing to really do. Once I hit the midpoint, things started to get exciting and I found myself not being able to put it down. 

Another thing I struggled with was the language or vocabulary. I could definitely tell the author was not American so I had to reread a few things to understand what I was reading. I realized I was trying too hard at that and just let my eyes find the words on the page and that made a huge difference. 

Definitely worth the read, if only to experience occupied Venice during WWII.

The historical part of this book is set during WWII in Venice.It is the story of Stella Jilani who is a typist for the Nazis.It has a parallel storyline set in modern day and it follows her granddaughter who finds her typewriter.
Loved reading the history of happenings at that time and the intrigue keeps you glued to the book.A good read,well written.
Thankyou Netgalley for this ARC

Thankyou to NetGalley,  Avon Books UK and the author,  Mandy Robotham, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Secret Messenger in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion. 
This is the second book from Mandy and after adoring the first I was so excited to get stuck into this. The Secret Messenger is a book about the resistance during WWII in Venice Italy, we follow the courageous Stella, doing all she can in the fight. Undercover as a typist in the Nazi office, she gathers information and acts as messenger for the resistance whilst on her own trusted typewriter she channels her passion to unite against the Nazis for an underground publication. The pressure mounts to find the typewriter in the hope it will lead to the author of the secret newspaper. 
In modern day, we follow the story of Luisa, Stellas grandchild as she grieves for her Mother. She finds an old typewriter, photographs and snatches of her family’s history which leaves her wanting to discover more. 
I thought this was very well written, with fantastic characters. Stella is so spirited, brave and passionate; a true fighter who took risks for what she believed. I wondered who would be the one to help her and if that same person would be the one who captured her heart.
If I’m entirely honest, I didn’t fully connect with Luisa. I felt sorry for her poor husband and was quite pleased the chapters on her story were quite short and relatively few.
A fantastic, historical story with added romance and intrigue, a brilliant read that I would recommend to all.

An excellent read!!!
In 2017, Luisa Belmont who is grieving for her mother, finds an old typewriter in her mother’s attic and decides to delve into past to find the story behind it and who it belongs to.

Most of the story centers around the past, when we read about Stella Jilani, who is leading a double life. She is a typist for the Reich office during the day and by night she is a messenger for Italian resistance.

Stella traffics essential supplies across the city and convey Nazi secrets. Stella also has her beloved typewriter that she uses to produce her underground newspaper.

Stella’s life is threatened and could be in danger when General Breugal, a German commander becomes suspicious of her activities.

The story is a dual timeline of past and present which makes it very interesting. So much research was done for this book. It gives its readers a lot of information about Venice during 1944. 

At some points long description of Venice scenery caused me to feel disengaged. But the book is very well written, and I felt drawn to the story of these two women and was hooked from the start.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sending me an ARC copy.

Review posted on my blog: https://bookoholicscafe.blogspot.com
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I did not care for this. It was an enjoyable book but the plot lacked a certain finesse that I had come to know from Mandy Robotham.

The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham is the kind of historical fiction that I love- its a dual timeline of past and present which I like. I love a good historical fiction and the setting of World War II always captures my interest. Pair this with excellent writing and you won’t see me for a while, I’ll be busy reading.

Venice, 1943
The world is at war, and Stella Jilani is leading a double life. By day she works in the lion’s den as a typist for the Reich office; by night, she risks her life as a messenger for the Italian resistance. Against all odds, Stella must impart Nazi secrets, smuggle essential supplies across the city, and produce an underground newspaper on her beloved typewriter.

But when German commander, General Breugal, becomes suspicious, it seems he will stop at nothing to find the mole, and Stella knows she faces an uncertain future…

London, 2017
Years later, grieving Luisa Belmont finds a mysterious old typewriter in her attic. Determined to find out who it belonged to, Luisa delves into the past, and uncovers a story of fierce love, unimaginable sacrifice, and, ultimately, the worst kind of betrayal…

I loved learning more about Italy and appreciated the amount of research that went into this book. I felt drawn to the story of Stella and really enjoyed her chapters. The whole book was very good and I highly recommend it!

Due out on December 12, pre-order here.

I thought this was very well done. The writing is exceptional and the story is compelling. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

A granddaughter, and old dusty typewriter and a picture lead you into World War II Venice. The grandmother's story of her role in the Resistance, her loves, her fears and heartache draw you deeper into the little known struggles of the people of Venice. It's a gripping novel you can't put down. You are left with many emotions and the question that has never been answered. How could these horrors have happened in what was once a civilized world? The power of evil lurks just under the surface and is still rearing its ugly head today

The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham is a suspenseful, harrowing dual timeline historical fiction novel written between 2017 Luisa and WWII era Italy with (Louisa’s grandmother) Stella whom was involved with the resistance. 

It was an interesting angle to incorporate the occupation, war, bands of resistance, as well as the female involvement with it in Venice during the latter years of WWII (1944-45). Many books are written involving the geographical regions and descriptions of other occupied countries and incorporating Italy as the main backdrop gives this novel an interesting flare to set it a part from the others.

I enjoyed the suspense, the intrigue, and  complicated situations that Stella found herself in again and again in her quest to save herself, her loved ones, and her ideals. It definitely kept me on my toes.

I enjoyed Stella’s story more so the Luisa’s, however the majority of the book is concerning Stella, so that worked out well for my interests.

A great read. 

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this great ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this to my GR account immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Bookbub, and B&N accounts upon publication. (The GR account link is added below).

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel.   This was my second novel by this author and loved it just like the first.   This was a historical WWII fiction novel about the resistance in Venice told in dual timelines.    I loved the mystery of how the main character Stella was found out through a type writer and I had figured out who was behind "saving" Stella and that type writer.   This was a great read and I hope to read more by this author!!!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Thankyou to NetGalley,  Avon Books UK and the author,  Mandy Robotham, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Secret Messenger in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion. 
I thought this book was really well thought out and written.  The characters are well drawn and compelling.  It was like being a part of the actual drama, the settings were that well described.  I was hooked from the start.  
Well worth a read.

Was a good read

The Secret Messenger is a book about the resistance during WWII in Venice Italy. It follows a story of a Luisa who finds an old typewriter in the attic and inside is a picture of her grandmother. She goes to Venice on a quest to find out about the history of her grandmother during WWII. 

The second story the book tells is about Luisa's grandmother Stella during the war.  This is a really good story and the really interesting part of the book.  Stella works for the resistance along with her best friend Mimi. Stella is a messenger , than she writes for the resistance newspaper, and finally works as a typist at the German headquarters in Venice.  There are dark night rows across the water to visit Jack, nights sneaking home after curfew, her brother being caught by the Nazi's, the odd officer at the German headquarters Christian .  A  typewriter with the broken letter E causes the Nazi's to put out wanted posters for the author of the newspaper and a hunt for the typewriter.   When they suspect Stella they search her apartment but no typewriter is found although earlier she hid it there.  Who took the typewriter?  Does Stella get caught or does she get away from the Nazi's?  Who is the mysterious Jack she visits?  These questions and more as well as escapes and near disasters are addressed within the pages of this book.

It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I liked the story of Stella. I was not so thrilled with the story of Luisa. I kept skipping through those pages to get back to Stella's story. I think I would have just liked the book to be about Stella without the Luisa story.  

It is a good book and I couldn't wait to get back to it and find out what happened next. I would recommend the book. 

Thanks to Mandy Robotham, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and advanced copy of the book.

This book tells the story of the Resistance in Venice during ww2 Luisa sets out to learn more about the history of her grandmothers life during the war.A lovely story that draws you in i loved it.5*

1944, Venice: Stella, a member of the Venice Resistance Central Brigade, takes a job working in Nazi headquarters to help pass information to the resistance. Stella, an anti-fascist, risks her life daily by working among Black Brigade fascists and Nazi’s where she helps type and translate documents for them. Working for the enemy, Stella is asked to translate a document that will change her future and cause her to choose between her country or her family.

2017, Bristol: Luisa’s mother dies and she begins to go through her things. She unearths a plethora of artifacts that relate to her grandmother in her mother’s attic. Luisa seeks to find answers about who she is and the roots of her maternal family.

Historically: This is one of the stronger novels that pays homage to the women involved in the movements of resistance. The Jewish ghetto raids, the Bloody Summer of Venice, the bombing of Guidecca, the Riva dei Sette Martiri tragedy, and many others made a detailed appearance in this fictional account. (Though it goes through the Jewish ghetto raids, the atrocities the Jews endured and the genocide committed against them is not a focus in this novel.) The Nazi reprisals in Venice that were witnessed by Stella really struck a chord with me. The Ca’Littoria and Santa Maggiore jail are mentioned several times in this novel, though never any harrowing details.

My technical notes: Out of forty chapters total, fourteen of those chapters took place during modern day with Luisa’s character in 2017/2018. Luisa’s chapters in 2017/2018 are notably much shorter. Most of the story centers around the past during 1944 in Venice with Stella (26 chapters to be exact). A romance is involved and does play a large role in the story; however, I felt like it did not detract from the historical elements. I felt the romance complemented the story well. No vulgarity and no sexy details.

Rating Explained: I really enjoyed this novel and learned a lot about Venice during 1944. I enjoyed the mystery behind Stella’s job and co-workers, which kept me trying to figure out who Stella could trust and who she couldn’t. Sometimes there were too many descriptions of the scenery concerning Venice that caused me to feel disengaged. I did not specifically look forward to Luisa’s chapters until the second half of the book. I appreciated that most of it focused on Stella rather than Luisa. The ending was fast paced and I blew through it. Overall, the story really caused me to think about how we measure valor and it was a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Mandy Robotham for a copy. Opinions are my own.

This is the second book I have read by this author in a month and they are both wonderful.   This book is set during WWII but unlike most books it takes place in Venice.  It switches between WWII and present day, with Luisa looking to find out exactly what her grandmother Stella did during the war. She knew her as a fun grandmother whose daughter, her mother, didn’t get a long with. Luisa’s grief over her mother’s death led her on the trail which led her to the real story    The characters are beautifully described so I felt like I knew them all and I found myself rooting for them.   This story is about war, loyalty to your country and friends, possibilities and love. Even if you think you have read enough war books this year I strongly recommend you read this one.  Refreshingly different.

In World War II Venice, Stella Jilani is working as a typist for the Nazi war machine, but at night, she works with the Resistance, smuggling secrets and supplies and writing an underground newspaper that recounts what’s really happening on her typewriter. If she’s caught, she will be killed immediately, and she has caught the attention of General Breugal. It would appear that Stella’s time is up.  In the present, Luisa Belmont finds Stella’s typewriter in her attic. Something about the old machine pulls at her and Luisa becomes obsessed with finding out its story and the story of the woman who used it. I loved this story, and I think that we are all so taken with stories of World War II is because it was a time when people were honorable and brave. Willing to risk everything to make the right again, something we are in sadly short supply of today

This book really touched me. I felt the main characters were multi-dimensional and really cared about their fate. Very well written and insightful.