Author Lelita Baldock embraces the slow, steady, subtle unveiling of her secret like a pro!

Baldock impressed me with her ability to create suspense and craft a compelling tale spanning generations, spotlighting three women who faced the horror of a world at war. Siena, Alessia and Eva’s experiences are woven into the plot for a thirty year span starting in 1920, spanning the vast area of Italy under various government control, and then united under the author’s spellbinding plot featuring a book of records and a secret.

Baldock was able to place me on the cobbled streets of Bari Vecchia alongside characters who felt real and whose actions felt true to their personalities. I felt the anguish of the struggle and the desperation to survive. I loved how the threads of each woman’s experience bridged the past, present and future.

If you love well-written historical fiction, a slowly revealed secret, a captivating story, and insight into little-known events in wartime history, this is one you’ll want on your reading list this Spring!

I was gifted this copy by Storm Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

"Exhausted, pushed to the brink of her ability to cope by starvation, war, fear, and injury."

Oh, my...this book took me on an emotional roller coaster. Just when I thought I had everything worked out, I was slammed by a plot twist I didn't see coming. The story has a dual timeline, opening in Bari in 1943, with a second one set in Florence in 1920. Lelita Baldock masterfully weaves the threads from both of them into a rich tapestry that only comes together in the final pages.

This is not a story of war but that of the women who are left behind. The terrible responsibilities they faced with not nearly enough food to feed their families or provide clothing as their children grew. Making life-or-death choices daily, not knowing what the next day would bring. Just when you cannot imagine life getting any harder, bombs rain down, destroying what little they had. Even Mother Nature throws in the towel when this region suffers through drought! As if this isn't enough of a story, there is a perplexing family history mystery, Nazis rounding up Italian Jews, and a network of gallery curators determined to keep track of Italy's stolen art treasures and hide what they can.

Throughout the story, the strength of these women, old and young, keeping their families together without sacrificing their sense of community, shines through. Their generosity of spirit never wavers and they draw strength from each other, not giving in to hopelessness. This is ultimately an uplifting story because these women were determined to survive. This book is a timely reminder that we are stronger than we know. "Nothing mattered, except survival." I loved The Keeper of Lost Art and highly recommend it, but you'll need a big box of tissues.