I do like reading most genres of books and a good story will always have me hooked. I finished Secrets from Norway by Christopher Masterman earlier this week and can thoroughly recommend it. Published through Book Reality Experience on 1st December, Secrets of Norway is a fictional tale with the main backbone of the story going back to 1940.
In the 1980’s two brothers discover their fathers war diaries from WWII, and so begins a journey back in time to Norway and stories of secret rescues and unanswered questions. Although this is a fictional work, there are elements of fact throughout the story and if you’ve ever watched The Heroes of Telemark you will be aware of a certain thread in the book.
Colin Mitchel was an RAF pilot during the war who died in a flying accident after the end of hostilities. He left behind him a wife, Mary and two sons, Ian and Martin who grew up never knowing their father or anything about his wartime exploits. They both have successful careers and never look back to the past until Ian is taken ill in 1971. In time he is diagnosed as having the rare Beckers Muscular Dystrophy which effects people later in life than the more well known MD. The family learn that BMD can only be passed from mother to son and that therefore there is a risk that Martin will also show signs of the disease before he turns forty.
As Ian deteriorates his mother becomes his carer and a suitcase containing Colin’s war mementos comes to light. Ian and his brother discover that their father was awarded the OBE at the age of twenty-six, but they have no idea what he’d done to earn it. Their father is a closed booked as far as their mother is concerned so they know they are unlikely to get the answers from her. Martin and his lawyer partner Fiona set out on a journey of discovery as they set out to learn more about the man, his service and his endeavours.
The investigation will take Martin and Fiona to London, Scotland and in the end Norway, as they learn about Colin’s role to build an airfield for Allied troops to use to try to hold back the Nazi invasion. They also discover that he was involved in the removal of an amount of heavy water from Norway, which was heading for Scotland along with Ingrid, the Norwegian worker who knows just how important it is to remove the material from the clutches of the invading army.
Secrets From Norway will make the brothers realise who little they knew of their father and as Ian’s condition gets considerably worse, the race for answers increases. Also Martin is now beyond the age where he’s likely to show signs of BMD, so Fiona finally persuades him that they can safely try to start a family of their own.
Fiona takes on a lot of the searching and discovers links to the virgin SOE organisation and the possibility that all was not as it seemed between Colin and Ingrid. She tracks Ingrid down to Norway, and aims to get to the bottom of Colin’s story. But will she discover more than she’d bargained for?
With twists and turns along the way as well as some sadness, Secrets From Norway is an intriguing read, and one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t want to give the full plot away, but I have included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference.
disclosure: we were sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
