Germany, 1939: The roof is the only place no one can hear us. All the lights in the village blur into the darkness, and the flame on my candle flickers, leaving us with just the glow of the stars. “We can’t let them take everything from you,” I say. “Hiding is the only option.”
When Matilda’s childhood sweetheart Hans is in danger, she doesn’t hesitate to hide him in her attic. Protecting him from her parents and the soldiers downstairs, she smuggles him food and communicates in whispers. For months, they exist by candlelight. But how long can they survive?
America, 2018: Grace opens a mustard-yellow envelope, and her world unravels. She has inherited a bookstore in the small town of Dachau from the grandmother she had no idea existed.
Grace visits her legacy––a bookshop on a cobbled lane filled with lost memories. She combs through faded photographs and handwritten letters, unearthing the story of a young woman who devoted her life to returning the keepsakes of Dachau prisoners to their families. A woman who was torn from her one true love––who never gave up hope…
As Grace pieces together her family’s heartbreaking past, she discovers the long-buried secret of her own identity. But when she learns the truth, will she ever be the same again?
This heart-wrenching yet hopeful tale will restore your faith in humanity, and in the power of love to triumph over evil. Fans of
The Tattooist of Auschwitz,
Orphan Train and Kristin Hannah will be blown away by this breathtakingly gripping page-turner.
From behind the scenes:
A huge
THANK YOU
to
Bookouture
for believing in me as a writer and this story. I cannot wait for them to publish
The
Bookseller of
Dachau
on
October 29th, 2021!
I’m so excited to share this cover with you! The Bookseller of Dachau
has been a labor of love, just as the other Historical Fiction novels I’ve written about World War II. I’m passionate about this subject and enjoy immersing myself in the research portion of writing the story.
Over the last few months, several people have asked me how I write about such a devastating time in history without letting the words consume me. This question has been something I’ve been trying to understand, as well. For me, I grew up with the knowledge about the Holocaust, the truths that are hard to hear and facts I wish I could go a lifetime without knowing. However, if I didn’t know every piece of information about this part of World War II, I wouldn’t understand why I’m here at all. I’m only alive by luck—the luck that my grandmother kept herself alive, which many could not do because of uncontrollable circumstances. I want to focus on the strength of survivors, but each person who endured a work camp, a death camp, a ghetto, or any terrible abuse during that time, was, in fact, strong. There was no way for anyone to know if they would live or die, or whether they could even fight for their life. For whatever reason, they gave my grandmother a chance to fight, and she did. So, for that, I’m here.
After she passed away a few years ago, I made a promise that I would keep her stories alive, bring those truths forward for future generations to know why some are here on earth at all.
Each story I write about this time in our history is another reminder of how lucky I am and how grateful I am to live in a world where I can walk away from hatred.
The Bookseller of Dachau is about friendship, loyalty, love, devotion, and overcoming a profound sense of hate. It’s about going on without a part of one’s self, and never giving up. It’s about the outcome that may not present itself for years to come, but it shows that everything we do, even in this very instant, could have a direct effect on a life seventy years from now.
I can’t wait for you to meet Matilda and Hans and join their journey of a life that was as unpredictable as tomorrow’s weather.
