German teenager Matilda falls in love with Hans. But their love is forbidden. He is a Jew and the Nazi regime is preparing for genocide. Tilly hides Hans in her attic space but the pair live in constant fear of discovery…
The Bookseller of Dachau is a dual timeline book set in Germany under Nazi rule as well as the recent past. In 2018, Grace Laurent receives a letter from German lawyers informing her that she has inherited a property. However, her mother arrived from Germany in the 1940s as an orphan so how is an inheritance possible? She begins to read a pile of handwrItten pages and finds a love story…
Get your tissues ready… I devoured this book and went through so many emotions: fear, anger, hope, sympathy, trepidation, horror, grief. The brutality is never shied away from but the enduring power of love and hope shines so strongly through the pages of this book.
Grace finds her life unfulfilled but she has no idea of the struggles that her family endured just two generations earlier. Her journey of discovery concerning the past as well as her own realisation of the constraints holding her back is wonderful to watch unfold.
The book is written through Grace’s third person experiences as she uncovers secrets and explores Dachau, and Matilda’s first person narrative as events unfold in the past timeline. My body felt tense with anticipation whilst my heart ached for the various characters. I was completely immersed in both timelines equally, and found myself reading faster and faster wanting to know how it would end whilst also dreading a sad conclusion (no spoilers!)
The Bookseller of Dachau is a hugely emotional novel that held me captivated. Heartbreaking and heartwarming. Just wonderful.
Germany, 1940: “Can’t I say goodbye?” I shout, cupping my hands over my mouth. The Nazis dragging him away stare at me, soldiers with icy glares. No. No, no, no, they can’t make him leave.
In Nazi Germany, innocent people vanish every day, torn mercilessly from their homes and loved ones. When Matilda’schildhood sweetheart Hans is in danger, she doesn’t hesitate to hide him in her attic. Neighbors their whole lives, and desperately in love with one another, she’ll do anything to protect him. For months, they exist by candlelight, smuggling food and communicating in whispers. But, in the end, nothing can stop the soldiers charging in…
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. Her mom, adopted as a baby, spent her life searching for her biological parents––and died without ever knowing.
Grace visits her legacy––a bookshop on a cobbled lane filled with lost memories. She combs through handwritten letters, unearthing the story of her grandmother Matilda. A woman whose one true love was locked within the barbed wire of Dachau––a woman 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.
Previously titled: The Secret in the Attic
Author Bio
Shari J. Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Historical Fiction writer. Her desire to write stories revolving Jewish livelihood during World War II stems from being a descendant of two Holocaust survivors. After the passing of Shari’s grandmother, she pursued an active interest in learning more about the inherited stories she yearned to understand better.
Shortly after earning a bachelors degree from Johnson & Wales University, Shari began her career as a graphic artist and freelance writer. She then found her passion for writing books in 2012. In 2016, Shari began writing her first Historical Fiction novel, Last Words, a story about a lifelong journey through the eyes of a Holocaust survivor. With two character related books to follow, Shari quickly found a new passion to share untold World War II stories within a fictional setting.
Shari is a lifelong New England girl who lives to make people laugh. She is happily married with two wonderful sons and a spunky Australian Shepard, who fits right in with the family.
