All that Shines and Whispers by Jennifer Craven

This book could be the sequel to a beloved movie. It is 1940 and the Weiss family escapes Austria after their country is annexed by the Nazis. We meet them when they are settled in Switzerland: parents Gerald and Marlene and seven children. On the face of it, they are a happy family except for the eldest daughter Lara, who has left behind a boy she loves. He is associated with the Nazi party. She possesses a secret that if discovered could ruin the family’s future.

The foreshadowing is terrific and the plot is laid out like a rope, drawing us in a little at a time, never slacking.

Marlene Weiss is tender-hearted, understand, patient and always upbeat, and she needs these qualities. Having married a widower, she is an instant-mother of seven children. Husband Gerald is less patient, but when danger threatens his family he shows himself to be strong and resourceful.

This book is not so much a historical novel as a family drama. If it has a fault at all it is that the Weisses are a little too perfect.

An easy and enjoyable read.

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