This is an
historical thriller sent in the period after the Second World War in the
terrible winter of 1947 when Britain was suffering from the after effects of
the war and life was hard going in those days.
The story is
centred on Newcastle – on – Tyne where a beautiful young German girl is on
trial for murder. Jack Raisbeck, the owner of a struggling shipyard, where Elsa
worked, is convinced that she is innocent but finds himself helpless as he is
unable to prove her innocence.
Jack is physically
scarred facially following the torpedoing of his
destroyer during the war, but he has fallen in love with Elsa. He must,
however, rely on Elsa’s barrister to prove her not guilty.
Alexander
Galbraith, her defence lawyer is doing his best, having been funded by Jack,
but has problems of his own as his wife Virginia has found out that he is
having a homosexual relationship with his young assistant.
Jack also has
problems as the murdered Dutch victim was designing a new type of dredger that
Jack’s shipyard is building for a wealthy Dutch shipping magnate and the
project is behind on its completion due to the terrible winter which is causing
the delays.
The story is set
over the period of the trial and we get flashbacks that tell us Elsa’s previous
life and the hard times she suffered before getting to England.
A good story with
scenic descriptions of the awful weather conditions and what it was like living
in those times. I enjoyed the book but was not too happy with the ending as I
always like to see a happy ending!
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