The Summer Before The War- Helen Simonson- Astonishingly poignant and meaningful~ Must Read~ 5 Stars +

 What a wonderful book this was, so full of emotion and feelings. I am glad I purchased it and will read it again. I actually went right back and reread the last chapters as there were revelations and nuances I needed to firm up.

A picture of WWI in Europe, reminiscent of the books "While England Slept" and "Why England Slept" about WWII by Churchill and Kennedy. This was an earlier war while sleepy English villages like Rye held dear to their "standards" aka "prejudices", as war thundered towards them.

The main characters Hugh and Beatrice had integrity and compassion and happily found love but many other of the characters grew in depth, some sadly in death. I had to dig out who Daniel really was so definitely will reread this one soon.

Summa Cum Laude to Helen Simonson for both novels which I loved.

The Night Hawks - Dr. Ruth Galloway mystery #13- #TheNightHawks #NetGalley- 5 Stars~ Awesome~

 #TheNightHawks #NetGalley Thanks to all for this very exciting ARC, which I am hoping is pointing to a book #14 to at least answer a question or two. The ending -WOW!

Ruth is back at Uni of North Norfolk and taking Phil's old job as head of the Archaeology department. A new lecturer seems to get on her nerves both with his associates and his theories. The Night Hawks are a group of amateur archaeologists who use metal detectors at night. A find of theirs, a Bronze Age cache, brings DCI Harry Nelson into the mix, with Ruth always seconded to the Police Major Crimes Division.

A string of murder and deaths coincide, one is found at the Bronze Age site and two immediately after it.All of Nelson's staff get drawn into these multiple murders which may have common ties to a local legend of the "Black Shuck",called a harbinger of death.

Death seems imminent for Nelson, Ruth and Michelle for a brief time. After they are saved and Nelson is recovering from his wound, he and his mother have a discussion. Not only does he divulge that "Katie" is his daughter but he and his mum have a heart to heart. Loved this ending.