The Escape Line’s collapse would leave thousands stranded. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, its architect and the acknowledged leader of The Choir, broods inside the Vatican, paralyzed by the perils of keeping his Roman underground railroad functioning. Meanwhile, SS Commander Paul Hauptmann has been tasked with destroying the entire operation, and the price of failure is high—his wife and children are under Gestapo lock-and-key in Berlin. Into this deliriously thrilling melee steps Contessa Giovanna Landini, a reckless, audacious, and magnetic member of the Italian Resistance who has the nerve to challenge Hauptmann’s authority.
I did not know this was the second book in a planned trilogy. I am not sure if I will go back and read the first novel. I was genuinely interested in reading about Rome and how they handled the invasion by Nazis. Especially in light of the truth of the church’s involvement in letting them escape. Like many/all of the other countries, there was a group of resistance fighters. There are, obviously, moments of horror when the reader says, “how can someone do that?” While these were fictional missions, they still have a ring of truth to them. True horrors did happen.
It is a beautifully written, but a little too lyrical for me. I found myself being distracted by the prose. The beautiful words just felt out of place with the horrors that were being described.
Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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