Samyann
Across the Winding River by Aimie K. Runyan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Plot. In 2007, Beth Cohen, the daughter of a widowed WWII veteran, Max, helps him search for the pregnant German girl she discovers in one of his old war photos. The woman is not Beth’s mother. The story is flashbacks to the war from the early 30s through 1947, in addition to modern-day sleuthing. Who is this girl, did she live, what happened to the child?
Liked. Creative, educational details, intriguing story. Narration is fine, no issues. Bumped the speed up to 1.4 – but that’s not a criticism, just a bit slow for my taste. No explicit sex, no objectionable language. Max does liberate Dachau, so there is a bit of upsetting history – but it IS history everyone should know.
Not so hot. Flashbacks jump from 1940 to 1937 to 1945 to 1944 … just an example, but you get the idea. Current war events during the flashbacks are near impossible to figure out. IMO, the author misses a chance to build suspense during the war chapters and make events easier to follow, if they were sequential.
Written by Aimie K. Runyan, narrated by Kathleen Gati, Lisa Flanagan, Michael Crouch, approximately 9 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released in August 2020 by Brilliance Audio.
Although fictional characters, these events happened and will happen again if we are not vigilant.
Recommended.
