Beginning ~ in a limousine

Beginning

She marveled at the beautiful landscapes north of Berlin, as she sat beside Horst Richter, head of the Gestapo in Leipzig.

"I believe you will find the manor a welcome respite," he said affably as his black limousine emerged from the woods and a small town appeared before them.

From the Dark We Rise ~ by Marion Kummerow, 2021, historical fiction, 281 pages

1942, Germany:  When the Nazis destroyed all that Margarete Rosenbaum knew, taking everything and everyone she treasured, she prayed only to survive . . . until chance allowed her to disguise herself as Annegret Huber, the daughter of a prominent Nazi.  As Annegret, Margarete had a moment of safety, but now the legacy of her false identity means she must make a devastating decision, and risk everything to save the lives of others.  Why?  Because the true Annegret and her family are dead, and the fortune is all hers — all Margarete’s — a grand house with crystal chandeliers, and a factory with fences built high and topped with cruel curls of barbed wire.  Inside, the workers shiver, their faces gaunt from hunger.  Margarete struggles to hide her gasp when — amongst the faces of the prisoners — she sees one that is achingly familiar.  

Suddenly, she has hundreds of lives in her hands, including one who means more to her than anyone else left in the world.  There’s no question that she must act.  From that moment, Margarete is more than just a girl in hiding; she’s a girl who can save others.  But in her new position of power, surrounded by the Nazi elite, every move she makes is being watched.  Every mistake she makes could lead to disaster.  As the war tears through the country she loves and turns the world dark, Margarete knows she can’t ignore her chance to stand up against evil — even if it means risking her own life to save the innocents in her protection.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.