Historical fiction is back on the blog today! Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers and Zaffre Books for the gifted ebook to bring you my honest review.
Malta, 1943. The war in the air above Malta is over, but the battle for Europe is about to begin.
Margarita, a young singer in a Valletta nightclub, has seen her former lover Henry Dunn only once since breaking off their affair. His wife Vera, an enigmatic archaeologist, arrives at the club to tell her that Henry has disappeared, presumed dead. While investigating, Margarita stumbles upon the hunt for a notorious and dangerous spy: Nero.
As an unlikely bond develops between the two women, an urgent quest to unmask Nero starts – before he can enact a deadly plan that may threaten the course of the war.
Secrets of Malta is a historical fiction novel by an author who is brand new for me. If you are a regular reader of my reviews, you will know I am partial to historical fiction, and I do love discovering new authors.
A sweeping dual timeline that moves from 1926, Syria to 1943 Malta so smoothly. The settings are richly described by the author, which came to vivid life in my mind as I read. The characters are very well rounded, to the point that I felt I was with them as the superbly plotted tale played out.
I was totally immersed and invested in Vera and Margarita in their quest to find Nero, a spy who is not just notorious but dangerous too. The fact that Cecily Blench had me thinking I knew it all so easily made this such an entertaining read. The intrigue and tension ramped up so much that I just felt like I couldn’t leave the book at any point.
I don’t want to give too much away to spoil it for anyone who wants to read it. Just know if you, like me, have a leaning towards historical fiction, with rich settings and characters you can root for, Secrets Of Malta should be on your list. It’s a page turner that I finished way too soon for my liking!
Author
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