A Bridge Across the Ocean

By: Susan Meissner

Narrated by: Kim Bubbs

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Wartime intrigue spans the lives of three women - past and present - in this emotional novel from the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War.

February, 1946. World War Two is over, but the recovery from the most intimate of its horrors has only just begun for Annaliese Lange, a German ballerina desperate to escape her past, and Simone Deveraux, the wronged daughter of a French Résistance spy.

Now the two women are joining hundreds of other European war brides aboard the renowned RMS Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic and be reunited with their American husbands. Their new lives in the United States brightly beckon until their tightly held secrets are laid bare in their shared stateroom. When the voyage ends at New York Harbor, only one of them will disembark....

Present day. Facing a crossroads in her own life, Brette Caslake visits the famously haunted Queen Mary at the request of an old friend. What she finds will set her on a course to solve a 70-year-old tragedy that will draw her into the heartaches and triumphs of the courageous war brides - and will ultimately lead her to reconsider what she has to sacrifice to achieve her own deepest longings.

©2017 Susan Meissner (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“I was utterly spellbound, beguiled, swept up in this ghostly mystery.” (Jamie Ford, New York Times best-selling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet)

“A beguiling tapestry of storytelling and a unique look at one of history’s most enigmatic ships.” (Sarah McCoy, New York Times best-selling author of The Mapmaker’s Children)

Outstanding narrator!

The story was pretty good, but the superb narration makes this book fantastic. The accents were lovely: German, Belgian, French, British, and American. Very much enjoyed this listen.

Another Great One!

I have loved every book written by Susan Messiner and this is no exception. I am always leary if there are trigger warning type scenes in a book. This author, however, doesn't put those rough parts in without purpose. They always have an instrumental part in the story that shows the true struggle of humanity and especially as it is related to the time period in which the story takes place.

This story has a unique twist in the telling of a story and a time where loss was overbearing. When there seemed to be little hope new life and hope are found and lives are forever changed and people are grown. This book truly is another great one!

Great Story

Where does A Bridge Across the Ocean rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

As always, Susan Meissner, is the master of well woven plots. The characters are well developed and remarkablely enduring to your heart.

A great story

A bridge across the ocean is a well told story with a turn of events that caught me off guard.I highly recommend

The narrator was amazing!

The book was really good…not my normal read, but I enjoyed it and the story line. So glad I listened to it.

A ship, a ghost, and war brides

Any additional comments?

I adore Susan Meisner books...this one, however, was a bit difficult to get into at first but was interesting and engaging. She always does a great job of telling several stories in one book and tying them all together. I was a little underwhelmed with the main character but loved the women of the stories from the war.

Interesting and entertaining

The storyline about three women war brides was very interesting. There was historical Information about World War II that I had not known before. The supernatural storyline was a bit far-fetched and disappointing at the end. But I like the book overall.

A sweet story.

I’ve enjoyed all of Meissner’s books. This one was quite different with the otherworldly character, but it worked and came together beautifully. 💕

On the fence

Enjoyed the story and the weaving together of past and present characters. However, the vehicle used to accomplish this—ghosts—was farfetched and off-putting to me.

A Bridge across the ocean

loved it. will recommend it to somebody else. it took a couple of chapters to get into the book