Marriage Before Death: WWII Spy Thriller

Still Life with Memories, Book 5

By: Uvi Poznansky

Narrated by: Don Warrick

Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

After D-Day, her photograph appears on the most-wanted Nazi propaganda posters. Who is the girl with the red beret? She reminds him of Natasha, but no, that cannot be. Why does Rochelle step into his life when he is lead by SS soldiers to the gallows? At the risk of being found out as a French Resistance fighter, what makes her propose marriage to a condemned man?

©2017 Uvi Poznansky (P)2017 Uvi Poznansky

Brave comes in all shapes and sizes

A poignant story of the highs and lows of war and the everlasting effects on our brave heroes.

Don Warrick has great diction and a grasp of the characters he portrays.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Adventures in the French Resistance

In this fifth installment of the story of their lives, Lenny relates a story of his and Natasha's time in France during the Second World War. Told with that bittersweet nostalgic magic that only Poznansky can capture, he recalls love and bravery and abject terror, counterpointed against the knowledge that the wife he adores is quietly but ever more certainly slipping away from him.
Another heart-wrenchingly beautiful story that you won't be able to leave until the very end.

"In War There Must Be Secrets"

Using her signature lyrical/poetic style, Ms. Poznansky has once again created a world filled with sights and sounds, inner thoughts, and in this book, riveting action. It begins with an extremely touching portrayal of Lenny and his wife Natasha, a couple facing unspoken––and thus secret––difficult times that promise to grow much worse. The book then guides us back into the couple’s earlier history with an up-close look at the French resistance during WWII. A time when “moaning minies,” mortar bombs, guns blasting, sniper’s firing, and enemy tanks filled everyone with fear, as they traveled through the lush countryside. When “beauty co-existed with horrendous ugliness,” the “rattling of our bones and the tightness of our heads,” and “soldiers falling like pins in a bowling alley” was the norm.

But what resonated with me the most was the nature of Lenny and Natasha’s love, and the ‘secret’ cat and mouse game they played with the enemy to preserve their lives and simultaneously, protect their loyalties. Even with mortar shells flying everywhere, Lenny can’t stop appreciating the little things––In the trenches where “the earth felt good, cradling me” as the soldiers snored, and forever thinking of his cherished Natasha––“Her letter in my breast pocket which made her feel closer to me,” and “flashes of what were if they were at peace.”

And all of this beautifully written novel brought to life by the thoughtful and melodious voice of narrator, Don Warrick, whose sensitivity, timing, and nuance for each scene pulled me in even closer to the author’s words. Truly excellent!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A WW II sy thriller like no other

Any additional comments?

Marriage before Death by Uvi Poznansky is a treasure, read alone or in its place in her series. We follow characters from her other books into a WWII milieu, with all the unparalleled darkness of those days. Poznansky's talent and resonance with the story means that you can read Marriage before Death on its own or as Book 5 in a series, following (Book 1: My Own Voice, Book 2: The White Piano, Book 3: The Music of Us, Book 4: Dancing with Air). Poznansky's protagonist Lenny, narrowly escapes execution, but not capture. Through his eyes and those of Natasha, who faces a more personal terror,a hideous fate, we are thrust into a world that not only breathes, but does so in a lyrical way that, somehow, brings the story closer, not farther away. If you haven't read Poznansky, Marriage before Death is a fine place to begin. Then, of course, you'll want to grab the others that came before. Brilliant.

Beautiful Story!

Wow! I was amazed with this beautiful story. I have been intrigued with spy stories ever since I met a real life WWII spy when I was in college. The stories he told were inline with this book. The imagery was so realistic in this book, and I loved the narration. Don Warrick is such a talented performer with his various distinguished voices. I found this book to be a standalone listen and part of a series. I am very impressed with this author and will definitely listen to more books by her. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it.

WWII French Resistance Thriller

The book opens as the characters are nearing the end of their lives. He was an American Soldier in WWII and she, unbeknownst to him was a French Resistance Fighter. The story moves from the present to the past and details their adventures.

Very good story, well written and entertaining. You never know where the story is going next.

I listened to the audio version and it was very well done - the narrator was great.

Beautifully written story

I loved this book! It’s a beautiful story that’s very well written. The author is new to me and, thus, the series, too. After listening to this book, I plan on starting the series from the beginning; I definitely intend to check out more of Uvi Poznansky’s work. The narration was okay, though, the female voices left a lot to be desired. I received a review copy at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

A delightful WWII romantic thriller!

Ms. Poznansky has done it again, but this time—and I don’t say this lightly—she has written my favorite book to date in her stable of literary gems.

Marriage Before Death continues in the Still Life With Memories series, which paints stories of the lives of Lenny and Natasha Kaminsky. (Book 1: My Own Voice, Book 2: The White Piano, Book 3: The Music of Us, Book 4: Dancing with Air)

In this story, Ms. Poznansky eloquently shifts from her previous genre of literary stories full of romance, to a wartime suspense story, still, however, continuing with the love story of our beloved couple.

I have always adored Ms. Poznansky's evocative writing, but this time she whisked me into the era of WWII French Resistance Fighters in 1944. And what an adventure it was! I trembled in my virtual boots beside Lenny when he was captured by Nazi soldiers, “this close” to being executed. He stood in a line of captured soldiers and resistance fighters, waiting to be sent to one group or the other. One group would be immediately hung in the gallows that loomed nearby, the other would be used in some fashion to help the Nazi cause. The tension was riveting.

I listened to the audiobook version of this fascinating story, told by the talented Mr. Don Warrick. His male character voices are outstanding, and his accents—whether it be British, French, German, Jewish, or American, the rendering is brilliant and on target. The female voices aren’t quite as effective, in my humble opinion, but honestly, one can’t fault a deep, stentorian narrator for not being able to completely sound like a woman. ;o)

Thank you, Ms. Poznansky, for allowing us to continue to believe that America still produces great writers who judiciously craft each sentence, and who can tell a great story at the same time.

- Highly recommended by Aaron Lazar, multi award-winning author.

Lenny & Rochelle Battle In WWII France!

Reads As A Stand-Alone In A Series Of Stories About Lenny And Natasha. The Flashback To D-Day With A Backdrop Of Romance Is A Fascinating Look Back At World War II. Fans Of The Notebook May Enjoy This Book.


This is the fifth book in the Still Life with Memories series, a five book series with a sixth brief book bite. Each book reads well as a stand-alone, offering a snippet into Lenny’s life. Fans of The Notebook may enjoy this book, as some aspects are reminiscent of that story.

This is the story of Lenny and Natasha. It opens and closes in roughly 1979, when they are celebrating their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Based on information in other books, Lenny is fifty-six and Natasha is fifty-four. Lenny has become the caretaker of Natasha, whose memory has been slipping for some time and she had eventually been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She has few lucid moments, and it weighs heavily on Lenny.

The bulk of the book is a flashback to a time before Lenny and Natasha marry. As revealed in Dancing with Air, book four, Lenny had been forced to keep secrets from her when he served as a Marine in London during World War II. Natasha, a concert pianist, had joined the USO to be near Lenny in war-torn London. Though it had been part of a covert mission, the secrets had caused a complication in their relationship. She finally left London, on good terms, to hazard an attempt at a transatlantic voyage home to New York. But as Lenny learned a few months later, Natasha had some secrets of her own. She had promised him to share some of the missing pieces of her story after the war, and the likelihood of that ever happening is slipping away. He cannot help but attempt once again to trigger her memory.

Lenny recalls the events of June 6, 1944 when he stormed the beaches of Normandy, France with the allied forces on D-Day. It was just a few months since Natasha had left London, and she was always on his mind. Survival on that day was only the beginning of the danger he would face. But soon he had not only himself to worry about, as the picture of a most-wanted French Resistance fighter known as Rochelle is plastered everywhere, and she happens to look very much like Lenny’s own Natasha.

For this book, there appear to be some inconsistencies with times and dates across the series, which are a bit of a chore to piece together and may cause some readers to pause. *Spoilers* It would make more sense if this story took place during an earlier wedding anniversary for Lenny and Natasha. Nevertheless, there is nothing that anchors this story to this particular time, so it is easy to look past that. For those attempting to follow, I have reconstructed dates in the series below. Some are specifically stated, others are calculated based upon new information. This excludes any info given in The White Piano.


• Natasha: born 1925.
• Lenny: born 1923.
• They meet in 1941 (she is 16, he is 18).
• They marry: 1945 (he is 22, she is 20).
• They have Ben five years later in 1950 (he is 27, she is 25).
• Natasha shows her first symptoms in 1964 (she is 39, Lenny is 41, Ben is 14).
• Natasha divorces Lenny after learning of his single indiscretion in 1967 (she is 42).
• Ben drops out of high school and leaves home to travel abroad in 1967 (he is 17).
• *The Music of Us* takes place in 1970 and the couple is together (Natasha is 45; Lenny 47).
• Natasha is diagnosed in 1971 (she is 46).
• *Dancing with Air* takes place sometime after 1970 and the couple is together.
• **Natasha probably goes to live at Sunrise Assisted Living in 1972 (when she is 47), five years after Lenny’s indiscretion and the divorce. That means that Dancing with Air and Marriage before Death should take place by this time, since Natasha lives at home in those books.
• *My Own Voice* should take place in 1977, when Ben is 27 and Anita is 26 or 27 (Lenny is 54).
• **Marriage before Death** takes place in 1980 and the couple is together (35th wedding anniversary; Natasha is 55, Lenny is 57). This makes Ben 30, which doesn’t match up with the story since he returned home at twenty-seven and here his is still overseas. It makes more sense for this story to take place in 1972 just before Natasha goes into assisted living and the couple’s 27th anniversary.

The D-Day story with a backdrop of romance is a fascinating look back at World War II. It is well-written. The story takes the reader back in time; the details feel authentic and immerse the reader in a tumultuous time in France, where allegiances were in doubt and different forces could be happened upon around any corner. The plot is somewhat complex. The characters are unique and authentic. The story is written in first person in Lenny’s POV. I rate the book four stars.

As for the Audio: it is well-performed, with unique voices for the various characters.

I received a copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.

In love, in war.

WW II novel. Romance, more than romance... A couple, Lenny and Natasha, fighting in the war. Danger, more than danger...their lives are on the edge. How they survive to grow old together.....
Uvi Poznansky writes with such feeling and clarity, you feel you are there. So, so good. Warning: Pick up one of her books and you'll be reading them all!
I listened to Audible version and Don Warrick is Lenny to me. He is an excellent story teller.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Story Origin.