The Road Beyond Ruin

For some people in post-World War II Germany, the battle is not over.

August 1945. As Stefano, an Italian POW, heads toward home across war-ravaged Germany, he encounters a young child beside his dead mother. Unable to leave him to an unknown fate, Stefano takes the boy with him, finding refuge in a seemingly abandoned house in a secluded woodland.

But the house is far from vacant. Stefano wakes at the arrival of its owner, Erich, a former German soldier, who invites the travelers to stay until they can find safe passage home. Stefano cautiously agrees, intrigued by the disarming German, his reclusive neighbor Rosalind, and her traumatized husband, Georg. Stefano is also drawn to Monique, the girl in a photograph on Rosalind’s wall, who went missing during the war.

But when he discovers letters written by Monique, a darker truth emerges. This place of refuge could be one of reckoning, and the secrets of the past might prevent the travelers from ever getting home.

©2019 Gemma Liviero. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Captivating!

If you're a fan of historical fiction and narrators Di Loreto / Maarleveld... This is for you!

I couldn't put this book down! The lateral, complementing stories of the East and the West were so captivating!

So many unexpected twists

This was a wonderfully written masterpiece. Keeps you enthralled from the beginning. Cleverly written and astonishingly ended!

Superb! Brilliant plot, superior readers

This is a very different look at WWII and its effects on a group of people who survived it.
It is an interesting twist with a view of how the German people experienced it. The characters are full and interesting and the plot has a lot of unexpected turns.
The readers are excellent and bring the story to life .

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction, or who want a more realistic look at the events of that war.

it took me a while to get into this

after reading a few chapters and getting to know all the characters I fell in love with them all

Warm historical novel

Really great author - already recommended to my book club friends. You won't be disappointed with this wonderful story.