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"She felt her nightdress raised, then removed. Her last defence was gone..."
Despite the Second World War having been finished for over a year, Karl Driesler
is still a POW in England. He and his fellow prisoners from the camp are sent
out to help at Lane Head Farm, which is where Karl meets the beautiful Katherine
Carter. The farm needs a hand, and Karl seems to be the ideal choice, due to his
family having always been skilled foresters. Working at the farm gives Karl some
much needed freedom, but still he must return to the camp.
Katherine Carter has her freedom, but duty means devoting her life to her father
and his farm. She's soon to marry into an important local family, and has never
been a one for passion. But then a bereavement means that she must depend on
Karl even more. His presence at the farm causes family disputes, and there are
those in the village who clearly hate him. Karl steadily wins over his critics,
aided by his stunning features. It would almost seem inevitable that Karl and
Katherine should fall in love. But Karl is hiding a deadly secret, one which he
cannot tell anyone, least of all Katherine...
This is a very striking first novel. Romantic, erotic, certainly, but also
chilling. Like Louis de Bernieres in 'Captain Correlli's Mandolin', Caron
Harrison reveals aspects of the war which we have all kept hidden. I never knew
that German POWs were still incarcerated in this country many years after the
end of the war. One of the aspects of 'Correlli' which I thought was poor was
the portrayal of the 'good' German, a character which Bernieres keeps hanging
around like an embarrassing lapdog. Caron Harrison treats the German question
with far more skill and sensitivity, to the extent that she has us rooting for
what others would see as at least a deeply flawed man, if not downright evil.
But Karl has far more humanity than some of those on the 'winning' side,
including Katherine's fiancee.
But this is by no means a sentimental novel. It's full of action, with many
addictive twists and turns. Maybe Caron Harrison should forget the publishers,
and sell her book to Hollywood. If people had the patience to sit through 'The
English Patient', then they'll have the impatience of wanting more Caron
Harrison after seeing 'Shades of Grey' on screen.
AuthorTrek Rating 10/10.
Kevin Patrick Mahoney
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Caron Harrison page |
Read our Caron Harrison
interview |
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