Highly Entertaining
Eva Is Waiting by Romola Farr is a gripping historical novel that I read in just two sittings.
The action is set in 1965 at a girls school. It is a time of uncertainty, only twenty years since World War II ended and is fresh in the minds of all. It is now at the height of the Cold War – a time of mistrust.
Historians will know of Berlin being split into four zones. The Stasi had far-reaching fingers and underhand tactics.
We see that war criminals hid in plain sight, blending in and denying their past.
The lead character is a teenager who finds herself haunted by a young Jewish girl who disappeared ten years earlier. Shadowy figures are seen, and the past is re-lived through dreams.
It is a time of awakening as the teen is on the verge between adulthood and childhood. The swinging sixties were definitely swinging in the girls boarding school!
There is a tension running throughout as the reader longs for the truth to emerge and there are those who desire to keep it buried.
Romola Farr has written a very entertaining novel.
I received a free copy via Rachel’s Random Resources for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
Eva is Waiting
Following the death of her mother, Lily is sent to a remote girls’ boarding school, tearing her away from all the excitement of London in the Swingin’ Sixties. Bereft, she develops a relationship with Rainer, the husband of Sylvia, the headmistress.
One day, Bella, the school Collie, goes missing whilst playing on the shore below sheer cliffs. Despite a rising tide, Lily is determined to find the beautiful dog and discovers her trapped between rocks in a cave. Deepening water swirls around them as her fingertips dig into the sand and touch the smooth surface of what she believes to be an animal skull. From that moment on, she is haunted by a young girl pleading for help.
Lily speaks to her headmistress and learns that eleven years previously a pupil went missing. Eva was a refugee from Hungary, and it was assumed by the police that she had run away.
Forced to stay on at school during the Christmas holiday, Lily is caught between those who know what really happened and wish to silence her, and her determination to end Eva’s wait for justice.
But is history about to repeat itself?
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Author Bio –
Romola Farr first trod the boards on the West End stage aged sixteen and continued to work for the next eighteen years in theatre, TV and film – and as a photographic model. A trip to Hollywood led to the sale of her first screenplay and a successful change of direction as a screenwriter and playwright. Bridge To Eternity was her debut novel, and Breaking Through the Shadows and Where the Water Flows are standalone sequels. All are contemporary stories located in the fictional town of Hawksmead. Eva is Waiting is set in a remote girls’ boarding school in 1965.
Romola Farr is a nom de plume.
