Searching for Gertrude
Historical Romance
Self Published (January 22, 2018)
Print Length: 278 pages

Synopsis

While growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Rudolf falls in love with the girl next door, Gertrude. He doesn’t care what religion Gertrude practices, but the Nazis do. When the first antisemitic laws are enacted by the Nazi government, Gertrude’s father loses his job at the local university. Unable to find employment in Germany, he accepts a position at Istanbul University and moves the family to Turkey. Rudolf, desperate to follow Gertrude, takes a position as a consulate worker in Istanbul with the very government which caused her exile. With Rudolf finally living in the same city as Gertrude, their reunion should be inevitable, but he can’t find her. During his search for Gertrude, he stumbles upon Rosalyn, an American Jew working as a nanny in the city. Upon hearing his heartbreaking story, she immediately agrees to help him search for his lost love. Willing to do anything in their search for Gertrude, they agree to work for a British intelligence officer who promises his assistance, but his demands endanger Rudolf and Rosalyn. As the danger increases and the search for Gertrude stretches on, Rudolf and Rosalyn grow close, but Rudolf gave his heart away long ago.

Review

What would you do to find your true love?  What if you are living in 1930’s Germany and she is Jewish and you are not?

This story follows Rudolf’s search for Gertrude.  It is a forbidden love based on their culture at the time.  I admire Rudolf’s persistence in doing whatever is necessary to find Gertrude.  Along the way, he meets Rosalyn who has a large heart and wants nothing more than to help those persecuted because of their religion.  She is Jewish too, so it really hits close to home when she hears Rudolf’s story and agrees to help him, never expecting to fall in love.

This is definitely a love story with some happy endings and some not so happy endings.  I do not want to give too much of the story and whether Rudolf finds Gertrude and if they get their happily ever after or not.  You’ll have to read the book to find out.

I felt like the story was true to the time period and gave you a look at what people endured during a war and the regimes that ruled.  I enjoyed the author’s notes about how she came to write the book and while fiction, some of the story is based on some true facts.  I always find it interesting how much of actual history authors research and incorporate into the book.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although I did manage every once in a while to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. Another job change, this time from lawyer to B&B owner and I was again fed up and ready to scream I quit, which is incredibly difficult when you own the business. Thus, I shut the B&B during the week and in the off-season and started writing. Several books later I find myself in Istanbul writing full-time.

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