The Winter Guest: The perfect chilling, gripping mystery as the nights draw in

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Vita dura, cibo scarso e tanta fame danno poco spazio alle due giovani donne che lottano con le unghie e con i denti per tenere uniti i loro cari.

A stirring novel of first love in a time of war and the unbearable choices that could tear sisters apart, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan was published January 6th with Zaffre Books and is described as ‘a gripping and atmospheric murder mystery with a classic feel’. I thoroughly enjoyed A House of Ghosts by W.C. Ryan so I was thrilled when the opportunity came my way to read a copy of The Winter Guest, courtesy of Gill Hess. The sibling rivalry between Ruth and Helena is very well-written, and actually feels quite true-to-life in that sometimes, their petty jealousies eclipse the bigger picture for both of them. When Helena has to tell Ruth about Sam, Ruth immediately thinks that Helena is planning to leave with him, and in her determination not to let that happen, sets in motion a train of events that will have tragic consequences.Then, when an IRA ambush goes terribly wrong, Maud Prendeville, eldest daughter of Lord Kilcolgan, is killed, leaving the family reeling. Yet the IRA column insist they left her alive, that someone else must have been responsible for her terrible fate. Captain Tom Harkin, an IRA intelligence officer and Maud’s former fiancé, is sent to investigate, becoming an unwelcome guest in this strange, gloomy household. Ruth and Helena are 18 years old, twin sisters, who have taken on the role of caring for their homestead and younger siblings in rural occupied Poland. This is an amazing story of Helena and Ruth, 18 year old identical twins raising their three younger siblings in a small town in Poland during WW2. They are identical in looks but they are very different from each other in their behaviors. Ruth is more domestic and lady like, Helena is definitely more adventurous and used to the outdoors. As they grow older, they begin to have secrets from each other. Life is a constant struggle for the eighteen-year-old Nowak twins as they raise their three younger siblings in rural Poland under the shadow of the Nazi occupation. The constant threat of arrest has made everyone in their village a spy, and turned neighbor against neighbor. Though rugged, independent Helena and pretty, gentle Ruth couldn’t be more different, they are staunch allies in protecting their family from the threats the war brings closer to their doorstep with each passing day.

I just can't with this book. I wanted to love it, I really did. Historical fiction is my thing and I'll try anything centered around World War II. I also received a copy of this through the Goodreads FirstReads program so I really wanted to be able to like it and leave a review saying so. I loathed, with an extreme passion, Ruth. What a horrid woman. I wanted to gouge her eyes out and sadly, she's half the story. Tom Harkin is determined in his quest for the truth behind Maud’s death. He crosses paths with some very unpleasant characters and his search takes him on an unexpected and dangerous journey. The descriptions of the crumbling walls and shadows of Kilcolgan House are sharply depicted giving the reader a true sense of life for the Anglo-Irish during these senseless and sorrowful times. Perhaps a lukewarm or even an aimless plot can be excused if were to be redeemed by another facet of the novel. This, however, was not the case. The writing is hardly refined artistry; in fact, it’s amateur. Il dubbio la combatte nel cuore, ma gli eventi della guerra travolgeranno comunque le loro giovani vite ponendoli di fronte alla scelta di agire o sottrarsi all’occhio del nemico aspettando l’inevitabile fine del loro fragile equilibrio.

Non manca l’azione rocambolesca che, se non fosse ispirata a tanti casi veri, non sfigurerebbe in un film. Ireland has quite a tumultuous history spanning generations. We all have stories to tell passed on from grandparents and great-grandparents of a very different country, of a time when unrest stretched from North to South. Irish men and women joined the British army during The Great War in a bid to help fight against tyranny and to help protect other nations in their fight for their independence. Many of these Irish soldiers, on their return, expected that Ireland would achieve Home Rule and, in time, become an independent country, finally free to make its own decisions. But as we know this was not to be. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921 brought about the Irish Civil War, one that left its scar on the generations that followed. Ireland had already been through great upheaval in 1916 during The Easter Rising, followed by The War of Independence which raged through the land from 1919 to 1921. There was a bitterness in many homes throughout the country and nobody escaped its wrath. Set in 1940, The Winter Guest is a hauntingly evocative tale of two sisters – twins – who are struggling to care for their three younger siblings in rural Poland at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty. Their father is dead, and their mother is ill in a hospital in Krakow, and the two girls, Helena and Ruth, are trying to fulfil their mother’s last wish by keeping the family together and keeping them all safe. But with severe food shortages, and the ever-present threat of the encroaching German army, life is tough and getting tougher. Helena and Ruth are twin sister from a small village in Poland during the WWII. With their mother hospitalized they had to start taking care of their three younger siblings. The war is getting closer and supplies are scarce. Things are very dangerous and people are disappearing everyday. As the sisters struggle in their daily life, the rivalry and jealousy between them affects some of their actions and might prove dangerous after Helena saves an American solider and tries to help him.