The War Pianist – ARC Book Review

Pianist: NOUN. Informal. A person who operates or controls a radio transmitter – often in code.

July, 1940

Blitz-ridden London: Marnie Fern’s life is torn apart when her grandfather is killed in an air raid. But once she discovers that he’d been working undercover as a radio operative – or Pianist – for the Dutch resistance, Marnie knows she must complete his mission – no matter the cost…

Nazi-occupied Amsterdam: At the other end of the wireless, fellow pianist Corrie Bakker is caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as she desperately tries to keep her loved ones out of the line of fire – even if it means sacrificing herself…

Bound together by the invisible wires of their radios, the two women lead parallel lives in their home cities, as both are betrayed by those they trust the most. But when the Nazis close in on one of them, only the other can save her…

Two cities. Two spies. But which woman survives?

This is an emotional and heartbreaking historical fiction set during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam and Blitz ridden London.

Mandy Robotham writes gripping and emotional historical fiction, mostly based in WWII and Nazi occupation in Europe and I always enjoyed reading her books. I got as an invitation to read and review this book and thank you Avon for inviting me to review this book. In fact the War Pianist in my opinion is one of her masterpieces, talking about lives of two brave women during the WWII–Corrie, a pianist in Amsterdam and Marnie, in London, and how their lives interchanged while broadcasting through the radio.

This book was raw, powerfully written, telling in the POV of Corrie and Marnie. Having done WWII history and a piano teacher myself, this book was in fact engaging and emotional in my opinion. The author did a good job of drawing the reader into that era and then making the reader feel like they are also a part of the resistance movement. There are vivid descriptions all too realistic to read, the rubble left behind the bomb that you could vividly actually picture the scene right in your head. The author managed to inflict fear and anxiety on the reader when the characters were nearly caught by the Nazis. Overall, this is powerfully written, emotional, heartbreaking and overall, gripping. Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.