Across the Winding River by Aimie K Runyan
“Cleverly plotted and brimming with emotion … an enthralling story from start to finish.”
— Julianne MacLean, USA Today bestselling author
“With a bit of mystery, a lot of heart and beautiful prose, Across the Winding River will steal your imagination and you’ll be all the better for it.”
— Patti Callahan Henry, NYT bestselling author
Two people searching for answers. One wartime photo, a lost child and a faithful daughter’s quest to help her father connect the dots of his past is just the beginning of this gut-wrenching tale. Inspired by a true and powerful story, Across the Winding River (Lake Union), Aimie K. Runyan’s heart-stopping fifth novel, spans three different time periods while weaving the point of view of three very distinct characters into this hard-to-put-down historical novel.
Usually, I have a hard time keeping up with stories told with more than one character’s point of view, but Runyan does a wonderful job of threading the story through while switching voices and time periods with expert ease. A delightfully entertaining story of bravery, love and loyalty set in the horror and dangers of WWII, with the ever-present pulse of heartache, love and the true meaning of family, this story left me rooting for both sides while clamoring through the pages craving more.
In Across the Winding River, Beth Cohen wants to make the most of the months she has left with her elderly father, Max. His only request of his daughter is to go through the long-forgotten box of memorabilia from his days as a medic on the western front. Then, among his wartime souvenirs, Beth finds a photograph of her father with an adoring and beautiful stranger — a photograph worth a thousand questions.
It was 1944 when Max was drawn into the underground resistance by the fearless German wife of a Nazi officer. Together, she and Max were willing to risk everything for what they believed was right. Ahead of them lay a dangerous romance, a dream of escape and a destiny over which neither had control. But Max isn’t alone in his haunting remembrances of war. In a nearby private care home is a fragile German-born woman with her own past to share. Only when the two women meet does Beth realize how much more to her father there is to know, all the ways in which his heart still breaks and the closure he needs to heal it.
Bringing to the page her expert research of Germany and women’s courageous roles in the war, coupled with little known facts in history including the years after Pearl Harbor and wandering through the dangerous battles of Hurgen Forest, Runyan showcases her ability to write with vivid imagery and strong prose. With each chapter folding easily into the next, this is the story of incredibly brave women, a loving soldier and the quest to heal two family’s deep wounds all at once. An extremely moving read.
