> HISTORICAL FICTION

IN THIS GRAVE HOUR By Jacqueline Winspear, Harper, 352 pages, $34.99 At the outset of this latest Maisie Dobbs novel from New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, the Second World War is declared. Meanwhile, Maisie, Sandra and Billie are back on the investigation beat, hunting down the killer of a man who escaped occupied Belgium during the Great War, when he was just a boy. As secrets are unravelled against a backdrop of growing conflict, Maisie learns the moving stories of those driven out of their home countries by the previous war. Many of these people drifted, homeless and nameless, and — like this man — met unfortunate ends. The stakes are raised when a little girl who was evacuated from London is resettled at Maisie’s home. This tiny refugee either cannot or will not speak of the tragedies that led to her departure from London, and as the war escalates and the mysteries perplexing Maisie deepen, she is forced to dig as deep as possible to find inner strength — and the answers she so desperately needs. PROMISES TO KEEP By Genevieve Graham, Simon & Schuster Canada, 336 pages, $22 Canadian author Genevieve Graham has brought the history of eastern Canada to life once again with a novel that takes place in Acadia in 1755. Fresh-faced and enchanting Amélie Belliveau lives with her family on a pastoral plot of Acadian farmland. They live in peace with everyone and consider the Mi’kmaq people, who live adjacent to them, to be their friends. But this quiet existence is torn asunder by the British war against the French. Amélie soon finds herself boarding, along with her family, decrepit ships with uncertain destinations. A burgeoning passion between Amélie and Corporal Connor MacDonnell changes her course: the young corporal resolves to help her and her family, no matter the personal cost. At once dizzyingly romantic and tremendously adventurous, this novel also serves as a poignant reminder of the senseless toll the violence of war can take — and the incredible lengths of heroism humans will go to in order to survive and rescue the ones they love. MISS BURMA By Charmaine Craig, Grove Press, 368 pages, $25 Charmaine Craig uses historical events to painstakingly paint a picture of modernday Burma inspired by the stories of her mother and grandparents, and her words pay beautiful tribute to these important people in her life. Husband and wife duo Benny and Khin meet in Rangoon, and settle there while it is still a part of the British Empire. Khin is a member of a reviled and persecuted minority group called the Karen, and during the Second World War the pair must go into hiding. Ultimately, the events that follow put them at the centre of great change in the country. The war ends, Aung San rises to power but is then assassinated, and Benny and Khin’s eldest daughter emerges from her turbulent childhood to become Burma’s first beauty queen — just before the country is pulled under by dictatorship. Issues of identity, colonialism, family ties and the power and weakness of beauty are explored here in a novel that is mesmerizing and memorable.

GOODNIGHT FROM LONDON By Jennifer Robson, William Morrow, 365 pages, $19.99

I must disclose: author Jennifer Robson is a friend. But I imagine most readers who have followed her career — with this, her fourth novel, Robson is now a fixture on bestseller lists in Canada — feel that they, too, are her familiar. Goodnight from

London is inspired by the life of the author’s grandmother, who was a wartime journalist in Western Canada. The novel tells the story of plucky Ruby Sutton, an American journalist whose mettle is tested when she is tasked with reporting on the aftermath of each terrifying night during the Blitz in London. There is quiet strength in both the writing and this character, as tales of bravery and heartache are told in a bell-clear voice. There’s also a sweet romance, a compelling cast of supporting characters and some moments of breathtaking sadness, wrought on the page with grace and sensitivity. This novel is as comforting and sincere as it is riveting and expertly paced.