Book: The Winter Garden by Jane Thynne

I loved Black Roses  and this is the follow-up. I read the first book in the series last summer, but the world's is a very different place now so The Winter Garden made for tougher reading. I may be less shocked each time I read of a violent incident against Jews but now in 2017, the extreme Nazi ways of life appears in our daily news headlines on an almost daily basis. This time around, that’s what made this book, based on real life events around Hitler’s regime, too eerie.Whereas I could have polished it off in a week, I had to stop reading it twice as I was sure that’s why I was having nightmares.We follow spy/actress Clara on her escapades within the Berlin film industry and once again the author is careful to refrain from being overtly graphic about the violence thousands endured.Some of the characters have left and we are introduced to a whole host of new allies and enemies, although Clara knows she can ultimately trust no one. Which is why this one is a little disappointing. I’d have thought after the intervening years, Clara, would have known better than to leave pictures of Hitler that would almost certainly dethrone him lying around when his biggest fan unexpectedly calls round. And why would you leave the house and meet a known Jew when someone has just tried to kill you and your head is still not quite recovered? From the start, Clara thinks she’s being followed so it seems a bit flimsy to have her voluntary leave for an unnecessary risk.I may wait a while until I read the next one but then again, maybe I won’t I will just have to know what Clara did next.