Lunch with Mussolini

For a good summertime read, books don't get much better than this. The plot keeps you guessing how things will turn out and the ending is truly a surprise. Particularly well-drawn are the wartime descriptions, especially the fire-bombing of Dresden.

Read Sole Survivor which we enjoyed immensely, trying to find other books by this author; none are available in the US library system as far as we can tell.

This would have to be one of the best books I've ever read. Gut-wretching, compelling and impossible to put down. I paticularly liked the characters of Cecilia Ortelli and Friedrich Eigenwill. It was to good to see the Second World War through a German pair of eyes and realise that the Oberstleutnant was not a bad man but, in fact, a very decent man caught up in an impossible situation. I found the detailed description of the bombing of Dresden extremely distressing and it showed that, truly, there are no 'winners' in any war. This book is a must read - Derek Hansen is brilliant!!

If you are tired of the mundane and looking for fresh and stimulating reading, then this is the one! From past and present day Australia to a European mystery set against WW2, the story within a story will keep you entertained and spell bound.