Title: The Lengthening Shadow (The Linford Series)

Author: Liz Harris

Blurb:

When Dorothy Linford marries former German internee, Franz Hartmann, at the end of WWI, she’s cast out by her father, Joseph, patriarch of the successful Linford family.

Dorothy and Franz go to live in a village in south-west Germany, where they have a daughter and son. Throughout the early years of the marriage, which are happy ones, Dorothy is secretly in contact with her sister, Nellie, in England.

Back in England, Louisa Linford, Dorothy’s cousin, is growing into an insolent teenager, forever at odds with her parents, Charles and Sarah, and with her wider family, until she faces a dramatic moment of truth.  

Life in Germany in the early 1930s darkens, and to Dorothy’s concern, what had initially seemed harmless, gradually assumes a threatening undertone.

Brought together by love, but endangered by acts beyond their control, Dorothy and Franz struggle to get through the changing times without being torn apart.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK • Amazon US

Review:

A beautifully written novel, spanning generations, The Lengthening Shadow mainly focuses on the life of Dorothy, a once-nurse who left her family home and comforts to be with the man she loves, in Germany. But as time goes on and a new war looms, Dorothy must decide where she is safest.

I did very much enjoy reading this novel. It’s well-written and within the historical context of the time. I did find that there were too many storylines going on at once at times, between Nellie, Dorothy, and Louisa, and even with the other family members, and the ending was a bit rushed, however these did not diminish my enjoyment of the novel and I will definitely seek out other novels by Miss Harris.

About the Author:

Born in London, Liz Harris graduated from university with a Law degree, and then moved to California, where she led a varied life, from waitressing on Sunset Strip to working as secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company.

A few years later, she returned to London and completed a degree in English, after which she taught secondary school pupils, first in Berkshire, and then in Cheshire.

In addition to the nine novels she’s had published, she’s had several short stories in anthologies and magazines.

Liz now lives in Oxfordshire. An active member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Historical Novel Society, her interests are travel, the theatre, cinema, reading and cryptic crosswords.

Connect with Liz:

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