PAPER LOVE
By Sarah Wildman. (Riverhead Books, 386 pages, $27.95.)
Sarah Wildman grew up believing her doctor-grandfather to be a hero. He didn't just manage to get out of Nazi-occupied Austria — he helped others escape, too, and then built a distinguished medical career in America. But after his death, Wildman discovered a bundle of letters from a woman named Valy, the woman he loved and left behind. In her riveting family history, "Paper Love," Wildman tracks down the increasingly complicated story behind her grandfather and Valy. Why didn't he send for her? Did she ever get out?
The truth is always more complicated than legend, and Wildman, a former New York Times reporter, spent months digging out the details. Her book is laced with heartbreaking, urgent letters from Valy — tender, but growing increasingly desperate, until that final letter in November 1941.
Wildman crisscrosses Western Europe, interviewing Holocaust scholars, visiting archives, climbing the stairs to Valy's last known apartment building in Berlin. Her research is meticulous and thorough, and her writing is captivating. This history — which grows much broader than a family history, but never grows out of control — is a page-turner, as breathtaking as any murder mystery, though sad. Very, very sad.
LAURIE HERTZEL
Senior editor/books
Murder on the Île Sordou
By M.L. Longworth. (Penguin, 303 pages, $15.)
It's a beautiful place for a murder. The fictional Île of Sordou lies just off the coast of Marseilles, its rocky outcroppings offering a perfect view of the sparkling Mediterranean for the tony guests of a high-end hotel. If only the hotel were full and the guests were more pleasant. If only one didn't wind up dead. Now examining judge Antoine Verlaque and his girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet, must stop vacationing and find the killer among a small group of highly suspicious suspects.
The fourth installment of M.L. Longworth's mystery series recalls some of Agatha Christie's tales from exotic places, updated with balky Internet access. Though the world has sped up, Longworth's tale unfolds at a vacation pace. Nearly one-third of the book passes before the victim does. Still, the idyllic setting holds our attention. It's an ideal beach read, but also a welcome respite at a time when we're dreaming of beaches.
Maureen McCarthy Team leader
