Hotel on Shadow Lake
The novel begins with Martha Wiesberg in 1990. This part is quite brief, and the action immediately jumps back in time to the same character in 1938. She is in Hitler’s Germany with all the tension, fear and uncertainty this era contains. Martha’s twin brother has been seduced by Nazi propaganda, and his enigmatic blond Aryan poster boy friend, Siegfried, seems to be cut from the same cloth. Nevertheless, Martha is drawn to Siegfried, but all is not as it seems.
There is another jump in time, to her granddaughter, Maya, in 2017. Her grandmother disappeared some years ago, and now remains have been discovered in the US near where Maya lived for a time. She travels out to investigate, conquering her fear of flying to do so. It is a case of murder, and despite dire warnings to not meddle with the case alone, Maya does just that. Her life is complicated further by the appearance of love interest, Ben, whose family secrets may just be connected to the mysterious death of Martha, so far from her home.
The different settings are clearly conveyed, and the theme of family secrets is an interesting one that draws the reader in, making them want to unravel the mystery.
