The Star Society
Ada Worthington-Fox is a survivor. Having lived through the German occupation of Arnhem in the Netherlands, Ada has changed her name and remade her life. By 1946 she’s a budding Hollywood star on the verge of a breakout role. It is at this moment that her sister re-enters her life. Ingrid, who left Arnhem long before Ada, has been working in Washington D.C. as an investigator. When Ingrid realizes that her long-lost sister is a target for investigation for communist ties, she jumps at the chance to go to Hollywood to investigate. What should be a joyful reunion is awash with unsaid truths and secret agendas.
Saab does a fine job of her historical settings in postwar Hollywood and the Dutch resistance to German occupation, and the contrast between the two makes for thought-provoking reading. The story is complicated by both the sisters’ secrets and their challenging relationship with their Nazi-sympathizing mother. Ada and Ingrid’s reluctance to confide in each other is at times frustrating and made much of, in frequent passages of internal monologue which are a little repetitive in the early phases. That said, the pace does pick up as the drama unfolds. The plot has many twists and turns, and even a love story to keep the reader engaged.
