Had to Be You by Lyn Cote

Had to Be You (Formerly titled Bette)

1930s/40s – Maryland

Coming of age in the deep Depression, Chloe’s daughter, Bette faces a troubled world. Her mother and father have taken in Gretel, a Jewish girl her same age sent by her family from Nazi Germany. In the KKK South this is met with animosity. As she finishes high school, Bette falls in love with a young man who applauds her family’s decision. The two become informally engaged and Bette dreams of a future as a wife and mother with him, clipping recipes and living the quiet life.

But Hitler and others who seek world domination interfere with her plans. As her fiance attends college in Georgetown, she works as a secretary in the War Department. And that job leads her into the murky world of espionage. The US, Canada and England have banded together to foil German spies working to gain American military secrets. Bette never considered being a spy even in her wildest dreams. But she will do anything to stop these enemies, those who are persecuting Gretel’s family. But after swearing an oath, she can tell no on–not even the man she loves.

The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. War crashes over them all and again Bette and her love are separated. Another man has entered her life, one who works with her to foil Hitler. A man she resists but who won’t take no for an answer. When the war ends, which will she choose–the young man she fell in love with as a girl or the man who taught her how to be a spy?
The Carlyle Women-four generations,
each facing the challenges of her time
and each harboring her own painful secret~

The Victory Club by Robin Lee Hatcher

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1943 – Idaho

In times of war, sometimes victory seems like an impossible dream …

In 1943, the women of America banded together to make a life for themselves while their husbands and sons fought overseas. Even as the men engaged in war, these women faced battles of their own on the homefront.

Margo King: A woman whose past threatens to control her future.
Dottie King: One passionate mistake could destroy her dreams.
Lucy Andersen: Lonely and afraid, she turns to another while her husband is away.
Penny Maxfield: Desperate for a new life, nothing – not even her family – can hold her back.

Margo, Dottie, Lucy, and Penny never expected to face the hardships they must now find a way to conquer. But through the power of Christ, and the power of friendship, perhaps this Victory Club will achieve more than any of them could ever have imagined.

Shadow of His Hand by Wendy Lawton

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1938 – Germany

Young Anita Dittman’s world crumbles as Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, but because she’s a Christian and only half-Jewish, Anita feels sure she and her family are safe from “the Final Solution”. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Shadow of His Hand is an inspirational young adult historical fiction book based on the real-life story of Anita Dittman, a Holocaust survivor. It follows her struggle against Nazi persecution and her growth in her relationship with God through the worst of times.

King’s Ransom by Jan Beazely and Thom Lemmons

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1940 – Bulgaria

Based on a True Story

Set during the darkest days of World War II, King’s Ransom tells the heroic story of Tsar Boris III, King of Bulgaria, and his extraordinary efforts to save his country’s Jewish population from Hitler’s concentration camps. Aware of the price he might pay for his risks, Boris faced the Third Reich with courage and resolve, firm in his Christian convictions that would not permit him to abandon nearly 50,000 Jews. Boris, along with members of the Orthodox Church, Jewish religious leaders, and others, ultimately ensured that no Bulgarian Jews lost their lives to Hitler’s regime. Boris’s quest to save Bulgaria’s Jews is interwoven with the love story of Daria, the Jewish attendant to the Bulgarian royal family, and Dobri, a sergeant in the king’s guard. With courageous characters and passionate storytelling, King’s Ransom reveals how individuals acting on faith can change the course of history.

Night Song by Tricia Goyer

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1942 – Germany/Austria

The little-known, but true story of the orchestra started by prisoners in Hitler’s Mauthausen death camp. This courageous orchestra played the American national anthem as Allied troops arrived to liberate the camps. Around the orchestra story, Tricia weaves the fictional stories of a beautiful member of the Austrian resistance, the American GI who loves her, and a young prisoner who fakes his way into the camp orchestra in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

All the Way Home by Ann Tatlock

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1930s/1960s – California/Mississippi

From a rough section of Los Angeles during the late Depression years, to the civil rights struggles of the 1960s in the South, this novel is a searing portrayal of one family trapped by alcoholism and another living the typical middle class life. A true American story told through the eyes of two girls, best friends, separated by the internment camps of World War II.

His Watchful Eye by Jack Cavanaugh

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1943/1989 – Russia/US

World War II. The army of the Third Reich. Konrad Reichmann, a model of Hitler’s youth movement, becomes disillusioned as the reality of the Russian front bears no resemblance to the glory the Fuhrer portrayed in his speeches. Even lower than his unit’s morale are supplies and fuel as Russia’s winter sets in. When the slaughter of innocents opens his eyes to the true nature of the Reich, Konrad embarks upon a bold and dangerous plan to put a stop to the horror and change the course of history.

Friday’s Child by Linda Chaikin

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1940s – England/Scotland

It’s World War II, and Vanessa Mortimer has turned the family estate into a temporary shelter for refugees. But in this place of sanctuary, trouble stirs. When Trevor, a wounded doctor, is accused of being a spy, Vanessa rallies to his defense. Yet even as she supports him, she cannot deny the convincing evidence that Scott, a RAF pilot, presents. As the two men seek to win her heart, Vanessa must decide whom to trust—Trevor or Scott?

Friday’s child has a heart to love and give, but she also needs wisdom and prudence. Will she discover the truth before it’s too late?

Thursday’s Child by Linda Chaikin

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1940s – England/Egypt/Greece

Thursday’s Child is the newest adventure/romance in the popular A Day to Remember series by award-winning author Linda Chaikin.

When Paulette marries Garret Holden, she’s certain their love will last. Their first year is exciting and romantic…until tragedy strikes. They suffer a bitter separation, and Paulette blames Garret. Then her uncle sends word from Greece that Garret has been shot and is hunted by German agents. When Paulette sets out on a perilous journey to find him, Hitler’s army is ready to storm Athens.

“Thursday’s child has far to go” in her search for her husband—and her own journey. Leaving a place of safety, Paulette puts herself into God’s hands to reconcile with the man she’s promised to love forever.

While Mortals Sleep by Jack Cavanaugh

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1939 – Germany

Enter the world of Nazi Germany. The story begins with a soul-searching pastor who sees the youth of his church abandoning everything they’ve been taught, swayed by Hitler’s youth movement. Some pastors have preached against Hitler, only to be arrested and shipped to labor camps. It’s one thing to speak up if it means his own personal suffering, but to take a stand against the Nazis now will endanger not only him, but his wife and unborn child.

But when Hitler begins testing gas chambers using the disabled infants of his own country, and when the pastor’s newborn daughter is taken from him for having a hearing defect, the dye is cast. Pastor Josef Schumacher can no longer stand idly by. He undertakes a daring rescue mission on a gassing facility in Hadamar and enters the underground world of resistance to the Third Reich. This thrilling story of faith and courage is based on true events.

Sea of Glory by Ken Wales and David Poling

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1943 – At Sea

In 1943, the U.S.A.T. Dorchester was torpedoed by a German submarine en route to a top-secret radar installation in Greenland. The four Army chaplains on board were quite different from each other: a Methodist pastor, Jewish rabbi, Dutch Reformed minister, and Catholic priest. Yet in the terror following the attack by deadly U-boats, the chaplains united in a final sacrifice that transformed every survivor who saw it-and inspired one man to trade the bitterness of the past for the promise of the future.

Go Down to Silence by Greg Belliveau

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1940/Present Day – Belgium/Ohio

Jacob Horowitz, a worn and bitter business tycoon, has never spoken to anyone about his experience of Nazi persecution during World War II — not even his recently deceased wife, Liza. Suddenly stricken with terminal cancer, the aging Jew receives an invitation from his old friend Pierre, a Gentile Christian and former Belgian underground operative, to pay him one last visit in Belgium. Jacob accepts, and determines to take along his estranged son Isaac. In this fast-paced, vivid historical account set alternately in war-torn Europe and today’s United States, the consequences of war become clear. Momentous events push the hardened Horowitz toward reconciliation with his youngest son, with his past, with God, and with himself.

Dunkirk Crescendo by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1940 – Paris

Soon bombs will fall like rain.
What hope is there for refugee children and the soldiers trapped against the sea?

As spring 1940 unfolds in Paris, war is inevitable. AP journalist Josephine Marlow is asked to undertake a dangerous journey back into the borders of the Reich—just when the Führer is gathering his forces for another invasion. If she is successful, a child will live. If not, he will die. And many other children, too.

French colonel Andre Chardon knows that the undefeated Führer will not hold back his Blitzkrieg long from France. But the plan of attack revealed in a coded message is so audacious that no one believes Andre. Whom can he convince? Who will have the courage to act before thousands of innocents are slaughtered? And is a miracle at Dunkirk Harbor possible?

Paris Encore by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1939 – France

Hitler’s chilling secret is revealed, but will anyone believe it in time to save the sleeping neutral nations?

American Journalist Josephine Marlow knows firsthand the horrors of war – the bombs, the senseless slaughter when Warsaw fell to the Nazis. Now assigned to the Paris AP office, Josie sees the impending danger. Spies have already infiltrated the countries of Beligium and Holland and stand ready to assist with the invasion.

As French civilians are evacuated from the countryside to Paris and the cadets at the Ecole de Calverie prepare for war, French colonel Andre Chardon heads a top-secret project. It could turn the tide of the war…but will the discovery be too late?

London Refrain by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1939 – Poland

England teeters on the brink of war.
It’s no longer a question of if. It’s a matter of when.

In the dark fall of 1939, the hopes of the Polish people fade as Nazi bombers strafe the beloved city of Warsaw. Politicians debate while hundreds stand in lines at the British Embassy, desperate to flee the country before Hitler’s ground forces arrive.

Mac McGrath, a veteran American photographer, recorded the landslide toward war with dedication, believing that if he told the truth, the world would rise up and put a stop to Hitler’s evil plans. Now his foolish idealism embarrasses him.

Outside the embassy gates, Jewish schoolteacher Eva Weitzman prays for a miracle. Without a British passport, she will fall into the Nazis’ clutches.

Who will live and who will die? Will anyone dare to stand against the apathy of nations?

Danzig Passage by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Germany

Evil descends in one night.
Who will be crushed in its grip?

It’s November 9, 1938—Kristal Nacht, the “Night of Breaking Glass.” As Hitler’s minions blaze through Berlin, arresting Jews, burning homes, shops, and synagogues, Pastor Karl Ibsen races to aid the Kalners, a Jewish family in his congregation. But will he be too late? And what price will his wife, Helen, and children, Lori and Jamie, pay for his actions?

As Berlin burns, Karl’s family waits in New Church for the Nazis to come. The Wallich family hides in a nearby apartment. Lucy Strasburg, girlfriend of a Nazi officer, watches with horror, realizing what the “glory of the Reich” really means . . . and wondering what, if anything, she can do.

For all, there is only one hope—the Danzig Passage. A narrow corridor to hope and freedom.

Jerusalem Interlude by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Israel

In August 1938 Hitler’s Brownshirts conquer Czechoslovakia. German Jews are deported in cattle cars to Poland, the country of earlier pogroms. Other Jews flee to Palestine, the Promised Land of their dreams . . . only to be imprisoned behind barbed wire upon their arrival. Musicians Shimon and Leah Feldstein, two of the “lucky ones,” are allowed to disembark from their rusting ship. Yet even in the Holy City, darkness lurks. The Muslim Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Adolf Hitler secretly join forces to eradicate the Jews from the earth. Is there no place that’s safe for Shimon and Leah? for the esteemed Rabbi Lebowitz and his family? for the Jew Eli Sachar and Muslim Victoria Hassan—in love but separated by the highest walls of religion and tradition?

Munich Signature by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Austria/At Sea

Who will dare to take a stand?

In May 1938 Hitler’s forces continue to swallow pieces of Europe, forcing Jews to flee from his ever-tightening net. Yet where can they go? While nations argue politics and negotiate payments, and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain accepts Hitler’s signature of “peace in our time,” homeless Jews bob on the open sea in “coffin ships.”

After suffering through internment at Dachau and a hellish fire, Shimon Feldstein, former percussionist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, becomes a stowaway on the SS Darien, one of the battered refugee ships. His wife, Leah, a talented cellist, undertakes a treacherous journey over the Alps to save herself and a little boy. But it seems all the harbors of the world are slammed shut against the Darien. Where can they find a place to call home?

Prague Counterpoint by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Austria

There is no middle ground. . . .

March 12, 1938, is a dark day. Hitler’s evil sweeps across Austria, destroying all in its path. Although violinist Elisa Lindheim is safe in Czechoslovakia—for the moment—she grieves over her beloved Vienna. Swastika flags now wave from every window. Jewish shops are destroyed. Neighbors’ houses stand empty. The Jews and those who try to defend them are arrested or killed.

The clock is running out for those the Nazis consider enemies of the state, such as journalist Walter Kronenberger and his five-year-old son, Charles. If Elisa agrees to help Charles and his twin brother, Louis, she could become useless to the Jewish Underground. Yet how can she stand by and watch two children fall into the clutches of the Nazis?

Vienna Prelude by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1936 – Austria

No one is safe. . . .

In 1936 Nazi darkness descends upon Europe. Every person is only one step away from being swept into the nightmarish tide of evil. Blond Elisa Lindheim, a violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, adopts an Aryan stage name for protection. But her closest friend, Leah, a talented Jewish cellist, is in a perilous position.

There are those who choose to fight Hitler’s madness. Elisa’s father, Theo. A courageous American reporter, John Murphy. Winston Churchill, the British statesman. A farm family in the Tyrolean Alps. The Jewish Underground. But will all their efforts be enough to stop the coming Holocaust?

And now Elisa must decide. If she becomes part of the Underground, she will risk everything . . . and put everyone she loves in danger.

A Light in Zion by Bodie and Bock Thoene

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1948 – Israel

The situation is desperate. Only a miracle can save them now. But will it come too late?

It’s Passover eve, and the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is being starved into submission. Arab forces hold the only road into the Old City—the village of Kastel and the narrow, twisting, rocky pass of Bab el Wad.

If Haganah leader Moshe Sachar and his men can’t capture and hold the pass tonight, long enough for the Jewish Agency’s food convoy to get through, people will die.

As Moshe approaches Kastel, he has no idea that his beloved Rachel will have to make her own dangerous journey—through the Arab stronghold of Sheikh Jarrah. Or that their baby, Tikvah, will be fighting for her life at Hadassah Hospital. As the Mufti vows to drive all Jews into the sea, David and Ellie Meyer search the Mediterranean for a freighter loaded with weapons for the Muslim Jihad. But will this last-ditch effort come in time to save the Jewish nation?

The Return to Zion by Bodie and Brocke Thoene

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1948 – Israel

A nation will stand or fall . . . and it’s all up to one World War II fighter ace.

The Old City of Jerusalem is under siege in February 1948. Food and fuel are scarce. Weapons with which to defend the Jewish Quarter are even more so. The U.S. arms embargo against the Jews is still in effect, even though the British openly sell weapons to the Arabs. The Jewish nation needs a miracle.

David Meyer is given a dangerous assignment—to hire pilots and buy war-surplus planes that could fly to Palestine the instant statehood is declared. It could cost him his U.S. citizenship, and it would mean leaving Ellie, his bride, in harm’s way.

Worse, the British and the Arab secret operative Montgomery seem to know his every move. Even Haganah leader Moshe Sachar, who has just wed the beautiful Rachel Lubetkin, becomes the target of an evil conspiracy.

When David signed up for the war, he hadn’t signed up to carry the weight of a nation. Especially when betrayal swirls in the very air. . .

A Daughter of Zion by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1948 – Israel

She survived the Holocaust at great personal cost. But will her past now destroy her?

It’s January 1948. After suffering the horrors of years in a Nazi concentration camp, Rachel Lubetkin has at last come home to Jerusalem . . . and the family who thought she was dead. But the mark on her arm has also marked her heart. Will her secrets, if revealed, discredit her among her own people? And at a time of great danger, when she so desperately wants to help?

British soldiers stand idly by while Arabs attack Jewish transports in the besieged Old City. Moshe Sachar, archaeologist by day and secret blockade runner by night, determines to fight for the ancient promises. But he can’t shake the vision of the beautiful young woman he rescued from the sea.

The very same Jewess that Gerhardt, a former Nazi, vows to find . . . to make her pay.

The Gates of Zion by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1947 – Middle East

Evil circles closer, threatening even those who survived the Holocaust.

It’s November 29, 1947. The streets of Jerusalem ring with celebration as the British Mandate of Palestine is carved into Arab and Jewish states. Politicians promise peace, but those who remember the prophecies know the truth.

When photojournalist Ellie Warne snaps pictures of some ancient scrolls, she unwittingly becomes the target of a sinister plan. Whom can she trust? David Meyer, a decorated American war pilot, who seems more comfortable among the stars than on earth with her? Or the scholarly Jew, Moshe Sachar, who hides from commitment behind his studies but says he loves her?

As everything she believes is challenged, Ellie must decide whether to risk her life—and her heart—for a people she has just met.

Triumph of the Soul by Michael R. Joens

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WWII – Europe

During World War II, Billy Hochreiter, an American fighter pilot, navigates the dangerous skies over Europe and finds love with the beautiful Colette, at the same time a handsome German pilot defends his homeland and dreams of life with the mysterious Olga.