The Whispers of War

The Whispers of War by Julia Kelly   336 pages

I read Julia Kelly’s first novel, “Light Over London” and enjoyed it enough to make me want her read the author’s sophomore effort. 

As the cover suggests, this is a story of women’s friendships. Marie, Hazel and Nora have been friends since they were twelve years old and were roommates at boarding school. Although I don’t recalling Kelly specifying their ages, they seem of be in their early- to mid-twenties.

The time frame is August 1939 to June of 1940, with a bit of now thrown, and is set in England. The story opens with Samantha, Marie’s granddaughter, going to England to visit Nora after Marie has died, wanting to know more about her grandmother. That felt rather contrived and didn’t need to be there. The book would have worked well, if not better, had it been deleted.

Then the novel is divided into three parts, each focusing on one of the friends.  Marie has lots to worry about. She was born in Germany but England has been home since she was twelve. Her German accent is still pronounced and gives her heritage away the moment she opens her mouth. Nora comes from a wealthy family. She defied her mother by marrying for love and not a better social status.  Hazel, also married, is a matchmaker. She is the more gregarious of the trio.

As the whispers of war blow across the waters from Germany, Marie is the most worried about what could become of her, especially since her family still resides there. Nora goes to work for The Home Office. I never truly understood what she did, but it didn’t interfere with the story. Hazel tries to balance work and home.

This is a novel of women who would sacrifice everything for each other. Their bond is unbreakable, although it gets a little frayed at times. 

 “The Whispers of War” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.