THE BERLIN ZOOKEEPER

MY THOUGHTS:

I love time slip novels especially one’s that revolve around World War II, and this one written by Anna Stuart kept my attention from start to finish.  This rapid page turner is an absolute must read. It is one that I devoured in one sitting.

I absolutely loved the story of Adelaide and her infant sister.  But Katrina who was a true heroine because of the sacrifices she made in her life to help the orphaned children of the war.  She would do anything to save as many children as she possibly can. But now fast forward to Berlin current day, Bethan Taylor and goes to work in the Berlin Zoo as a Vet.  One day she meets a lady at the Berlin Zoo sitting on a bench.  As the conversation begins is the lady she meets someone she knows…from her past?  As Bethan’s desire to uncover the mystery of her past and determine her future, the lady she has come across can unlock, solve and answer so many questions.  This time slip novel, mixes the past and the present, it is one that is sure to stick with you for a very long time.

I was so enthralled with this emotional story.  I was so engrossed with the story and the characters.  This one will have to be read with a box of Kleenex nearby.  Thank you Anna Stuart for this phenomenal story, I absolutely loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

DESCRIPTION:

THE BERLIN ZOOKEEPER

Author:  Anna Stuart 
Publisher:  Bookouture 
Publication Date: May 4, 2021 
Pages: 367 
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Two women. One shocking wartime secret. And a family mystery just waiting to be discovered…

Berlin Zoo, 1943: Ten-year-old Adelaide and her newborn sister are orphaned after a devastating night of bombing. Heartbroken and frightened, Adelaide runs to her mother’s closest friend, Katharina Heinroth, and the kind zookeeper takes the two little girls under her protection. As the bombing intensifies, Adelaide tries to shut out the horrors of war by caring for her tiny sister and playing with the adorable baby monkeys. But when Katharina organises a dangerous operation to enable children and animals to escape the battle-scarred city, something goes wrong. And Adelaide has to promise her adopted mother to keep a shocking secret. A secret that will change Adelaide’s life forever.

Berlin Zoo, 2019: Bethan Taylor notices the elderly lady sitting on the bench next to her seems confused, her thoughts flitting between past and present. Ada talks of her childhood, played out in an underground bunker beneath the animal enclosures during the war. As Ada’s story unfolds, Bethan is surprised to hear a name she recognises…

Katharina Heinroth is at the top of a list of German names Bethan found in a hidden compartment of her late mother’s jewellery box. Bethan’s father couldn’t tell her anything about the crumpled piece of paper and she’s been searching for the meaning ever since.

As the two women are brought together by the pain of the past can they help each other to heal? And after decades of silence, can Ada help Bethan to uncover a long-buried family mystery?

ABOUT ANNA STUART

Anna Stuart lives in Derbyshire with her campervan-mad husband, two hungry teenagers and a slightly loopy dog. She was hooked on books from the moment she first opened one in her cot so is thrilled to now have several of her own to her name. Having studied English literature at Cambridge university, she took an enjoyable temporary trip into the ‘real world’ as a factory planner, before returning to her first love and becoming an author. History has also always fascinated her. Living in an old house with a stone fireplace, she often wonders who sat around it before her and is intrigued by how actively the past is woven into the present, something she likes to explore in her novels. Anna loves the way that writing lets her ‘try on’ so many different lives, but her favourite part of the job is undoubtedly hearing from readers.

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