Great book - really enjoyed it....and would certainly recommend it!

The plot is interesting but in the end not strong enough,the characters are interesting but not enough,could have been great but for some reason it is just average

I don't think this pretends to be 'great literature' so some of the criticism levelled against it is, I think, unfair. It is also worth bearing in mind that it is only the author's second novel. I picked this up on a 342, it was the tricky third choice for my holiday reading but I was glad I did. I enjoyed the story, it could have been better developed in places and I wasn't sure about all the characters, the Doctor's wife really annoyed me but I found it engaging and at times moving. It's not the best book I've ever read but it certainly wasn't the worst by quite some way. I

I expected a lot more from this book. For a start I expected it would be centred around Iris, "The Postmistress" . The story begins with the suggestion that she is an odd character, building up in her head a relationship with a man she hardly knows and perhaps not to be trusted. The central character, Frankie the journalist, has the most compelling storyline. The part in the middle of the book tells the story of her search for the truth behind the war; the refugees travelling or trying to travel across Europe to escape the Nazi's. This was the book's most poignant and emotive part, and Frankie's character the most believable. I found the rest an odd collection of bland characters. Regarding Iris, I couldn't work out if she was a good or bad person, in fact in the end I didn't actually care.

A tale of three women in the midst of WWII should make for an engaging and thrilling story. But the, at times awkward, writing style and weak central plot line meant this story never quite got off the ground. So much potential, more careful execution and thought needed. If the focus of the story had revolved around Frankie's travels through mainland Europe reporting on the fleeing Jews, it would have made a much more enthralling read. I nearly gave up a third of the way through but battled on in hope of a reward that never came.