Egypt, 1942. After her husband and baby son are killed, Nadia flees to Villa Eden in Cairo. The gorgeous scents of the blooms and calming water garden soothe her aching heart… and give her the strength to keep fighting.
With a group of other young Europeans at the villa, she works undercover against the Nazi threat to Egypt. Friendships form as they host extravagant parties for ambassadors and generals – and gather vital information whispered in quiet corners.
Until betrayal snatches yet another person she loves from Nadia. And the villa’s high walls may be the only place to keep a dark wartime secret safe…
Cairo, present day. After the death of her fiancé, Sophie arrives in Egypt, clutching an old photograph of her aunt. Sophie always loved her stories, but all Aunt Nadia would say about the villa was that she could never return.
Sophie hopes that solving the mysteries of her aunt’s past will help her deal with all the loss in her life. But when she finds a note in her aunt’s handwriting, tucked in the villa’s library, it seems Nadia has lied to her for her whole life…
Sophie is left questioning everything. Will the truth from the war tear her apart, just as it did her aunt? Or will facing these secrets help heal not just her own heartbreak, but also one from decades ago?
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What a heartbreaking, yet astonishing story.
I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised by this author by now. The Key To The Island House is my third book by Amanda Lees , and yet again I found myself on the edge of my seat while reading this story. As a reader, it doesn’t take long to get captivated by the story and fall in love with the characters; each is unique in many ways. I love how Lees pulls you into each of the characters' stories, visualizing and feeling everything that the characters are. I still cannot get Sophie and Nadia's story out of my mind. Such astonishing women.
This is one of the things that I adore about Women’s Fiction. I liked how Lees interweaves the two timelines, and this was one of those times when I didn’t have a preferred timeline. I loved both Sophie’s and Nadia’s perspectives, both of which had so much going on. I felt that Nadia’s timeline had a slower start than Sophie’s, but it didn’t take me long to reach the point when I kept turning the pages because I was so engrossed in the story. loved that it took place in Egypt, which is not a setting you see often in books. All the descriptions made me picture myself in Egypt with both Sophie and Nadia.
Character development was phenomenal, especially for Sophie. In my opinion, she has changed in so many ways since the beginning of the book. Of course, I loved that it was a historical mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat even more, making you wonder and anxious to see what will happen next. I’m officially one of the biggest Amanda Lees fans and cannot wait to read her other works. Highly recommended for historical fiction and mystery fans.
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