Her mother, the only family she has known, is dying. The
tuberculosis has drained just about all of her mother's
energy and all of their finances. Without more money to
buy the medicines needed, Rachel Justice knows her mother
will die. Her small salary at the newspaper in Philadelphia
just isn't big enough. With resolute determination, she
gets her editor to agree to get her the authorization to
travel and report on events in war torn Italy. She knows
she can make more money there as a photojournalist with the
army and, just maybe, she might be able to find the father
she never knew. This is a quest her mother doesn't want
her to do and will not offer his name. Rachel's only clues
are an old sketchbook with the initials RMA and her
mother's diary from her travels in Italy as a young artist
that Rachel found cleaning the apartment while her mother
is in hospital and now both are forced to vacate.
Rachel's quest to seek her father stems not only from her
natural curiosity, but with her mother's critical health
situation, she also dreams that not only can she find her
father, but that he will have the resources to help her
mother. With tears in her eyes at leaving her mother, she
knows there is no other way.
Meanwhile in Italy in the spring of 1944, the war and the
bombings are still going on. The situation is chaotic as
the American and other Allied troops continue to chase the
Germans out of Italy. Despite his usual calm, Lieutenant
Scott Lindstrom is frustrated. He had given up his post as
a Curator with a small museum in Pennsylvania as he had
hoped that with his fine arts training from Harvard and
previous experience with artists in Italy that he could do
meaningful work in the Army as an officer with the
Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Division. As a Monuments
Man, Scott wants to protect and help save as many of
Italy's fine and antique works of art. Unfortunately, his
lofty goal had not been well accepted by his family and his
fiancé had even cancelled their engagement before he left
Philadelphia over his decision to go overseas. Now, not
only is he not able to get transport to see what is
happening to the art and sculptures outside of Naples, he
is been ordered to protect a female photographer.
While initial meetings with Captain Justice do not always
go smoothly, Scott, despite his initial reluctance,
gradually realizes what an asset Rachel can be for his
work. But can he fully trust her? She seems to have some
secrets she is hiding. Is she the kind of person who would
steal valuable works of art?
With over sixteen books to her credit, well-respected
author Cara C. Putman has launched a new series of stand-
alone historical suspense novels with SHADOWED BY GRACE
being the first in the series. Putman has done considerable
research about WWII and this special and not widely-known
Division that worked in the Army to save as much as they
could of the wonderful and historical works of art and
culture in Europe during World War II. In a fortuitous
coincidence, the release of SHADOWED BY GRACE has come out
almost at the same time as the movie, The Monuments Men.
Both these works focus on the incredible work done by the
highly knowledgeable men in this special division and the
dangers that they encouraged as they worked in the front
lines of the war to both connect with the local people who
knew about the art as well as to help direct the bombs away
from valuable works as much as possible without endangering
the lives of their own troops.
In SHADOWED BY GRACE, Putman quickly pulls the reader into
this action as she skillfully interweaves historical fact
with fiction to bring both situations and characters to
life. The story is easy to read with a compelling plot, so
it should appeal to both adult as well as to young adult
readers. From my perspective, I found myself reading late
into the night just to see what was happening next;
however, I found the writing tended to be a bit uneven at
times with a little too many coincidences. Still, the
characters are intriguing as they deal with dramatic events
heading into the conclusion. Linking into the storyline,
Putman deftly has the two main characters, Scott and
Rachel, thinking and discussing issues of faith,
forgiveness and belief in God as they grapple with the
destruction around them and what is happening to their
friends and family. I am sure fans of art, Christian
romance and/or historical novels will fully enjoy SHADOWED
BY GRACE and will look forward as I will, to the next book
in this new and fascinating historical series!
Shadowed by Grace is a dramatic story inspired by the
Monuments Men of World War II by acclaimed author Cara C.
Putman.
Desperate to save her dying mother, Rachel accepts
her newspaper’s assignment to travel to Italy to capture
images dangerously close to the front lines of WWII. Her
real motive – to find the father she never knew -- an artist
she hopes can offer the comfort and support both she and her
mother need to survive.
It’s an unlikely situation for love and faith to flourish,
but soon Rachel not only finds herself, but also her
long-lost earthly father, and ultimately, the man her
Heavenly father created to cherish and provide for her.
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