Pub. Date: March 7, 2017
Publishers: Berkley Publishing Group
I enjoyed the author’s previous novel Secrets of a Charmed Life which is also a historical novel focusing on World War II, so I was surprised, and disappointed that I didn’t care for Susan Meissner’s latest novel, A Bridge Across the Ocean, which is another novel about World War II. But, for me, this book seems more of a ghost story than historical fiction.
In Ocean, WWII has just ended. The story is not linear, told in the past as well as the present. In the past, European war brides are to be reunited with their American husbands via the illustrious ocean liner the RMS Queen Mary. In the present, a reluctant psychic is trying to solve a ghost mystery surrounding the ship.
Once I finished this book I “googled” to learn that the Queen Mary has a history of being considered haunted, but I didn’t read anything about war brides. I wish Meissner would have concentrated more on the history part of her story. I enjoyed reading about the French Resistance, and Germans hiding Germans from the Nazis as well as the difficulties the war brides had in entering America. If she didn’t mix the genres, I would have found her tale a much more interesting read.
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Oh, I understand what you mean about mixing genres, sometimes I also feel a book couldve been better if more focused! But this seems super interesting!!
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It really was interesting. Maybe, cause historical fiction is my fav I was disappointed. I actually like when the story isn’t linear, and I’m not really against mixing the genres. But, for me in this one the past (historical fiction) and the present (mystery/ghost story) didn’t seem to work well together. I wish she wrote two different books. But, again that is me. Give it a try and let me know what you thought..
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I always like the past stories best haha
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Me too, but I’m 61 years old, you are younger than my youngest. So my past if different than yours. 😉 But, yes even as a young women I loved the old black and white movies. The past is fascinating. That is why I love historical fiction (non-fiction can be boring for me). I feel like I’m learning something new, but I’m so engrossed in the story it’s not till i close the book that I realize how much I learned.
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intriguing review 🙂
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