#BlogTour: Notes From The Lost by Cathie Hartigan @cathiehartigan @annecater #NotesFromTheLost #RandomThingsTours #5Stars

Book Synopsis:

In October 1943, when prisoners of war Alfie and Frank escape from a train taking them to Germany, their lives depend on the family of shepherds who shelter them. In constant jeopardy, the young men wait out the winter in the Italian mountains.In 2000, Ros Goudy inherits her music teacher’s home in Exeter and there she finds letters that reveal the soldiers’ fate. Only one made it back, but it wasn’t to a warm welcome and happy ever after. What had happened that turned heads and hearts against him? The trail she follows begins with an charming comic song composed before the war. What she discovers is that everyone, including herself, has something to hide.

Notes From The Lost is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

Notes From The Lost is a beautifully written compelling book which I raced through in a couple of days.

I read a lot of historical fiction set in the second world war so I always find it impressive when an author manages to write a unique story. This one has obviously been well researched and I enjoyed learning about new aspects of the war that I didn’t know about. The inclusion of the author’s musical expertise was a nice touch and brought an unusual slant to the story.

The two storylines were well plotted and unusually for me I found I enjoyed following them both equally. The author does a great job of setting the scene in both timelines so the reader is transported into both stories. The two stories are very different from each other so I didn’t get confused and develop well alongside each other with realistic twists and discoveries which I always enjoy. Alfie is a great main character who I warned to instantly and I liked the stark differences in him between the two timelines from scared pow to blind but jovial older gentleman. He’s definitely a character that I warmed to instantly and I wanted to keep reading the story to find out what happened to him.

The story unfolds at a good pace with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader glued to the page. I liked that the book isn’t just bogged down in sadness, though there are some incredibly sad moments, but that the story is interjected with some humour too as I think it made it seem more realistic. The ending was beautiful and I liked how the author didn’t tie everything up nicely in a bow but instead wrote a genuine and realistic ending as it made the story seem more real and ensured I’ve continued to think about it long after I have finished reading.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the author for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Cathie Hartigan lives in the beautiful, historic city of Exeter.

Although her professional training was in music, a decade ago she swapped one keyboard for another in order to take her life-long love of writing more seriously. Since then, she has won several prizes for her short stories and was a finalist in the annual Woman and Home short story competition three times.

Cathie lectured in creative writing for nine years at Exeter College before leaving to found CreativeWritingMatters.co.uk, which offers a range of writing services and administers four international literary competitions a year, including The Exeter Novel Prize and The Trisha Ashley Award.

When not writing, Cathie sings in a small vocal ensemble. The beautiful Devon coastline also provides plenty of distraction but on a rainy day if there’s an opera or theatre screening at the cinema, she’ll be there.