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The Bone Church: A Novel
In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life.
As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels. But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions.
Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a dangerous, uncertain future.
As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels. But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions.
Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a dangerous, uncertain future.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2014
148 people are currently reading
3221 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Dougherty
15 books610 followersVictoria Dougherty crafts stories that blur the lines between what was, what is, and what might be. Her Cold War thrillers—THE BONE CHURCH, THE HUNGARIAN, and WELCOME TO THE HOTEL YALTA—captivated readers with their breathtaking plots and genre-defying magic. Her epic historical fantasy series, including BREATH, OF SAND AND BONE, and SAVAGE ISLAND, proves she’s equally at home with spies and sorcery. Now, with her latest novel NIGHT OF THE MOON WITCH, she weaves Appalachian folklore into a haunting tale of memory, magic, and reclaiming one’s true power.
Her work has graced the pages of the New York Times, USA Today, and The International Herald Tribune, while her blog COLD earned recognition from WordPress as one of the Top 50 Recommended Blogs by writers.
An immigrant kid from the Chicago suburbs who grew up believing stories could reshape the world, Victoria writes for those who understand that the most powerful magic happens when yesterday’s secrets meet tomorrow’s possibilities. Her tales are invitations to wander through worlds where history whispers its hidden truths and every character carries the weight of their own mysterious journey.
When she’s not conjuring worlds that keep readers awake until dawn, she’s exploring the cultural threads that connect us all—one story at a time.
Her work has graced the pages of the New York Times, USA Today, and The International Herald Tribune, while her blog COLD earned recognition from WordPress as one of the Top 50 Recommended Blogs by writers.
An immigrant kid from the Chicago suburbs who grew up believing stories could reshape the world, Victoria writes for those who understand that the most powerful magic happens when yesterday’s secrets meet tomorrow’s possibilities. Her tales are invitations to wander through worlds where history whispers its hidden truths and every character carries the weight of their own mysterious journey.
When she’s not conjuring worlds that keep readers awake until dawn, she’s exploring the cultural threads that connect us all—one story at a time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
January 18, 2015
I received this book as a digital ARC from the publisher through Net Galley in return for an honest review.
This book is made by a double plot: the first one occurs in 1956 where there is a rescue mission in order to get a woman out of the Czech Republic with the aid of the Vatican; the second one is set in German occupied Moravia and Prague.
The bone church which gives the tittle for this book is the Church of All Saints which is a small Roman Catholic chapel located in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. Beneath the Cemetery , there is the Sedlec Ossuary. In this ossuary it is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose human skulls and bones cover and decorated the chapel. These people died of the plague in 1318 and during the Hussite wars in the 15th century.
The pictures of this Ossuary reminds me the Capela dos Ossos - Chapel of Bones located in Evora, Portugal which I have visited a couple of years ago.
The second church mentioned by the author is the Carmelite Church of Our lady Victorious located in Malá Strana, Prague. In its interior there is the famous statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, which was made of wax-coated in the 16th century. This statue portrays the child Jesus holding a globus crucifer: some legends state that it once belonged to Saint Teresa of Avila and allegedly holds miraculous powers.
The history of the miraculous Infant Jesus of Prague is available at National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague.
There is an interesting book The Holy Infant of Prague by Josef Forbelský which describes both the Church and the Infant Jesus as well. See my review here.
Paul Claudel also wrote a beautiful poem L’Enfant Jésus de Prague dedicated to the Infant of Prague.
Well, let’s go back to the book under review here.
The author makes use of these two important and historical monuments as the scenario of the main plot, which makes gives a hint of drama into the narrative itself.
Location 1755:
Goebbels paid your father a considerable sum to get him to steal the Infant. He wanted to replace the Infant with a fake and wait for its obsessive minders to discover the fraud. Goebbels could then publicize the fact that the Czechs had been praying to a false god and present the real Infant as proof of the Reich’s invincibility.
Location 2272:
It had been a regular cathedral, lorded over by a monk who devised a most macabre solution to the considerable problem of storing the dead…the monk commissioned a carpenter to ornament the interior of his church entirely with human bone.
“Legend has it that if you enter the Church of Bones with malevolence in your heart, you will remain there with the dead forever,” Felix recalled.
A quite enjoyable and promising reading since this is the first novel of this author.
April 19, 2014
THE UNBEARABLE HEAVINESS OF BEING
'The Bone Church' by Victoria Dougherty is a beautifully crafted piece of fiction. Set largely in and around Prague, the narrative alternates between the time of the Nazi occupation and specific events in 1956 when Czechoslovakia was under the heel of the Soviets. The central concept deals with the lengths people will go to in order to survive in an inhuman landscape.
The writing is spare and tense, with an authentic Eastern European feel. The Sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of the main characters, Felix and Magdalena, and the reader is drawn skilfully into a world of mistrust and paranoia. The threat of betrayal is ever-present. The twisting narrative - enhanced by its time-dislocated structure - is claustrophobic and dark, a meditation on suffering and redemption.
At times, I was put in mind of the works of Milan Kundera, while the novel also has something of Graham Greene's 'The Third Man' about it. The Church of All Saints (the 'Bone Church' of the title) sits at the metaphorical core of the book, a constant reminder of impermanence and mortality. Like Eliot, and Webster before him, Ms Dougherty knows well the skull beneath the skin, and how life and death elide.
Peopled with memorable characters and with some fine plotting, Ms Dougherty's novel is a serious candidate for my Book of the Year 2014.
'The Bone Church' by Victoria Dougherty is a beautifully crafted piece of fiction. Set largely in and around Prague, the narrative alternates between the time of the Nazi occupation and specific events in 1956 when Czechoslovakia was under the heel of the Soviets. The central concept deals with the lengths people will go to in order to survive in an inhuman landscape.
The writing is spare and tense, with an authentic Eastern European feel. The Sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of the main characters, Felix and Magdalena, and the reader is drawn skilfully into a world of mistrust and paranoia. The threat of betrayal is ever-present. The twisting narrative - enhanced by its time-dislocated structure - is claustrophobic and dark, a meditation on suffering and redemption.
At times, I was put in mind of the works of Milan Kundera, while the novel also has something of Graham Greene's 'The Third Man' about it. The Church of All Saints (the 'Bone Church' of the title) sits at the metaphorical core of the book, a constant reminder of impermanence and mortality. Like Eliot, and Webster before him, Ms Dougherty knows well the skull beneath the skin, and how life and death elide.
Peopled with memorable characters and with some fine plotting, Ms Dougherty's novel is a serious candidate for my Book of the Year 2014.
December 5, 2014
An unusual but rewarding book.
At first glance The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty appears to be a straightforward thriller set during the dark, paranoid and vicious days of 1956 and World War 2 Czechoslovakia.
However, the book is more profound and complex than that, covering a wide range of emotions as well as the nature of loyalty and friendship.
Some of the book has an almost dreamlike quality and there’s some great use of language making some of the sentences worth re-reading again and again for their delicious construction.
The Bone Church of the title resonates throughout the book to a delightful and expected ending.
This book will not be everyone’s cup of tea, particularly if you are looking for something straightforward, but for those up to the challenge you will get a rich and rewarding read.
October 14, 2017
To everyone who reads this book and wants to give up, I get it. I quickly read the first 7% only to be confused and I set it aside to return, as I respect this author and the story behind how this book came to be written.
I returned to the book again at the beginning of the month and read it again from the start. Once I read the first fifth of the book I was in to it, and wanted to read it quickly to the end.
Why is this; I read reviews where readers are switched off and lose the plot literally. But the book may be read at a different time and bowl a reader like me away, as seen by the many 4 and 5 star reviews.
For me the answer is simple, having read Victoria Dougherty's blogs as recorded in the book Cold which shares much of the author's background, family history and passionate personality.
When you have met an author or get their thing through their eyes or existing work you just seem to have an in and thereafter delight in their writing style or what they are trying to express in their work.
So does that mean if they write a shopping list it would get 5 stars? No but it means I am confident returning to familiar authors who consistently deliver. However, reading is about taking risks and finding new authors and styles in my opinion and that is what makes my connection with this author so special to me. I found her without expectation and have now a new rewarding reading stream that makes my reading fresh and stimulating.
So 5 stars but now the why. The plot is explained elsewhere. All I wish to say that the book shows the strength of the human spirit in times of real adversity.
That this story resonates is because it reflects the author's personal knowledge and family history. It must have been written at great cost but can leave the author very proud of her heritage and her descendants. In this story there are heroes and villains. When you are going against a political system and under pressure your own people cave and betray their own citizens or re-evaluate life in terms of ethnicity, racial links and religion you are at the lowest you can be. Devoid of friends, safety, opportunity and criminalised. That this occurs twice in this novel is a story in itself and re-enforces the blackness in some systems and states. Here we have both Nazism and Stalinism and a common enemy among normal human beings.
This is a story that needs to be told and the lessons of history are slow to be learned in my lifetime as those who flee oppression are stigmatised, face persecution and terror to the point of death. In closed societies today people are held captive in their own country in fear of arrest or exposure.
Those who can't run or hide, often face the injustice through underground, or resistance groups.
This book brought all that to my attention through a fiction story that is rich in locations and history. I loved the various characters especially Felix and Srut. It is worth investing your time and persevering with this book.
I returned to the book again at the beginning of the month and read it again from the start. Once I read the first fifth of the book I was in to it, and wanted to read it quickly to the end.
Why is this; I read reviews where readers are switched off and lose the plot literally. But the book may be read at a different time and bowl a reader like me away, as seen by the many 4 and 5 star reviews.
For me the answer is simple, having read Victoria Dougherty's blogs as recorded in the book Cold which shares much of the author's background, family history and passionate personality.
When you have met an author or get their thing through their eyes or existing work you just seem to have an in and thereafter delight in their writing style or what they are trying to express in their work.
So does that mean if they write a shopping list it would get 5 stars? No but it means I am confident returning to familiar authors who consistently deliver. However, reading is about taking risks and finding new authors and styles in my opinion and that is what makes my connection with this author so special to me. I found her without expectation and have now a new rewarding reading stream that makes my reading fresh and stimulating.
So 5 stars but now the why. The plot is explained elsewhere. All I wish to say that the book shows the strength of the human spirit in times of real adversity.
That this story resonates is because it reflects the author's personal knowledge and family history. It must have been written at great cost but can leave the author very proud of her heritage and her descendants. In this story there are heroes and villains. When you are going against a political system and under pressure your own people cave and betray their own citizens or re-evaluate life in terms of ethnicity, racial links and religion you are at the lowest you can be. Devoid of friends, safety, opportunity and criminalised. That this occurs twice in this novel is a story in itself and re-enforces the blackness in some systems and states. Here we have both Nazism and Stalinism and a common enemy among normal human beings.
This is a story that needs to be told and the lessons of history are slow to be learned in my lifetime as those who flee oppression are stigmatised, face persecution and terror to the point of death. In closed societies today people are held captive in their own country in fear of arrest or exposure.
Those who can't run or hide, often face the injustice through underground, or resistance groups.
This book brought all that to my attention through a fiction story that is rich in locations and history. I loved the various characters especially Felix and Srut. It is worth investing your time and persevering with this book.
November 23, 2014
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
This is a World War II novel without the use of a camp or a ghetto, even though two of the characters are trying to escape because they are Jewish or part Jewish.
And it isn’t about trying to escape the Nazis, but the communists (Soviet puppets really) that took power in Czechoslovakia following the Second World War. It isn’t simply Felix’s attempted assassination of a Nazi official. Afterwards, it is a struggle to reunite families and friends, something that is usually only seen via the escape over the Berlin Wall.
And this book takes place largely in Prague, an area that under Soviet control gets little attention in American fiction.
I have to honestly that when I first started reading this book, I found it slightly confusing. I actually stopped at one point and started over, and I am glad that I did.
While the story of Felix and Magdalena is part cliché in terms of the relationship, there is something compelling about the story.
But there is compelling feel to this novel and even an earnest. It isn’t so much the lovebirds that ignite the story but the supporting characters that have such life and humor. A character that only appears briefly comes to life even for the brief time he crosses the stage of the novel. This isn’t quite true of Magdalena comes across as the sainted woman, whose goodness and light shine out. Everyone loves her; you know that type of a heroine.
So even it is hard to hate her.
Felix is the more interesting character, a hockey star, who struggles to come to terms with what has happened and what is happening. His strength isn’t so much in his physical ability but his determination and dedicated – nice attributes for a sports player.
The love between the two is believable and almost physically available to the reader. Combined with the action, this makes the book waiting to be made into a movie.
I know I am not doing a good job of selling people on this book, or perhaps more exactly, a better review of the novel, but I am finding it difficult. This is one of those that stick with you. You think you have moved on from it, but your mind drifts back to the characters and the plot. Perhaps it has to do with longing of togetherness, or the knowledge that everyone wants answers even if they are impossible to find.
This is a World War II novel without the use of a camp or a ghetto, even though two of the characters are trying to escape because they are Jewish or part Jewish.
And it isn’t about trying to escape the Nazis, but the communists (Soviet puppets really) that took power in Czechoslovakia following the Second World War. It isn’t simply Felix’s attempted assassination of a Nazi official. Afterwards, it is a struggle to reunite families and friends, something that is usually only seen via the escape over the Berlin Wall.
And this book takes place largely in Prague, an area that under Soviet control gets little attention in American fiction.
I have to honestly that when I first started reading this book, I found it slightly confusing. I actually stopped at one point and started over, and I am glad that I did.
While the story of Felix and Magdalena is part cliché in terms of the relationship, there is something compelling about the story.
But there is compelling feel to this novel and even an earnest. It isn’t so much the lovebirds that ignite the story but the supporting characters that have such life and humor. A character that only appears briefly comes to life even for the brief time he crosses the stage of the novel. This isn’t quite true of Magdalena comes across as the sainted woman, whose goodness and light shine out. Everyone loves her; you know that type of a heroine.
So even it is hard to hate her.
Felix is the more interesting character, a hockey star, who struggles to come to terms with what has happened and what is happening. His strength isn’t so much in his physical ability but his determination and dedicated – nice attributes for a sports player.
The love between the two is believable and almost physically available to the reader. Combined with the action, this makes the book waiting to be made into a movie.
I know I am not doing a good job of selling people on this book, or perhaps more exactly, a better review of the novel, but I am finding it difficult. This is one of those that stick with you. You think you have moved on from it, but your mind drifts back to the characters and the plot. Perhaps it has to do with longing of togetherness, or the knowledge that everyone wants answers even if they are impossible to find.
December 27, 2014
I should probably have thrown in the towel when the story stopped working for me and I was forcing myself to continue reading the book. But no, this was a netgalley book and I was going to finish it. This is the last time I think so, next time when the book fails me I will just stop and read something else instead of suffering through I book that is clearly not meant for me.
The Bone Church follows two separate story lines, WW2 in Prague and after the war several years later; unfortunately it just didn’t work because it just made the story confusing to read. Suddenly you are in the past and you reading about characters you hardly remember. I just felt lost and also the characters weren’t memorable, I just didn’t care if they found each other or if the real infant of Prague was found (apparently that was part of the story also). Frankly my dear I just don't give a damn!
A half star upgraded to one star since GR don't have half stars.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
The Bone Church follows two separate story lines, WW2 in Prague and after the war several years later; unfortunately it just didn’t work because it just made the story confusing to read. Suddenly you are in the past and you reading about characters you hardly remember. I just felt lost and also the characters weren’t memorable, I just didn’t care if they found each other or if the real infant of Prague was found (apparently that was part of the story also). Frankly my dear I just don't give a damn!
A half star upgraded to one star since GR don't have half stars.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World
May 29, 2014
The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty is a sumptuous cross-examination of the human condition and reminded this reader of the later work of Alistair MacLean. There are two story lines brilliantly interwoven describing the lives of Magdalena and Felix. We have the Cold War of 1956 in Czechoslovakia and the Nazi occupation of that country during WWII. Both occupying forces showed a callous resentment to Jews and Gypsies and it is here the author excels at delving into the human psyche.
This reader marvelled at the lengths these subjugated people would go to survive, never losing their dignity, never degrading, always uplifting with hope on the distant horizon. I loved the journey Magdalena and Felix endured, so well described in a minimalist style that left plenty for this reader to imagine and mull over. The assortment of characters they met were wonderfully entertaining and some extremely unpleasant. The feeling of paranoia and mistrust bled from every page and created anxiety in my own mind too. I really stepped into the lead characters' minds and lived through their eyes, endured their suffering and heartbreak.
And finally there is the Bone Church, a mystical place and all I will say here is the author's description created a stunning masterpiece that should be hung in the Louvre. Incredible.
This FIVE STAR Cold War thriller is so highly recommended I would say beyond all doubt this would be declared the thriller novel of the year.
This reader marvelled at the lengths these subjugated people would go to survive, never losing their dignity, never degrading, always uplifting with hope on the distant horizon. I loved the journey Magdalena and Felix endured, so well described in a minimalist style that left plenty for this reader to imagine and mull over. The assortment of characters they met were wonderfully entertaining and some extremely unpleasant. The feeling of paranoia and mistrust bled from every page and created anxiety in my own mind too. I really stepped into the lead characters' minds and lived through their eyes, endured their suffering and heartbreak.
And finally there is the Bone Church, a mystical place and all I will say here is the author's description created a stunning masterpiece that should be hung in the Louvre. Incredible.
This FIVE STAR Cold War thriller is so highly recommended I would say beyond all doubt this would be declared the thriller novel of the year.
August 14, 2014
I won this a few months back in a giveaway- I've previously been quite concerned when reading historical fiction as my knowledge is a bit limited, but was thrilled when I learned this was set in a period I know quite a bit about, having just finished my Modern History GCSE. The plot sounded so interesting after learning so much about propaganda throughout Nazi Germany and the surrounding areas during WWII, and it did not disappoint- a plot to assassinate Joseph Goebbels, no less.
I loved reading this- Dougherty has an excellent way with words. Would highly recommend, even if books set in different time periods aren't your cup of tea.
I loved reading this- Dougherty has an excellent way with words. Would highly recommend, even if books set in different time periods aren't your cup of tea.
July 31, 2014
“The Bone Church” by Victoria Dougherty is a gripping and atmospheric historical thriller that intelligently weaves two narratives into one another: One is set in 1956 and involves a rescue mission to get a woman out of Czechoslovakia, aided by the Vatican while another plot line is set in German-occupied Moravia and Prague during WW2.
Both plots involve Magdalena, a Jewish woman, and her gentile husband Felix, under-ground hiding and resistance fighters, an assassination plot. The suspense will keep you close to the edge of your seat. The book is both, entertaining with its dramatic curve, and also educational and insightful for those of us who have only basic knowledge of life in Czechoslovakia during and especially after WW2.
Dougherty skilfully portrays life and its difficulties for Jews, Czechs and gypsies under the Nazis with excellently drawn characters, while also providing some lesser known facts and historical events in Czechia and Slovakia; in particular a show trial in 1952 really showed me how little I knew about the post-war period.
Although the level of suspense is always high in the rewarding way of great underground spy thrillers, it never loses sight of the seriousness of the times.
The bone church of the title is a small Roman Catholic chapel in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic and contains artistically arranged bones from skeletons to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel. Its symbolism and function as returning focal point for the story contributes to the artful and ever so stylish canvass that the author is painting on.
Dougherty has a sharp and observing mind that can quickly draw a picture, scene or a character with only a few well-chosen words and attributes, but her descriptions go beyond bare skeletons and show how well-researched the book is and how competent the writing.
Her understanding of the human psyche makes her characters either likeable or laughable but always memorable. Her dry sense of humour and wit liven the novel in a welcomed, understated way. Corruption and underhand dealings are seen for what they are, as is naivety. It is hard to pitch irony in a serious novel but the author has done a perfect job at it.
The writing is authentic, stylish, realistic and very addictive.
Both plots involve Magdalena, a Jewish woman, and her gentile husband Felix, under-ground hiding and resistance fighters, an assassination plot. The suspense will keep you close to the edge of your seat. The book is both, entertaining with its dramatic curve, and also educational and insightful for those of us who have only basic knowledge of life in Czechoslovakia during and especially after WW2.
Dougherty skilfully portrays life and its difficulties for Jews, Czechs and gypsies under the Nazis with excellently drawn characters, while also providing some lesser known facts and historical events in Czechia and Slovakia; in particular a show trial in 1952 really showed me how little I knew about the post-war period.
Although the level of suspense is always high in the rewarding way of great underground spy thrillers, it never loses sight of the seriousness of the times.
The bone church of the title is a small Roman Catholic chapel in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic and contains artistically arranged bones from skeletons to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel. Its symbolism and function as returning focal point for the story contributes to the artful and ever so stylish canvass that the author is painting on.
Dougherty has a sharp and observing mind that can quickly draw a picture, scene or a character with only a few well-chosen words and attributes, but her descriptions go beyond bare skeletons and show how well-researched the book is and how competent the writing.
Her understanding of the human psyche makes her characters either likeable or laughable but always memorable. Her dry sense of humour and wit liven the novel in a welcomed, understated way. Corruption and underhand dealings are seen for what they are, as is naivety. It is hard to pitch irony in a serious novel but the author has done a perfect job at it.
The writing is authentic, stylish, realistic and very addictive.
August 10, 2016
(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
I wanted a change of pace with this book; I seldom read Cold War era fiction, which is definitely something I should remedy to. In a way, I got that, and something else, too.
The novel weaves two timelines, 1943-44 and 1956, that end up meeting each other, bringing loose threads together. The author always provided time and location, so keeping track of what happened when wasn't too hard. I found the beginning of the story a little confusing, and still don't know if it was because of the writing style, the changing timelines, or if it was just me; after a short while, things fell into place, and it was all right.
As for the historical context, I must admit I know next to nothing to Prague's history, and I probably missed a few subtleties here when it came to the Infant of Prague and its importance in the plot. On the other hand, I had no problems piecing out those details, and I think the author provided enough information for me to enjoy it without having to stop reading, go learn a few things, and come back later.
Some scenes bordered on the "too much" at times; readers who don't like that may be put off by those. For instance, Felix and Srut stealing a fire lorry to escape the Germans, then making their exit skating on the Vltava river. I quirked an eyebrow, while grinning at the same time. Part of me was "what the heck?", and the other part went "nice one, guys!" It was a strange, somewhat elating feeling.
The atmosphere was permeated with a heavy sense of foreboding, with distrust, danger, suspicion, featuring potential traitors, unsuspected allies, and half-hatched plans thwarted at the last moment, always forcing the characters to get back on their feet, to react to the unexpected. However careful their plans, it was obvious they wouldn't be able to go through them seamlessly, and this added to the paranoia and tension. Sometimes, too, surrealistic descriptions gave an extra edge to the action, especially when Felix was concerned: you never know at first if the people he sees are friends or enemies, real or only in his mind. It reinforced the feeling of something not right going on.
My main gripes with this story:
1) Some of the plot twists rested on characters that are seldom seen or, worse, appear once only. For instance, the nun, or the bishop, who're mentioned once: when they do their particular deed. Such things don't sit well with me in general. Here, they made the twists feel contrived, and I think the latter would've had more of an impact on me if said characters had been introduced beforehand, even in a couple of scenes only (like Andrea). As a result, those threads confused me, and threw me out of the story a few times.
2) Magdalena's involvement, compared to Felix's, felt like a secondary role. I would've enjoyed seeing more of her, more of the path she had to walk alone. She seemed to stand in the background, more spectator than actor, and this made her character less "real" in my eyes.
An interesting story all in all, but not exactly an easy read, and one that might have benefitted from a little more development when it came to some of the secondary characters.
I wanted a change of pace with this book; I seldom read Cold War era fiction, which is definitely something I should remedy to. In a way, I got that, and something else, too.
The novel weaves two timelines, 1943-44 and 1956, that end up meeting each other, bringing loose threads together. The author always provided time and location, so keeping track of what happened when wasn't too hard. I found the beginning of the story a little confusing, and still don't know if it was because of the writing style, the changing timelines, or if it was just me; after a short while, things fell into place, and it was all right.
As for the historical context, I must admit I know next to nothing to Prague's history, and I probably missed a few subtleties here when it came to the Infant of Prague and its importance in the plot. On the other hand, I had no problems piecing out those details, and I think the author provided enough information for me to enjoy it without having to stop reading, go learn a few things, and come back later.
Some scenes bordered on the "too much" at times; readers who don't like that may be put off by those. For instance, Felix and Srut stealing a fire lorry to escape the Germans, then making their exit skating on the Vltava river. I quirked an eyebrow, while grinning at the same time. Part of me was "what the heck?", and the other part went "nice one, guys!" It was a strange, somewhat elating feeling.
The atmosphere was permeated with a heavy sense of foreboding, with distrust, danger, suspicion, featuring potential traitors, unsuspected allies, and half-hatched plans thwarted at the last moment, always forcing the characters to get back on their feet, to react to the unexpected. However careful their plans, it was obvious they wouldn't be able to go through them seamlessly, and this added to the paranoia and tension. Sometimes, too, surrealistic descriptions gave an extra edge to the action, especially when Felix was concerned: you never know at first if the people he sees are friends or enemies, real or only in his mind. It reinforced the feeling of something not right going on.
My main gripes with this story:
1) Some of the plot twists rested on characters that are seldom seen or, worse, appear once only. For instance, the nun, or the bishop, who're mentioned once: when they do their particular deed. Such things don't sit well with me in general. Here, they made the twists feel contrived, and I think the latter would've had more of an impact on me if said characters had been introduced beforehand, even in a couple of scenes only (like Andrea). As a result, those threads confused me, and threw me out of the story a few times.
2) Magdalena's involvement, compared to Felix's, felt like a secondary role. I would've enjoyed seeing more of her, more of the path she had to walk alone. She seemed to stand in the background, more spectator than actor, and this made her character less "real" in my eyes.
An interesting story all in all, but not exactly an easy read, and one that might have benefitted from a little more development when it came to some of the secondary characters.
July 25, 2014
This is a gritty, non-stop, fast paced, action filled historic thriller. Both the setting and theme of the novel were dark with a touch of paranoia, but to balance that heavy load of reading were the main characters. Both Felix and Magdalena were like beacons of light in a very dark and paranoid world. Both were strong and I admired their resilience.
The characters (primary and even secondary) were all very well developed, unique, and interesting. I wanted to know more about them and where they came from. I never felt like I met anyone that was not necessary to the progression of the novel.
I really really really loved this book! It wasn’t your run of the mill historic thriller. There was so much going on from one chapter to the next and the pace was relentless. Felix and Magdalena are always an inch from death and caught in the most extraordinary situations. It’s a wonder that the novel came full circle!
While the characters were solid and the pace gripping, the historic references and details were second to none! I loved learning about The Bone Church and all of the WWII tidbits sprinkled throughout the novel were more than satisfying! The reference of The Bone Church comes from a real church where human bones decorate the inside.
This novel was truly a treat for me to review. There was a lot to keep me guessing and actively engaged. I was annoyed beyond words when I had to put it down because I simply needed to know what was coming next. It never gave up or became dull….it was a thriller in every sense of the word!
See my full review here
The characters (primary and even secondary) were all very well developed, unique, and interesting. I wanted to know more about them and where they came from. I never felt like I met anyone that was not necessary to the progression of the novel.
I really really really loved this book! It wasn’t your run of the mill historic thriller. There was so much going on from one chapter to the next and the pace was relentless. Felix and Magdalena are always an inch from death and caught in the most extraordinary situations. It’s a wonder that the novel came full circle!
While the characters were solid and the pace gripping, the historic references and details were second to none! I loved learning about The Bone Church and all of the WWII tidbits sprinkled throughout the novel were more than satisfying! The reference of The Bone Church comes from a real church where human bones decorate the inside.
This novel was truly a treat for me to review. There was a lot to keep me guessing and actively engaged. I was annoyed beyond words when I had to put it down because I simply needed to know what was coming next. It never gave up or became dull….it was a thriller in every sense of the word!
See my full review here
August 3, 2016
I have to give this 2 stars because for me it was simply "ok." I think there was an interesting story of war and love to tell, but I did not care for how it was told. There were many things that confused me here. I'm not that familiar with Czechoslavakia's towns or history, nor had I ever heard of the Infant of Prague, but I believe the author assumed that I as a reader would already have such knowledge . (Thank heavens for Wikipedia!) I think the author assumed I would remember every physical detail and the names of even minor characters so that when mentioned several chapters later, I would know who was being referenced. Also the switching back and forth between the timelines, which normally is fine with me, just did not work here. It took fully half of the book to get to the plot and I was contemplating abandonment of the whole thing, if not for another reviewer telling me not to give up. The second half is much more fast-paced and eventful than the first, but I was still confused over and over again and hated the ending.
One of the reasons I read historical fiction is to learn the history I had no interest in learning in school. With this book I learned that Wikipedia could fulfill that need just as well sometimes.
One of the reasons I read historical fiction is to learn the history I had no interest in learning in school. With this book I learned that Wikipedia could fulfill that need just as well sometimes.
June 16, 2014
Find this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....
Victoria Dougherty's The Bone Church is not an easy read. It hits the ground running and never lets up. Paired with decidedly heavy material and themes, the narrative is more than a little challenging, but that said, it is easily one of the best historical thrillers I've had fortune to come across.
Those who follow me know the WWII references in the description are what drew me to this piece, but it was Dougherty's application of history, how she utilized and built her fiction around it that captivated my attention. Both storylines are sculpted from verified truths making it difficult to determine where fact meets fiction. The resulting seamlessness enhances the tension within the narrative and generates such excitement that the novel is practically impossible to put down.
Dougherty's treatment of Magdalena and Felix also stood out to me. It would have been easy to paint these characters in bleakly sympathetic tones, but Dougherty didn't go that route. There is an authenticity to this couple. They are trapped and hunted, but there is a tenacious intensity in their make-up that draws admiration rather than pity. An edginess in their story that plays on the reader's emotions in a way that is both inspired and unexpected.
A deliciously dark and addicting foray into a world of mistrust, betrayal, paranoia and deceit, The Bone Church was a wholly unexpected pleasure. Yes, I had to work for it and familiarize myself with previously unknown chapters of historic detail, but when push comes to shove, I can't say I regret a moment spent with this piece.
Victoria Dougherty's The Bone Church is not an easy read. It hits the ground running and never lets up. Paired with decidedly heavy material and themes, the narrative is more than a little challenging, but that said, it is easily one of the best historical thrillers I've had fortune to come across.
Those who follow me know the WWII references in the description are what drew me to this piece, but it was Dougherty's application of history, how she utilized and built her fiction around it that captivated my attention. Both storylines are sculpted from verified truths making it difficult to determine where fact meets fiction. The resulting seamlessness enhances the tension within the narrative and generates such excitement that the novel is practically impossible to put down.
Dougherty's treatment of Magdalena and Felix also stood out to me. It would have been easy to paint these characters in bleakly sympathetic tones, but Dougherty didn't go that route. There is an authenticity to this couple. They are trapped and hunted, but there is a tenacious intensity in their make-up that draws admiration rather than pity. An edginess in their story that plays on the reader's emotions in a way that is both inspired and unexpected.
A deliciously dark and addicting foray into a world of mistrust, betrayal, paranoia and deceit, The Bone Church was a wholly unexpected pleasure. Yes, I had to work for it and familiarize myself with previously unknown chapters of historic detail, but when push comes to shove, I can't say I regret a moment spent with this piece.
July 31, 2014
The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty is an historical thriller that skillfully weaves two stories into one. One story is set in 1956,a mission to smuggle a woman from Czechoslovakia, aided by the Vatican. The other story line is set in German-occupied Prague during World War II.Both plots involve Magdalena and Felix.
You will find espionage, freedom fighters and all manner of Cold War activity. So, pull up a chair, light a cigarette and get ready to be whisked away to another time and place. The book is entertaining and dramatic; and as rich and textured as velvet. This is definitely a book you have to put on your TBR list.
Here's one of my favorite quotes:
“Vera had also hated lipstick, Marzipan and Lutherans - excluding her husband, but not her late mother-in-law. Most of all she hated being governed by anyone or anything.”
You will find espionage, freedom fighters and all manner of Cold War activity. So, pull up a chair, light a cigarette and get ready to be whisked away to another time and place. The book is entertaining and dramatic; and as rich and textured as velvet. This is definitely a book you have to put on your TBR list.
Here's one of my favorite quotes:
“Vera had also hated lipstick, Marzipan and Lutherans - excluding her husband, but not her late mother-in-law. Most of all she hated being governed by anyone or anything.”
June 6, 2014
“The name’s Dougherty – Victoria Dougherty.”
And she’s come up with an erudite, neoclassic, Cold War thriller.
“The Bone Church” is set primarily in Nazi-occupied – and subsequently Soviet-occupied – Eastern Europe. The plot revolves around the Infant of Prague, a famous Catholic religious icon pursued for different reasons by the Czech Resistance and Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels. The atmosphere is sour and gritty – ration coupons, coal smoke, greasy goulash. The story repeatedly time-shifts between the 40s and 50s, and the plot is twisty and byzantine – choked with hints and suspicions, scattered clues, double-crosses, tails, moles, and blackmailers. Everybody carries faked documents. Nothing is what it seems.
Multiple writers, particularly British, have chosen this Kafkaesque era and communist Eastern Europe as a setting for a novel. John le Carre set the bar with “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,” named “the best spy novel of all time” by Publishers Weekly in 2006. Graham Greene’s most famous Cold War works take place in Cuba and Vietnam, but he set “The Third Man” in Allied-occupied Vienna. British novelist Ian Fleming dispatched his suave hero James Bond – “The name’s Bond, James Bond" – on missions into Moscow-controlled Austria, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and Dougherty’s Czechoslovakia. If Fleming were still alive, I’m confident he’d invite her over to Dukes Bar to swap notes over a shaken, not stirred, martini. The 007 creator delighted in oddly named characters like Goldfinger and Blofeld; Dougherty created the gypsy Srut, an odd jobber for the Prague Underground. Bond sported a Walther PPK; Dougherty’s hero Felix packs a Walther P38. Bond escapes baddies by using gyroplanes and strap-on jetpacks; Felix and Srut hijack a fire truck, and careen through Prague. Dougherty even delivers a fiery explosion scene rivaling "For Your Eyes Only."
But “The Bone Church” is closer to John le Carre and Graham Greene than Bond parody.
Like le Carre, Doherty explores the moral grays of the Cold War era, and how the challenged respond. Like Greene, a fellow Catholic (he a convert, she born to the faith), Dougherty serves up a flawed, all-too-human Church of Rome. Protagonist Felix is an honorable Jesuit, his father Marek noble and self-sacrificing. But her secondary cast includes a corporate-ladder-climbing bishop; a nasty nun; a worldly Cardinal chauffeured around in a Mercedes limousine carrying a leather briefcase stuffed with hundred-dollar bills; a fetishized Infant of Prague doll; and a Vatican hierarchy castigated by Srut in the novel – and by a number of authors in real life – for failing to more forcefully confront Hitler and the Holocaust horror during World War II. The debate over Pope Pius XII’s response still rages today, adding a moral gravity to Dougherty’s novel wholly absent in Fleming’s cartoon Bond.
The thread of surrealism woven into “The Bone Church” is proprietary Dougherty. Scenes worthy of Salvador Dali pop up throughout the story. Felix sees visions of Simon the Zealot and St, Bartholomew; confers with his dead mother-in-law; laces on his hockey skates and escapes down a frozen river dodging a hail of gunfire while dragging Srut behind him on a rope. The Goddess of Soliloquy flies off the façade of the National Theater and pokes her head through the fire truck window to give Felix advice while Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” thumps through his head; St. Michael the Archangel, appearing to him in street clothes, counsels him in extremis; the dead Srut steadies his shooting hand; during an extended gunfight inside the Bone Church (which lends the novel its title), a life-size human skeleton of Jesus Christ crashes down on the hero’s head; a tribe of “Indians” sporting bows and arrows and living in teepees on the Czech-West German border help him across no man’s land; a sculptor signs his work on the back of an eyeball – sly homage to Bunuel and Dali’s “Un Chien Andalou”? Probably not, but who knows? Nothing is what it seems.
All I know is that Dougherty has managed to slip into the room with Fleming, Greene and le Carre and deliver a clever, original take on Cold War noir.
Got that? Good.
Meet her at the bookstore at midnight,comrade. She’s got a package for you.
And she’s come up with an erudite, neoclassic, Cold War thriller.
“The Bone Church” is set primarily in Nazi-occupied – and subsequently Soviet-occupied – Eastern Europe. The plot revolves around the Infant of Prague, a famous Catholic religious icon pursued for different reasons by the Czech Resistance and Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels. The atmosphere is sour and gritty – ration coupons, coal smoke, greasy goulash. The story repeatedly time-shifts between the 40s and 50s, and the plot is twisty and byzantine – choked with hints and suspicions, scattered clues, double-crosses, tails, moles, and blackmailers. Everybody carries faked documents. Nothing is what it seems.
Multiple writers, particularly British, have chosen this Kafkaesque era and communist Eastern Europe as a setting for a novel. John le Carre set the bar with “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,” named “the best spy novel of all time” by Publishers Weekly in 2006. Graham Greene’s most famous Cold War works take place in Cuba and Vietnam, but he set “The Third Man” in Allied-occupied Vienna. British novelist Ian Fleming dispatched his suave hero James Bond – “The name’s Bond, James Bond" – on missions into Moscow-controlled Austria, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and Dougherty’s Czechoslovakia. If Fleming were still alive, I’m confident he’d invite her over to Dukes Bar to swap notes over a shaken, not stirred, martini. The 007 creator delighted in oddly named characters like Goldfinger and Blofeld; Dougherty created the gypsy Srut, an odd jobber for the Prague Underground. Bond sported a Walther PPK; Dougherty’s hero Felix packs a Walther P38. Bond escapes baddies by using gyroplanes and strap-on jetpacks; Felix and Srut hijack a fire truck, and careen through Prague. Dougherty even delivers a fiery explosion scene rivaling "For Your Eyes Only."
But “The Bone Church” is closer to John le Carre and Graham Greene than Bond parody.
Like le Carre, Doherty explores the moral grays of the Cold War era, and how the challenged respond. Like Greene, a fellow Catholic (he a convert, she born to the faith), Dougherty serves up a flawed, all-too-human Church of Rome. Protagonist Felix is an honorable Jesuit, his father Marek noble and self-sacrificing. But her secondary cast includes a corporate-ladder-climbing bishop; a nasty nun; a worldly Cardinal chauffeured around in a Mercedes limousine carrying a leather briefcase stuffed with hundred-dollar bills; a fetishized Infant of Prague doll; and a Vatican hierarchy castigated by Srut in the novel – and by a number of authors in real life – for failing to more forcefully confront Hitler and the Holocaust horror during World War II. The debate over Pope Pius XII’s response still rages today, adding a moral gravity to Dougherty’s novel wholly absent in Fleming’s cartoon Bond.
The thread of surrealism woven into “The Bone Church” is proprietary Dougherty. Scenes worthy of Salvador Dali pop up throughout the story. Felix sees visions of Simon the Zealot and St, Bartholomew; confers with his dead mother-in-law; laces on his hockey skates and escapes down a frozen river dodging a hail of gunfire while dragging Srut behind him on a rope. The Goddess of Soliloquy flies off the façade of the National Theater and pokes her head through the fire truck window to give Felix advice while Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” thumps through his head; St. Michael the Archangel, appearing to him in street clothes, counsels him in extremis; the dead Srut steadies his shooting hand; during an extended gunfight inside the Bone Church (which lends the novel its title), a life-size human skeleton of Jesus Christ crashes down on the hero’s head; a tribe of “Indians” sporting bows and arrows and living in teepees on the Czech-West German border help him across no man’s land; a sculptor signs his work on the back of an eyeball – sly homage to Bunuel and Dali’s “Un Chien Andalou”? Probably not, but who knows? Nothing is what it seems.
All I know is that Dougherty has managed to slip into the room with Fleming, Greene and le Carre and deliver a clever, original take on Cold War noir.
Got that? Good.
Meet her at the bookstore at midnight,comrade. She’s got a package for you.
May 30, 2014
The Bone Church by Victoria Dougherty, laced with suspenseful moments and supernatural whispers, places it in a unique category of historical fiction.
Set in Czechoslovakia between the years of 1943 to 1956, the characters are in constant danger, and one-step away from death throughout the entire book. Even when World War II ends, and Nazi Germany no longer controls the destiny of the Czech people, another world power brings another set of troubles to the Eastern European country. It’s not certain if the occupation by the Soviet Union is an improvement upon the lives of the already downtrodden. If they managed to escape the war, it was only to end up in another type of nightmare where anyone—lovers, relatives, nuns—might end up as a spy and an enemy.
In the world portrayed by Ms. Dougherty, the characters of Felix and Magdalena are at first innocents caught in an evil and dangerous world. But with each betrayal and with every death, they lose their innocence as they scratch their way to survival.
The plight of Jews and gypsies provide the reader no surprises here; but the addition of priests, sculptors, and bankers into the complicated plot woven by the author, lend an air of constant tension to the book.
The plot moves back and forth from 1943-44 to 1956 to give just enough of a hint of what is to come and how they got where they are. Ms. Dougherty is careful to provide the chapter headings with dates and locations so the reader can easily move from one setting to the other. There’s no time to figure out the year or setting because the action never lets up in either time.
When the violence and trickeries become overwhelming, the plot shifts to the paranormal where the spirits of those gone before come again to help give hope and advice to Felix and Magdalena. The reference of the Bone Church comes from a real church where human bones decorate the inside of the church. Ms. Dougherty describes in horrifying detail the interior from Felix’s point of view when he first sees it: “Nearly every part of the interior gleamed like the new teeth of an infant. Bones from some 30,000 dead Christians lay configured into pyramids, light fixtures, chandeliers, pinnacles, coats of arms, an altar, and a monstrous hydra of ribs and skulls that sat atop an intact spinal column.”
The terrifying place for Felix soon turns into his savior. The book comes full circle when the bones of one of the characters find its way to the Bone Church finally to find peace.
Ms. Dougherty’s imagery stands out from the heaviness of the plot’s action. I was captivated from the beginning with a description of Palestine, where Magdalena had visited as a child.
“The desert there had seemed to her a beautiful sleeping woman. If the mountains were her body, the desert was the palm of her hand, cracked with the lines of her destiny. The hot air was her breath.”
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this book provides yet another experience of a dark time in Eastern European history. If you love suspenseful thrillers with spies lurking around every corner, then The Bone Church will surely keep you turning the page. And if you love a tale with paranormal assistance, you find it here. I hit the jackpot because I love all three of those elements within fiction.
Set in Czechoslovakia between the years of 1943 to 1956, the characters are in constant danger, and one-step away from death throughout the entire book. Even when World War II ends, and Nazi Germany no longer controls the destiny of the Czech people, another world power brings another set of troubles to the Eastern European country. It’s not certain if the occupation by the Soviet Union is an improvement upon the lives of the already downtrodden. If they managed to escape the war, it was only to end up in another type of nightmare where anyone—lovers, relatives, nuns—might end up as a spy and an enemy.
In the world portrayed by Ms. Dougherty, the characters of Felix and Magdalena are at first innocents caught in an evil and dangerous world. But with each betrayal and with every death, they lose their innocence as they scratch their way to survival.
The plight of Jews and gypsies provide the reader no surprises here; but the addition of priests, sculptors, and bankers into the complicated plot woven by the author, lend an air of constant tension to the book.
The plot moves back and forth from 1943-44 to 1956 to give just enough of a hint of what is to come and how they got where they are. Ms. Dougherty is careful to provide the chapter headings with dates and locations so the reader can easily move from one setting to the other. There’s no time to figure out the year or setting because the action never lets up in either time.
When the violence and trickeries become overwhelming, the plot shifts to the paranormal where the spirits of those gone before come again to help give hope and advice to Felix and Magdalena. The reference of the Bone Church comes from a real church where human bones decorate the inside of the church. Ms. Dougherty describes in horrifying detail the interior from Felix’s point of view when he first sees it: “Nearly every part of the interior gleamed like the new teeth of an infant. Bones from some 30,000 dead Christians lay configured into pyramids, light fixtures, chandeliers, pinnacles, coats of arms, an altar, and a monstrous hydra of ribs and skulls that sat atop an intact spinal column.”
The terrifying place for Felix soon turns into his savior. The book comes full circle when the bones of one of the characters find its way to the Bone Church finally to find peace.
Ms. Dougherty’s imagery stands out from the heaviness of the plot’s action. I was captivated from the beginning with a description of Palestine, where Magdalena had visited as a child.
“The desert there had seemed to her a beautiful sleeping woman. If the mountains were her body, the desert was the palm of her hand, cracked with the lines of her destiny. The hot air was her breath.”
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this book provides yet another experience of a dark time in Eastern European history. If you love suspenseful thrillers with spies lurking around every corner, then The Bone Church will surely keep you turning the page. And if you love a tale with paranormal assistance, you find it here. I hit the jackpot because I love all three of those elements within fiction.
August 4, 2014
When long-time author friend Victoria Dougherty offered review copies of her debut novel The Bone Church, a historical WWII thriller, I said, "Over here please!"
Vic and I have chatted of many things, and found common ground in our love of Allen Furst, whose novel Red Gold was one of my research sources for my own writings on WWII Paris. If you've seen Victoria's phenomenal blog COLD, you'd know right away, this is an author well worth your time when she finally released her first book (and hopefully soon a second).
A sophisticated thriller, The Bone Church, did not disappoint.
Fans of Allen Furst, gather round, here's the new girl on the block - and she can write. Victoria Dougherty weaves a complex tale of one of the darkest periods of European history, birthed from the unsung stories of wartime Prague and post-war Prague. The author's Czech heritage shines brilliantly in this powerful story of the underground rebellion, of men and women struggling to survive and shove a wrench in Hitler's plans, any way possible.
Jumping through time from the height of the German occupation of Prague to the great communist decline post-war, The Bone Church brings us a perilous account of pure duplicity. Treacherous secrecy, double deals, double agents, Nazi sympathizers, Catholic revolutionaries, thieves, gypsies, and survival by subterfuge. No one is what they seem, and their alliances are as double-edged as the knives they stab in everyone's backs.
Yet, within this dark, twisted novel is another story of forbidden love with a Jewish woman marked for death. Postwar communist Prague brings no respite for our Jewish heroine.
Identities and residences are changed more often than clothing.
The intricate weave of events and time slipping back and forth carries the reader through to the promise of hope, and the sublime synchronicity of the secrets resting beneath the consecrated bones of The Bone Church.
A solid five star read. ★★★★★
Vic and I have chatted of many things, and found common ground in our love of Allen Furst, whose novel Red Gold was one of my research sources for my own writings on WWII Paris. If you've seen Victoria's phenomenal blog COLD, you'd know right away, this is an author well worth your time when she finally released her first book (and hopefully soon a second).
A sophisticated thriller, The Bone Church, did not disappoint.
Fans of Allen Furst, gather round, here's the new girl on the block - and she can write. Victoria Dougherty weaves a complex tale of one of the darkest periods of European history, birthed from the unsung stories of wartime Prague and post-war Prague. The author's Czech heritage shines brilliantly in this powerful story of the underground rebellion, of men and women struggling to survive and shove a wrench in Hitler's plans, any way possible.
Jumping through time from the height of the German occupation of Prague to the great communist decline post-war, The Bone Church brings us a perilous account of pure duplicity. Treacherous secrecy, double deals, double agents, Nazi sympathizers, Catholic revolutionaries, thieves, gypsies, and survival by subterfuge. No one is what they seem, and their alliances are as double-edged as the knives they stab in everyone's backs.
Yet, within this dark, twisted novel is another story of forbidden love with a Jewish woman marked for death. Postwar communist Prague brings no respite for our Jewish heroine.
Identities and residences are changed more often than clothing.
The intricate weave of events and time slipping back and forth carries the reader through to the promise of hope, and the sublime synchronicity of the secrets resting beneath the consecrated bones of The Bone Church.
A solid five star read. ★★★★★
June 19, 2016
“The Bone Church” is one of those fascinating combination of historical exploration of real places and a deliciously dark tale of two fictional young people whose lives are impacted by death and by the Nazi’s. The harrowing content weaves beautifully two narratives set during WW11 and during the Cold War.
It is not an easy read and is a little challenging but I did not mind concentrating on the heavy material. It didn’t take long to be swept by a foray of themes that never lets up and be captivated by this world where there is mistrust, paranoia and deceit. I was immediately taken by the main characters. Featuring, Magdelena, of Jewish heritage, and Felix her Christian husband both caught up in very scary situations during the occupation of Czechoslovakia in WW11 and during the 1956 Soviet post-war occupation. Along the way they make dubious alliances…a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor and a gypsy among other big players is Josef Goebbels…they path is often twisted and muddied as we can expect in this sort of scenario. It is essential to keep focus on the content and between time frames to enjoy, to imagine, to wonder and finally to ponder. Once into it this novel it is practically impossible to put down.
Having said this, although I was highly captivated by “The Bones Church” this novel is definitely not for everyone.
It is not an easy read and is a little challenging but I did not mind concentrating on the heavy material. It didn’t take long to be swept by a foray of themes that never lets up and be captivated by this world where there is mistrust, paranoia and deceit. I was immediately taken by the main characters. Featuring, Magdelena, of Jewish heritage, and Felix her Christian husband both caught up in very scary situations during the occupation of Czechoslovakia in WW11 and during the 1956 Soviet post-war occupation. Along the way they make dubious alliances…a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor and a gypsy among other big players is Josef Goebbels…they path is often twisted and muddied as we can expect in this sort of scenario. It is essential to keep focus on the content and between time frames to enjoy, to imagine, to wonder and finally to ponder. Once into it this novel it is practically impossible to put down.
Having said this, although I was highly captivated by “The Bones Church” this novel is definitely not for everyone.
June 27, 2014
The Bone Church transcends the normal historical war story by delving into what can only be called “The Good Luck Lottery.” Why does one person survive in war while thousands of others perish?
Throughout my life I have been impressed by books interweaving any kind of unexplainable mysticism, often in the form of an other worldly figures such as Indians or gypsies. These figures act as guiding lights at significant turning points in the lives of important people in a book. Victoria Dougherty’s “The Bone Church” intriguingly paints one such character, a gypsy called Strut. Ironically, her portrayal reminds me of Bulgagov’s intense book, “The Master and the Margarita”, but also resembles, in its rite of hard-earned passage theme, a more recent great thriller written by Rags Daniels called “Lallapaloosa”.
Dougherty’s diligently researched tale abounds with detail and twists and turns enough to satisfy the most demanding reader. Minutiae decorate many passages and help to make the story credible. As I said earlier, the unique element of this story is how it transcends the normal with a hopeful message about survival. Believe and it could be you. Pick up this book to traipse through the chaos of a World War and marvel at how ‘lady luck’ blesses some. A wonderful read.
Throughout my life I have been impressed by books interweaving any kind of unexplainable mysticism, often in the form of an other worldly figures such as Indians or gypsies. These figures act as guiding lights at significant turning points in the lives of important people in a book. Victoria Dougherty’s “The Bone Church” intriguingly paints one such character, a gypsy called Strut. Ironically, her portrayal reminds me of Bulgagov’s intense book, “The Master and the Margarita”, but also resembles, in its rite of hard-earned passage theme, a more recent great thriller written by Rags Daniels called “Lallapaloosa”.
Dougherty’s diligently researched tale abounds with detail and twists and turns enough to satisfy the most demanding reader. Minutiae decorate many passages and help to make the story credible. As I said earlier, the unique element of this story is how it transcends the normal with a hopeful message about survival. Believe and it could be you. Pick up this book to traipse through the chaos of a World War and marvel at how ‘lady luck’ blesses some. A wonderful read.
May 18, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars 'You Are There!' A review by Billy Ray Chitwood - May 18, 2014, May 18, 2014
By Billy Ray Chitwood "Billy Ray Chitwood" (Spencer, TN USA)
This review is from: The Bone Church: A Novel (Paperback Edition)
Walter Cronkite coined the phrase, 'You Are There', many years ago for his newscasts!
Reading "The Bone Church: A Novel" this reader's mind was a reel of film playing out dark and somber moments of war movies from my youth... One can read about Felix Andel, Magdalena Ruza, and the richly portrayed characters from the many 5-Star reviews here on Amazon, the failed attempts of fleeing Prague, the emergence from World War II into the Cold War... Choose the metaphorical summation - a tapestry, a painting, a portrait - and it will be a correct depiction of "The Bone Church - A Novel."
My focus is on the author's immense talent, her own unique family experience in that Eastern European environment, and the ultimate truth of her fiction. Reading Victoria's book here or her excellent blog, 'Cold', is reading an author whose life has been punctuated by stark reality. Victoria Dougherty is an author you will not want to miss.
May 27, 2014
Very much enjoyed her writing style, the characters, and the two gripping timelines. My only reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that the Bone Church -- while it is significant in the end of the story -- comes into play so late that I thought it was a little unfair to use that as the title. It did hook me into reading the book, however, and it was well worth reading.
September 6, 2014
Action packed with an intriguing plot, laced with colourful and memorable characters, including a hero you root for until the very end.
I am thankful to have received a free copy of this through Goodreads First reads
I am thankful to have received a free copy of this through Goodreads First reads
wierdness
February 13, 2015Another book with a mysterious amount of Listopia votes. Wonder what all the hoopla is about this one.
November 9, 2017
While Bone Church is a fast paced, action filled historic thriller, it’s not an easy-read for one evening, forgotten by morning; Bone Church is the story demanding your full attention.
With suspense level at high, this story of war trapped and hunted love weaves two timelines, 1943-44 and 1956 in Czechoslovakia, meeting each other, bringing loose threads together. Author masterfully dives into the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague and Cold War era, when nothing is what it seems...
I especially enjoy stories with additional value – the ones telling me something new about places and people, and Bone Church definitely is one of these books, shining light to less known corners of history. Big five stars from me!!!
With suspense level at high, this story of war trapped and hunted love weaves two timelines, 1943-44 and 1956 in Czechoslovakia, meeting each other, bringing loose threads together. Author masterfully dives into the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague and Cold War era, when nothing is what it seems...
I especially enjoy stories with additional value – the ones telling me something new about places and people, and Bone Church definitely is one of these books, shining light to less known corners of history. Big five stars from me!!!
February 24, 2019
With great relish, I looked forward to reading The Bone Church, having read a good deal of non-fiction by the author. If you haven't read Cold, I highly recommend you do. But, I don't recommend so much this book, though I find myself wanting to. Parts of it shine like gems, especially when it comes to descriptive passages that are often lyrical, but they are obscured by a too-complicated, disjointed plot, uneven narrative, and characters that I just found it difficult to care much about because of the frequency of head-hopping. A good editor could have smoothed the rough edges. I wish she had.
July 29, 2014
I reviewed this book for www.historicaltapestry.blogspot.com.
I should start out by saying The Bone Church deals with a part of history I know very little about. Weaving back and forth between 1944 and 1956 it takes place mainly in Czechoslovakia and sets as its backdrop the Nazi occupation (in the 1944 timeline) and later the heavy Soviet control of the country (in the 1956 timeline). Knowing so little about this time and place in history, much of the heavier political and social elements, while interesting, were somewhat confusing for me. Once I went and read a little more about these shifting factions I was able to better understand the underlying themes and how they affected the characters. However, even with the extra reading I found myself sort of glazing over the politics and focusing my attention and enjoyment on the characters and their actions.
I found all of the characters incredibly interesting. The seemingly visceral connection between Magdalena and Felix was simply fascinating and I kept flipping the pages to see if they would be able to escape occupied Czechoslovakia and, in the later timeline, find each other again. My biggest problem with the Magdalena/Felix portion of the story was I felt like both timelines just sort of plopped the reader down in the middle of action without giving a lot of backstory to give the reader a better understanding of what happened to lead up to what was currently going on. How did Magdalena and Felix come to know each other? How did their relationship develop into the close and unbreakable bond it became? How did Magdalena and her mother come to be living in the Andel's basement? What had happened between the two storylines that lead to where both characters found themselves in 1956? While tiny hints were dropped throughout the story to give the reader a taste of the answers to these questions I enjoyed the characters so much I just wanted more information.
The secondary characters were just as mesmerizing and what I loved the most was the way each of these characters kept surprising me! Just when I thought I had a good idea of the motives and allegiances of a character they would do something to flip that right on its head. Those that I thought would sacrifice Magdalena and Felix for the simplest thing ended up being their greatest champions and those I thought really had their back ended up doing things for their own selfish wishes that put the lovers' lives in danger (sorry for being vague...I don't want to give any surprises away!). I love when I think I know the essence of a character and find out I had no idea who they really were.
Another exciting element of The Bone Church that I was surprised I enjoyed as much as I did was Felix's paranormal abilities. Felix can not only communicate with the dead but can interact with them as well as the divine to get himself out of some sticky and dangerous situations. It isn't heavy handed (which, for me, would have made the whole story feel silly and unrealistic) but is utilized at just the right time and in such a delicate and beautiful manner that it really added a wonderful touch of mysticism to the whole story and helped pull in the religious elements of the storyline as well.
There is so much more I could discuss about the book - the actions of the Prague Underground, the plot to find the authentic Infant of Prague, the Bone Church itself - but that would make for a very long review. Suffice it to say The Bone Church has something for just about any reader to enjoy. Those that are well versed in the political, social and religious goings on in Czechoslovakia during these time periods will love it that much more. I think if I knew more about these elements and if there was more backstory given for Magdalena and Felix's love story this would have been a strong contender for my favorite book of the year.
I should start out by saying The Bone Church deals with a part of history I know very little about. Weaving back and forth between 1944 and 1956 it takes place mainly in Czechoslovakia and sets as its backdrop the Nazi occupation (in the 1944 timeline) and later the heavy Soviet control of the country (in the 1956 timeline). Knowing so little about this time and place in history, much of the heavier political and social elements, while interesting, were somewhat confusing for me. Once I went and read a little more about these shifting factions I was able to better understand the underlying themes and how they affected the characters. However, even with the extra reading I found myself sort of glazing over the politics and focusing my attention and enjoyment on the characters and their actions.
I found all of the characters incredibly interesting. The seemingly visceral connection between Magdalena and Felix was simply fascinating and I kept flipping the pages to see if they would be able to escape occupied Czechoslovakia and, in the later timeline, find each other again. My biggest problem with the Magdalena/Felix portion of the story was I felt like both timelines just sort of plopped the reader down in the middle of action without giving a lot of backstory to give the reader a better understanding of what happened to lead up to what was currently going on. How did Magdalena and Felix come to know each other? How did their relationship develop into the close and unbreakable bond it became? How did Magdalena and her mother come to be living in the Andel's basement? What had happened between the two storylines that lead to where both characters found themselves in 1956? While tiny hints were dropped throughout the story to give the reader a taste of the answers to these questions I enjoyed the characters so much I just wanted more information.
The secondary characters were just as mesmerizing and what I loved the most was the way each of these characters kept surprising me! Just when I thought I had a good idea of the motives and allegiances of a character they would do something to flip that right on its head. Those that I thought would sacrifice Magdalena and Felix for the simplest thing ended up being their greatest champions and those I thought really had their back ended up doing things for their own selfish wishes that put the lovers' lives in danger (sorry for being vague...I don't want to give any surprises away!). I love when I think I know the essence of a character and find out I had no idea who they really were.
Another exciting element of The Bone Church that I was surprised I enjoyed as much as I did was Felix's paranormal abilities. Felix can not only communicate with the dead but can interact with them as well as the divine to get himself out of some sticky and dangerous situations. It isn't heavy handed (which, for me, would have made the whole story feel silly and unrealistic) but is utilized at just the right time and in such a delicate and beautiful manner that it really added a wonderful touch of mysticism to the whole story and helped pull in the religious elements of the storyline as well.
There is so much more I could discuss about the book - the actions of the Prague Underground, the plot to find the authentic Infant of Prague, the Bone Church itself - but that would make for a very long review. Suffice it to say The Bone Church has something for just about any reader to enjoy. Those that are well versed in the political, social and religious goings on in Czechoslovakia during these time periods will love it that much more. I think if I knew more about these elements and if there was more backstory given for Magdalena and Felix's love story this would have been a strong contender for my favorite book of the year.
June 30, 2014
Reading The Bone Church has now cemented me as a Victoria Dougherty junkie! She writes a type of thriller I love, full of drama, intrigue, and historical stories of people who lived in occupied situations, both in WWII and in post-war situations all too soon forgotten in Eastern Europe. I'm very happy that learning about Victoria led me to her blog, Cold, and her beautiful posts, as well. I look forward to reading much more of her writing on her blog or elsewhere, as well as future novels.
So what did I think of The Bone Church? A brilliant, beautiful book in all its harrowing content, seeped in struggle and sacrifice. It's haunting and absorbing in all the very best ways. Victoria's writing is literary; she has immense talent and a gift for words and storytelling that is few and far between. This is a book for an intelligent reader--one who likes to read for substance, for critical thinking and being held captive by feeling, for those with minds who can focus on her content and her juxtaposing between time frames.
The Bone Church is for someone who likes a book to concentrate on and contemplate. Be ready to take the plunge, because once I did into the first few chapters, it compelled me to not put it down. The characters will immediately seep into your heart and mind and they'll not let you go. You'll want to hear their story as much as they want to tell it. You'll feel as if you are being pursued as they are pursued.
Magdelena's story is featured in several parts--as she hides from her Jewish heritage during Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in WWII, and with her Christian husband, Felix, get caught up in a very scary plot, to the book's present day in Prague during the Soviet post-war occupation in 1956. Then, there is also murder and suspense and pursuit. There are dangerous alliances.
This book can easily be defined as the epitome of cold war thriller, not only full of espionage and spies like John Le Carre (though with a similar feeling and even better writing--and Le Carre's Russia House is one of my favorites), but with a focus on the real families that were actually effected by the political strife and domination too.
Victoria tells the story of so many real people of this era. In creating her characters, she showcases their loyalty, despair, love, and hope while intertwining things that might seem intangible, danger, a touch of pensive, and tucks in the brooding introspection that comes from intensive turmoil, death of loved ones, and fight for survival.
She's right when she describes her work as "cold," yet it isn't cold to the touch. In fact, I easily connected to the storyline, the characters, as well as feeling and understanding the austere story. I really think she could easily be one of the next blockbuster authors in her genre. She's right on par to step up on the list for anyone who likes novels of Le Carre, Ian Fleming, and Tom Clancy. She's extremely talented and The Bone Church is a must read for serious readers! Can't wait to read more!
So what did I think of The Bone Church? A brilliant, beautiful book in all its harrowing content, seeped in struggle and sacrifice. It's haunting and absorbing in all the very best ways. Victoria's writing is literary; she has immense talent and a gift for words and storytelling that is few and far between. This is a book for an intelligent reader--one who likes to read for substance, for critical thinking and being held captive by feeling, for those with minds who can focus on her content and her juxtaposing between time frames.
The Bone Church is for someone who likes a book to concentrate on and contemplate. Be ready to take the plunge, because once I did into the first few chapters, it compelled me to not put it down. The characters will immediately seep into your heart and mind and they'll not let you go. You'll want to hear their story as much as they want to tell it. You'll feel as if you are being pursued as they are pursued.
Magdelena's story is featured in several parts--as she hides from her Jewish heritage during Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in WWII, and with her Christian husband, Felix, get caught up in a very scary plot, to the book's present day in Prague during the Soviet post-war occupation in 1956. Then, there is also murder and suspense and pursuit. There are dangerous alliances.
This book can easily be defined as the epitome of cold war thriller, not only full of espionage and spies like John Le Carre (though with a similar feeling and even better writing--and Le Carre's Russia House is one of my favorites), but with a focus on the real families that were actually effected by the political strife and domination too.
Victoria tells the story of so many real people of this era. In creating her characters, she showcases their loyalty, despair, love, and hope while intertwining things that might seem intangible, danger, a touch of pensive, and tucks in the brooding introspection that comes from intensive turmoil, death of loved ones, and fight for survival.
She's right when she describes her work as "cold," yet it isn't cold to the touch. In fact, I easily connected to the storyline, the characters, as well as feeling and understanding the austere story. I really think she could easily be one of the next blockbuster authors in her genre. She's right on par to step up on the list for anyone who likes novels of Le Carre, Ian Fleming, and Tom Clancy. She's extremely talented and The Bone Church is a must read for serious readers! Can't wait to read more!
July 4, 2014
This review originally appeared on my blog, Leeanna.me.
==
THE BONE CHURCH is my kind of historical fiction. Beautifully written with compelling characters, an intriguing, twisty plotline, and full of historical details. I love it when a book interests me enough in the subject matter to make me want to learn alllllll about what I’m reading. For example — Google “the Bone Church.” I bet the pictures you see will make you want to read this book, especially once I tell you there’s a very important part of the book set in the Bone Church.
THE BONE CHURCH seamlessly melds two timelines together, 1956 and 1943-1944. In both times, Felix and Magdalena are trying to escape Czechoslovakia, from the Germans and then from the Soviets. In 1943, Felix accidentally gets caught up in an attempt to assassinate Josef Goebbels. In 1956, he’s a Jesuit working with a corrupt cardinal to smuggle people out of Soviet controlled countries. In both times, Felix’s goal is to rescue Magdalena.
The whole time I was reading THE BONE CHURCH, I had no idea what was going to happen next. I always enjoy that, because it’s no fun to predict the end before you finish the book. The author continually surprised me with every twist and turn. She also made me feel like I was right there , hiding behind Felix’s shoulder, waiting for the next spat of gunfire. The author didn’t shy away from describing the worst of humanity and living conditions, but in a way that left you with a tiny bit of hope. Aside from feeling like I was in war torn Czechoslovakia, I also felt the paranoia of everyone involved, not knowing who to trust, and of having no choice but to trust, to put your life in someone else’s hands.
The book is gritty and dark, maybe even hard to read at times because Felix and Magdalena face overwhelming odds and incredibly dangerous situations. But along with the spark of hope that runs through the book, Felix has some angelic help. While some of the religious aspects probably went over my head, I thought everything tied together really well. I do wish the ending had more on what Felix and Magdalena face in the future, but looking back, I can’t really imagine a different ending.
==
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also participated in the blog tour for this book.
See more of my reviews:
==
THE BONE CHURCH is my kind of historical fiction. Beautifully written with compelling characters, an intriguing, twisty plotline, and full of historical details. I love it when a book interests me enough in the subject matter to make me want to learn alllllll about what I’m reading. For example — Google “the Bone Church.” I bet the pictures you see will make you want to read this book, especially once I tell you there’s a very important part of the book set in the Bone Church.
THE BONE CHURCH seamlessly melds two timelines together, 1956 and 1943-1944. In both times, Felix and Magdalena are trying to escape Czechoslovakia, from the Germans and then from the Soviets. In 1943, Felix accidentally gets caught up in an attempt to assassinate Josef Goebbels. In 1956, he’s a Jesuit working with a corrupt cardinal to smuggle people out of Soviet controlled countries. In both times, Felix’s goal is to rescue Magdalena.
The whole time I was reading THE BONE CHURCH, I had no idea what was going to happen next. I always enjoy that, because it’s no fun to predict the end before you finish the book. The author continually surprised me with every twist and turn. She also made me feel like I was right there , hiding behind Felix’s shoulder, waiting for the next spat of gunfire. The author didn’t shy away from describing the worst of humanity and living conditions, but in a way that left you with a tiny bit of hope. Aside from feeling like I was in war torn Czechoslovakia, I also felt the paranoia of everyone involved, not knowing who to trust, and of having no choice but to trust, to put your life in someone else’s hands.
The book is gritty and dark, maybe even hard to read at times because Felix and Magdalena face overwhelming odds and incredibly dangerous situations. But along with the spark of hope that runs through the book, Felix has some angelic help. While some of the religious aspects probably went over my head, I thought everything tied together really well. I do wish the ending had more on what Felix and Magdalena face in the future, but looking back, I can’t really imagine a different ending.
==
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also participated in the blog tour for this book.
See more of my reviews:
June 3, 2014
One of the ultimate tests of a book for me is the ability of the story to cause some sort of vocal exclamation that is followed quickly by a glance around to make sure no one heard me. Then again, if someone does hear me, I would be able to tell her to read the book that made me exclaim. That would be good too.
Unfortunately and fortunately, no one heard me gasp “holy crap!” while I was reading Victoria Dougherty’s THE BONE CHURCH. So consider this review my exclamation and read it to mean that you too should read this book immediately.
Dougherty’s novel has so many things that appeal to my inherent curiosity about the fiction that can come from the middle of the twentieth century, i.e. World War II and the decade or two following it. Joseph Goebbels plays a supporting role that is entirely believable based on what I’ve learned about him, the story focuses on a Catholic man married to a Jewish woman after Hitler takes over Czechoslovakia, and the Vatican at large plays a hazy, dark role that entirely fits with the conspiracy theories about what the Catholic church knew and did during the years of the war and the Communism that followed. Essentially, THE BONE CHURCH is history in a novel.
For me, there is no better sort of story.
It is the story of Felix Andel and his would-be Jewish bride Magdalena as they struggle to keep two steps ahead of the Nazis in Prague. No one can doubt that Felix would to anything for the woman he loves, even helping to hide her and her mother and later being part of a plot to assassinate Goebbels. Along the way, the couple befriends a Gypsy named Srut who is more hunted even than Magdalena and it is Srut who brings them into the world of the Prague Resistance. It is their downfall, for a time.
Occasionally the story goes back and forth to 1956, when old friends and foes are still working to realign what was thrown off-kilter during the war years and it is in 1956 that the story reaches an entirely satisfying conclusion.
Along the way, there are characters a reader can identify with, characters a reader would rather not identify with, and characters a reader is never quite sure about. That’s what makes this story compelling – that even the worst, or maybe the next-to-worst since Goebbels is in the story, characters have something I could understand. And even the best characters, the one a reader will keep reading for, are not always perfect.
The book is real, it’s painful at times, and it was something I could not put down.
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review will be cross-posted to my book review blog and to my Goodreads account.)
Unfortunately and fortunately, no one heard me gasp “holy crap!” while I was reading Victoria Dougherty’s THE BONE CHURCH. So consider this review my exclamation and read it to mean that you too should read this book immediately.
Dougherty’s novel has so many things that appeal to my inherent curiosity about the fiction that can come from the middle of the twentieth century, i.e. World War II and the decade or two following it. Joseph Goebbels plays a supporting role that is entirely believable based on what I’ve learned about him, the story focuses on a Catholic man married to a Jewish woman after Hitler takes over Czechoslovakia, and the Vatican at large plays a hazy, dark role that entirely fits with the conspiracy theories about what the Catholic church knew and did during the years of the war and the Communism that followed. Essentially, THE BONE CHURCH is history in a novel.
For me, there is no better sort of story.
It is the story of Felix Andel and his would-be Jewish bride Magdalena as they struggle to keep two steps ahead of the Nazis in Prague. No one can doubt that Felix would to anything for the woman he loves, even helping to hide her and her mother and later being part of a plot to assassinate Goebbels. Along the way, the couple befriends a Gypsy named Srut who is more hunted even than Magdalena and it is Srut who brings them into the world of the Prague Resistance. It is their downfall, for a time.
Occasionally the story goes back and forth to 1956, when old friends and foes are still working to realign what was thrown off-kilter during the war years and it is in 1956 that the story reaches an entirely satisfying conclusion.
Along the way, there are characters a reader can identify with, characters a reader would rather not identify with, and characters a reader is never quite sure about. That’s what makes this story compelling – that even the worst, or maybe the next-to-worst since Goebbels is in the story, characters have something I could understand. And even the best characters, the one a reader will keep reading for, are not always perfect.
The book is real, it’s painful at times, and it was something I could not put down.
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review will be cross-posted to my book review blog and to my Goodreads account.)
December 29, 2014
This author has definitely done her research on Nazi and Soviet occupied Prague and Czech Republic (or Czechoslovakia as it was known as then). I found myself walking the streets with our characters, feeling the fog on my skin, breathing in the dry must of the Bone Church, and seeing the magnificent architecture present in that majestic city.
The author has re-created the atmosphere present in those days as well as creating the structures and geography of Prague and Kutna Hora; one felt the desperate rush towards liberation in 1944 Nazi occupied Prague and the bleakness of the Soviet occupation with no “liberation” in sight. Ms. Dougherty has created a novel that infuses itself into the senses of the readers in such a way that dreams, or rather nightmares, result. Bravo for that skill as it’s not evident in everyone.
An intense and riveting spy thriller/survival story, the author developed a story that stands worthy among the spy thriller greats. Nothing is as it seems, no one’s motives are clear, and just around the corner could be next clue or our character’s deaths. Misinformation and suspicious motives abound in this novel and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The one ding I have against this novel is the esoteric, and sometimes just plain weird, aspects of the book. Moving and emotive statues, dead friends helping with escape and rescue, and appearances of sword-wielding archangels and saints made this novel a bit hard for me to swallow at times. The author may have been trying for something that I just wasn't getting; I don’t know. Yet, it just felt like these elements didn't fit with the rest of the action-packed, suspenseful spy thriller I was presented with.
This is a spy thriller that any enjoy-er of the genre will like. Foggy street corners and twists of plot all make their presence known and will make spy lovers thrilled to their fingertips. With fantastic skills at scene-setting, research, and story, this author shoves her way to the head of the pack for this genre. While there were a few parts of the mixture I personally found eye-rolling and not really having a place in the narrative, that could not hold true for another reader. Make the judgment for yourself. Either way, definitely give this book a gander as its well worth the read.
Note: Book received for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.
The author has re-created the atmosphere present in those days as well as creating the structures and geography of Prague and Kutna Hora; one felt the desperate rush towards liberation in 1944 Nazi occupied Prague and the bleakness of the Soviet occupation with no “liberation” in sight. Ms. Dougherty has created a novel that infuses itself into the senses of the readers in such a way that dreams, or rather nightmares, result. Bravo for that skill as it’s not evident in everyone.
An intense and riveting spy thriller/survival story, the author developed a story that stands worthy among the spy thriller greats. Nothing is as it seems, no one’s motives are clear, and just around the corner could be next clue or our character’s deaths. Misinformation and suspicious motives abound in this novel and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The one ding I have against this novel is the esoteric, and sometimes just plain weird, aspects of the book. Moving and emotive statues, dead friends helping with escape and rescue, and appearances of sword-wielding archangels and saints made this novel a bit hard for me to swallow at times. The author may have been trying for something that I just wasn't getting; I don’t know. Yet, it just felt like these elements didn't fit with the rest of the action-packed, suspenseful spy thriller I was presented with.
This is a spy thriller that any enjoy-er of the genre will like. Foggy street corners and twists of plot all make their presence known and will make spy lovers thrilled to their fingertips. With fantastic skills at scene-setting, research, and story, this author shoves her way to the head of the pack for this genre. While there were a few parts of the mixture I personally found eye-rolling and not really having a place in the narrative, that could not hold true for another reader. Make the judgment for yourself. Either way, definitely give this book a gander as its well worth the read.
Note: Book received for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.
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