The Last of the Seven: A Novel of World War II

Steven Hartov (Hanover Square Press)

On the surface, Lieutenant Froelich appears to be the ideal WWII German. In reality, he is an undercover Jewish resister. The only survivor of an attempt to infiltrate a Nazi base, he’s soon recruited for another impossible mission. He becomes a member of X Troop—a team of Jewish commandos who just might turn the tide against Hitler. Taken from the pages of history and written in richly evocative prose, this is a book you’ll want to read aloud to anyone who happens to be sitting nearby. And while the ending is far from tidy, it’s utterly perfect.

Where the Blue Sky Begins

Katie Powner (Bethany House)

It’s a bold stroke to introduce a main character with a terminal illness. And then to write a hopeful, encouraging, inspiring, convicting story around someone dealing with the end of life. Animal lover Eunice and corporate-ladder-climber Eric couldn’t have less in common. But each has something the other needs—whether they know it or not. This compelling story, with its wide, blue Montana skies, invites readers to consider what really matters in life.

The Metropolitan Affair

Jocelyn Green (Bethany House)

The Roaring Twenties. Egyptian artifacts. Collectors with more money than good sense. Green has written a well-paced story filled with fakery, from ancient artifacts to personal relationships. And as much fun as it is tracking down the forgery ring, the meat of this story is in those relationships. Lauren Westlake, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, struggles to find authenticity with her estranged father and in her second-chance romance with detective Joe Caravello. When you close the book, you’ll be surprised by how much you’ve learned—about Egyptology and about the truest relationship of all.

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