Review: Winter Duet by Anne Barwell

Title: Winter Duet (Echoes Rising: Book Two)

Author: Anne Barwell

Publisher: DSP Publications

Length: 224 Pages

Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense

At a Glance: An in-depth plot, in-depth characterizations, and just a riveting story that’s not over yet. I’m certainly looking forward to the next book in the series.

Reviewed By: Maryann

Blurb: Germany 1944

Hunted for treason and the information he carries, Kristopher and Michel leave their safe house to journey across Germany toward Switzerland. Caught in a series of Allied bombings, they stop to help civilians and narrowly escape capture by German forces.

While investigating a downed aircraft in the Black Forest, the two men discover an injured RAF pilot. After they are separated, Kristopher and the pilot are discovered by a German officer who claims he is not who he appears to be. Determined to find Michel again, Kristopher has to trust the stranger and hope the man is not connected to those hunting him.

Meanwhile Michel is intercepted by one of the Allied soldiers he met in Berlin. His help is needed to save one of their own.

Time quickly runs out, and loyalties are tested and betrayed as their enemies close in. Michel can only hope they reach safety before information is revealed that could compromise not only his and Kristopher’s lives, but those of the remaining members of the Allied team—if it is not already too late.

First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2014.

Review: Still hiding out from the Nazis most dangerous officers, Holmes, Reiniger and Mueller, resistance fighters Dr. Kristopher “Kit” Leher and Mjchel (Gabriel), decide to leave the safety of the convent to flee Germany. After barely escaping their arch enemy, Reiniger, they’ve made their way to a safe house where they see a plane crash in the forest. They make it a point to find the crash site to see if there are any survivors.

Little do they know the allies, Sgt. Ken Lowe, Capt. Matt Bryant and Dr. Zhou Liang, are in the area and Matt had seen the plane crash also. They head to the site to try and find survivors. Ken, Matt and Liang split up when they go to investigate the site, and it becomes a dangerous situation as the Gestapo are also swarming the area.

Kit and Michel find the RAF pilot, Leonard “Leo” Dawson, who has been badly injured in the crash. When Michel hears suspicious noises, he leaves Kit and Leo to investigate. He doesn’t want to take the chance of running into the enemy, and he becomes separated from Kit and Leo.

Matt is now on his own and finds Kit and Leo. Michel runs across Ken. and when they return to where Michel left Kit, they are no longer there. Lovers are lost to each other, never knowing if they will see each other again. Both teams are on the run and have the same goals: get to the safe house, keep each other safe, and reunite with the ones they love. But every move they make is dangerous and could bring them face to face with the gestapo.

Winter Duet is the sequel to Shadowboxing. The Echoes Rising series is a WW II drama loaded with suspense and action. The tension is overwhelming as characters are caught by the Gestapo and suffer grave torture. Ms. Barwell also covers the danger of being gay in the 1940s. These characters have had to keep their relationships hidden, even from those they trust. This series also explores alliance, that no matter your ethnicity, who or what you are, there are people who stand together to fight evil. When I started Winter Duet, I thought this would be the last book, but there’s so much more to this story to be revealed—an in-depth plot, in-depth characterizations, and just a riveting story that’s not over yet. I’m certainly looking forward to the next book in the series.

You can buy Winter Duet here:
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