Jack Bailey is a former Chicago police officer, his friend Sherk is visiting family in Germany and asks Jack if he would like to go with him? Jack accepts as he and his brother recently found a letter in their deceased father’s belongings and it was written by a mysterious German woman over six decades ago. Jack and Tommy didn’t have a great relationship with their father, he drank too much and was a mean drunk. Jack knows his father fought in WW II, he was stationed in Germany and Jack wants to discover what happened to him during the war.

When Jack and Sherk arrive in Germany, they stay with Sherk’s grandparents in Munich and Jack finds it hard to believe that Karl Sherkenbach was once a Wehrmacht soldier. Jack and Sherk spend time being tourists looking at the beautiful old buildings, drinking beer and sampling the food. Jack and Shrek also try to track down what happened to a lady called Ariana Schroder and they believe she might be the person who wrote the letter to Jack's father.

The dual timeline story goes between the present time in 2012 and the 1930’s.

Ariana Schroder and her three siblings live with their parents in Dachau, Germany and her father is a dentist. Ariana might be a child, she’s notices the changes going on around her, her friend Judith has moved and her parents are worried about her disabled brother Fritz. Ariana and her sister Renate manage survive the hard war years by working as Red Cross nurses.

Sherk uses his investigative skills, he finds a Ariana Gunther, and she’s eighty seven and living in a nursing home. Her sister Renate is staying in the same home, she explains that Ariana has dementia and over a couple of days she tells them what happened to them during the war. Jack discovers his father John’s battalion liberated the concentration camp at Dachau, he witnessed first hand the horrible and barbaric acts committed against the Jewish people. Jack doesn’t know if he should tell his younger siblings what he’s uncovered, should the past stay buried and along with his father’s secret?

I received a copy of A Letter From Munich by Meg Lelvis from NetGalley and Black Rose Writing in exchange for an honest review. It’s a story about the town of Dachau and liberation of the concentration camp and two people meeting during a traumatic time in history, how it changed them and their children lives. Three stars from me, reading about the war from a German perspective was interesting and unfortunately I found it hard to connect with Jack's brash character.

The dual timeline of this book didn't work as well for me as some others., I think it was because I loved the WW2 sections but not the present day and there wasn't enough of the WW2 bits, if there had been more historical content I would have enjoyed it much more

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and was attracted to this book by the cover and the classicfication as such. But disappointed by the large amount of present day time frame.
My preconceived expectation ruined this book for me.
I would have enjoyed only hearing the story from the German sisters, telling the story of love and war from perspective.
I must admit the present day detail bored me and I found myself skipping sentences to get back to the unravelling of the main event.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

While the subject matter of this book sounds exciting and fast-paced, it does read a little slow.
However, the idea of a man discovering the secrets of his fathers past, and the love that was lost during his service in the war, was very touching. I just wish the pace was a little faster, I didn't quite like the supporting character friend, and the ending was a little meh.

I did really enjoy this book, but was it memorable? That’s here nor there. I read this back in May and forgot to write a review for it. And unfortunately, I’m afraid that time has allowed me to forget much of the book.

I know I enjoyed reading this while I was reading it. I enjoyed that this story took place in the present, but we were able to relive the past during the readings of Ariana. It’s just something special to get to read someone’s perspective of a different time. For a time with so much war, and here Ariana is, writing of the American solider she fell in love with.

I have mixed feelings about this book. After reading it, I loved the WWII theme, but the plot was all over the place for me. It felt kind of unreal a bit. I think the book would have been much better if the idea of past and present was input in a better light. It was a good read, but I felt something was missing. I liked the secrets in books and some pleasant surprised. 3.5 stars here.

After the death of his father, Jack and his brother find a letter written in German from a wartime romance. With his former partner, Sherk, he travels to Germany to uncover the truth. When he finds that the letter's author has dementia, he turns to her sister Renate, to tell her story.

I did not enjoy this book. The present-day story was totally unnecessary and off-putting. Jack was an extremely annoying, one-dimensional jerk. The book really consisted of Renate telling a story in German, Sherk translating, and then Jack telling others the story. This was bland, boring, and poor storytelling. Overall, I would not re-read or recommend this book.

Jack Bailey, a retired detective from Chicago and his brother, find a letter whilst going through their father's belongings after his death. It is a love letter from a woman, Ariana, from Germany written at the end of WW2. Jack takes the opportunity to visit Germany on the invitation of his friend Sherk, whose family is of German descent. Right from the start I didn't take to Jack as he blatantly used his friend, whose wife couldn't travel as she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Jack seems mostly to forget about this, really?! The story unfolded of his father's involvement in the liberation of the concentration camps, perhaps explaining some of his fathers behaviour. I thought most of the storyline was fairly predictable and have read a number of books set around this theme, sadly this was not one of the best.

This is my first book by Meg Lelvis - I enjoyed her writing and thought the characters were well defined. I always enjoy historic romances and this book didn't disappoint. Thank you for the opportunity to read.

"What do I know about memory? When you become old and used up like me, it’s easy to allow the past to take over."

This is my first time reading Meg Lelvis, and I'm jumping in by having read her third instalment of the Jack Bailey series.

I was immediately drawn to this book and it's dual timeline, 1930's Germany and present day. As the book begins, Jack, a determined ex-cop, is looking to uncover the mystery surrounding a love letter from WWII sent to his now deceased father many years ago. This leads Jack to Munich in search of a women as he looks further into the mysterious love letter.

The other timeline of the story tells the tragic tale of Ariana and her family as Hitler and his brutes claim their hold on Germany and eventually Europe. We discover that Ariana holds a deep connection to Jack's father during his time in Germany and liberating Dachau during WWII.

As Jack begins to uncover the mystery, he discovers new truths about his unloving father and what he endured during the war. Jack eventually does find the woman that wrote the letter along with her sister, Renate. Renate begins to weave the tale of the past and gives Jack his father's journal from during the war..

Both stories pulled me right into the mystery as I found myself connected and drawn into the lives and tragedies of the characters. I have to be honest, that in the beginning I truly did not like Jack Bailey's character at all. He is rude, deceitful and flat out awful to his friend in the beginning of the story. I'm guessing that Jack is going through a dark period in his life at this point of the series. However, he does later endear himself as his character evolves.

Lelvis uses wonderful descriptive language and excellent research to create this moving tale. This is a wonderful series to start, and now I plan on going back and starting the series from the beginning.

I loved this book. I thought it was beautifully written and I loved the description of the cities. The detail was great. The story was so sad, but just overall a very good read. Would recommend for anyone. It's a page turner and not terribly long. Thank you for the opportunity to read! I will also share my review on Goodreads.

I love a mystery, I love a historical connection and I love a dual timeline story. The blurb for Meg Lelvis’s A Letter from Munich ticked all of those boxes and, while I did enjoy it, it somehow failed to deliver.

The book is the story of ex-Chicago cop Jack Bailey, who travels to Munich to seek out the story behind a letter written to his father at the end of the Second Word War. Jack has a back story of violent bereavement, in the loss of his wife and daughter 12 years earlier, and he’s travelling with his mate Sherk (of German extraction) whose wife is going through cancer treatment. With Sherk’s help, Jack tracks down the woman who wrote the letter, Ariana, and discovers the truth about his father. And that’s it.

This is the problem I had with the book. The plot was very slender indeed. There was one twist, which was hardly difficult to spot, and too much of the rest of it was Sherk repeating back in English a conversation he’d just heard in German (Jack, as the running joke goes, doesn’t speak any other language than his own) or Renate, Ariana’a sister, narrating the story (rather than the reader being taken back, as it were, live). Of course, if a reader doesn’t know anything about the liberation of the concentration camps that might be a help in pushing the story on, but if you do, then it feels like padding. I felt very much removed from the story, rather than involved in it.

The book is filed under historical fiction and women’s fiction, though it doesn’t fit neatly into either of those categories — especially given the dominance of the male leading characters. It felt more like a mystery but not much of one. I enjoyed the banter between Jack and Sherk, I liked the almost travelogue-like descriptions of their German trip, and some of the historical background was fine, though I thought there was too much of it.

But, as I say, I expected more plot, and even in the end it petered out.

Thanks to Netgalley and Black Rose Writing for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This... was not the book for me. I adore historical fiction, WWII fiction especially, and will never forget the pictures and memories regarding Dachau and the war from visiting the 45th Infantry Thunderbirds Museum in OKC. With all of this, it seemed like this was the perfect book to read but unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with it.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series when I requested it or I would have probably read the first two books beforehand, and maybe that would have helped me connect with the main character. If this is your first introduction to him, though, he’s shallow, rude, and just generally a bad person and I really hated getting inside his head. He was awful to his friend and host for 75% of the book, and then he magically made a full circle turnaround and everyone started commenting on how much better of a person he was after his trip to Germany where he used his friend relentlessly the entire time (seriously, I realize that your dad’s affair in 1945 is fascinating and all, but THE ENTIRIE REASON you get to go to Germany in the first place is because your friend’s wife has cancer and is too sick to go. It’s just tacky and full-on cringy to say you FORGOT that she was sick because you’re too wrapped up in your own drama). And he sounded like a wise guy. I mean, I get he’s a retired cop, but who calls any woman a “good-lookin’ broad” in 2012?

Unfortunately we got a lot of telling and not showing, and most of the interesting parts of the story happened off the page and we were only given the information secondhand. Even the present-day parts suffered from a lot of “we’re going to do this,” followed by “two hours later, here’s a wrap up of how this trip went.” I found this to be extremely frustrating and I didn’t have any connection with any character in this story.

Finally—okay, I understand that his dad had PTSD from the war and I am sympathetic to that. But the fact that it was used to make his lifelong abuse forgivable and something that every character literally just hand-waves after they find out the truth of his past kind of made me nauseated. It doesn’t excuse anything. Nothing excuses child abuse. I am glad that his kids were more understanding than they were before finding out his story, but it doesn’t make it okay.

I did enjoy Renate’s story, but unfortunately her point of view was less than half the book.

This was a super fast read! I was drawn to this novel due to the subject matter, as I try and read anything I can get my hands on relating to the time period. I found this book to be one of the few, maybe the only one (that I have read)?? that deals with the holocaust and telling about how the Germans felt... and theie feelings about the war even into today's time period. DO not get me wrong...this book does not focus its entirety on the germans side, but it does address it and I found that to be interesting.

It was lovely to read how the characters were able to have a better understading of thier father through the trip they made to Germany. As I said, quick read, and one worth reading!

I was looking forward to this read as it appeared to be historical fiction. The timeline did go back and forth between 1930's -1940's Germany and the year 2012. The central character is Jack Bailey, a retired detective from Chicago. Throughout the book, I felt I was reading two different types of books attempting to be made into one. On the one hand, there was "Liam Neeson lookalike" and tough guy, Jack Bailey. On the other hand, it was about the Holocaust seen through the eyes of a little girl named Renate. It is also the story of what Jack's father, John Bailey experienced and witnessed as an American during the war in Germany. These stories merge when Jack travels to Germany along with his buddy, Sherk. They meet Renate who is a much older woman now, along with her older sister, Ariana, who has dementia. The journey that Jack takes changes him and helps him to understand "the sins of the father". Unfortunately, this was all tied up a little too neatly and quickly for my taste. I also found it redundant when almost every chapter described Jack Bailey drinking a beer or about to order one. ⭐️⭐️1/2 out of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing and the author for a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #Aletterfrommunich #blackrosewriting #brw #withhernosestuckinabook❤️📚

Jack Bailey is an ex-cop. His father has died. Jack and Tommy, his younger brother have gone through their dad’s possessions finding a letter written and sent from Munich. Though they can’t read German, there is a thought that perhaps it would lend them some understanding off their father’s brutality. Jack’s friend and ex-partner, Sherk invites him on his yearly trip to Munich where he visits his family. Jack accepts as he wants to see if he can find he woman that wrote his dad’s letter. Sherk is unhappy at instant that Jack is using him fo this but ends up helping him find the woman. Her name is Aranina. She and her sister grew up in the village of Dachau during the horrors of the Third Reich. When both parents are gone, the girls decide to live on their own. They volunteer at the hospital where so many people are along with soldiers. When Ariana meets Jack’s dad, they get together and fall in love. She has Jack’s dad go back to the United States as he has a family there. When Sherk and Jack find that Ariana is in a rest home, they go to see her. Unfortunately they are not allowed to visit her — only family can. They do find that her younger sister Renate is alive and visit her. Sherk acts as the go between as Jack does not know German. She explains that she must tell them about their life growing up so to understand their love for each other. Will Jack find out what he needs to know?

This novel is told by two different viewpoints — one from Renate and one from Jack. It is a compelling story that is engaging and sad at times. The plot grabbed my attention and didn’t let go of me. It is a touching and revealing story. There are family skeletons and secrets. It is a powerful novel.

A wartime romance. Forbidden love. Buried secrets.

Retired Chicago detective Jack Bailey has a “missing persons” case that’s a doozie. It’s also intensely personal. Stretching back to World War II, the case involves a cryptic one-page letter to his late father. The family finds it when sorting through Dad's belongings after his death. Can it shed any light on who Dad was and why?

When Jack's former partner’s ailing wife is unable to travel, “Sherk” invites Jack to join him for a visit to the old family homestead in Germany. Can they find his father’s “wartime fraulein?

Arriving in Germany, Jack wonders what an elderly sister of her dad’s German sweetheart can reveal about his “old man”? Renate has been sworn to secrecy about her growing up years in the village of Dachau. But what’s her big secret? Why does it still matter? Are some family skeletons best kept in the closet?

Skillfully navigation between past and present, this gripping, engaging story takes off in Chapter 10. It’s set near Munich, in the 1930s. Looking back, Renate narrates how they “missed the signs.” Untermensch. Silence and secrets. Vaguely becoming “aware of doom around the edges of our lives.” The Dachau Death Train. How knowing the difference between facts and opinions can get you killed. The power of propaganda.

Superlative writing undergirds a riveting story revealing the effects of the war on ordinary Germans and how criminals are individuals, not a whole country.

The POV/narration volleys back and forth between Jack and Renate, younger sister of his dad’s German sweetheart. This might be confusing in the hands of a lesser talent. But this author blends both perspectives into a seamless tapestry of sights, sounds, tastes, color, history, reminiscence, and a poignant loss of innocence.

There’s also Belfast. And an IRA car bombing.

A Letter to Munich is a graphic reminder of the terrible price war extracts from both soldiers and civilians. It’s a powerful testament to the will to survive and love, and how hope shines bright even in the midst of indescribable evil. It also raises the ultimate question:

“What is the boundary between a person’s right to the truth and the right to keep painful secrets?”

This well-crafted, briskly paced story draws readers in quickly and keeps them guessing until the final page. Anyone who enjoys a fascinating blend of historical fiction, mystery, and romance will enjoy this book.

#ALetterFromMunich
#NetGalley

Jack finds a letter written to his deceased, abusive father that raises a mystery and sends him on a journey to Germany. Jack is trying to find an answer as to why his father was so abusive. What he finds is a woman with a secret and a story.

This book dragged on at times but had some brilliant moments such as the well done description of the horrors of a concentration camp. There is a surprise in the book which is pretty predictable. Overall it’s a good story.

If you like World War II fiction and stories of family strife and struggles, you will enjoy this book.

When a 1930's love letter from an Ariana Schroder is discovered in his father's belongings, ex-cop Jack Bailey is determined to figure out if she holds the answers to why his father was so abusive.

I thought the flashbacks to WWII were very well written and I loved hearing their stories. The present day stories were painful to read. I didn't like Jack at all. His friend, Sherk, was the only redeeming character, and I felt he wasn't given a fair shake. While this had a lot of potential, I didn't like the execution of the story and probably wouldn't recommend it. I must point out that I have not read the previous stories in this series, so maybe that would change things a bit? I doubt it, but maybe.

Thank you NetGalley for ARC for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this read. It was full of hope for what might have been, and heartbreak for what happened, the suffering that was endured and the routes some took to try blot out the past, unsuccessfully at times, and try to move on as best they can. The truths that Jack Bailey uncovered during his trip to Munich were horrific but the author built in Bailey, a strong and credible led protagonist who undoubtedly contributed considerably to this novel. While so many books about the holocaust have been released in recent years this one is written from a different, and gripping angle. I highly recommend it!