Keith Stuart's highly original third novel moves between two frames ; Bath in the Second World War when Will, a wireless engineer meets Austrian refugee Elsa and seventy years later when home carer Laura, struggling with her own mental health issues meets Will, now isolated and struggling to cope on his own.
This is a beautiful novel, I was captivated by the two time frames and really did not know where this was heading. It is beautifully written with great characterisation and I was completely caught up in the lives of Laura and Will. The city of Bath plays a big role in this novel and the author obviously knows it well and portrays it lovingly.
I would highly recommend this novel.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

This isn't at all what I was expecting, really it should've been listed under the sci-fi category as well, but I did really enjoy it. It's a story of an elderly man who's wife, and all proof of her existence, disappear when they're young and he spends his life trying to figure out what happened, and then the young woman with her own issues who becomes his carer but more than that tries to help him get to the bottom of it. It's full of twists and turns and quite a surprising ending but it's told well, though I would've put a few more paragraphs into the ending as I was left with a few questions, but nothing too jarring. For anyone into sci-fi and romance crossovers you'd like this

Great. This was an excellent story, very unusual, I have enjoyed Keith’s 2 previous novels and this was equally as good. Both of the main characters were very strong and the description of Bath in the war was very evocative. I don't think I’ve ready anything like it before, and that is a good thing. Highly recommended.

This was a surprising but enjoyable read. An unexpected plot which unfolded over several timelines, from pre-WW2 to modern times, but they're not at all confusing. Totally captivating and intriguing with a totally unforeseen ending. involving a mix of paranormal, mystery, sci-fi with a sprinkling of a variety mental health issues. The book rolls along at a good pace with wonderful characters that fully engaged my attention plus made me think to try and work out what was happening. in the background. I've read books by Keith Stuart before and look forward to reading more in the future

I loved it. The characters, the storyline, everything. Laura is visiting Will to assess whether he can continue to cope at home on his own. He tells her about Elsa, the love of his life, who disappeared in the war. What happened to her? Laura attempts to find out but there are more questions than answers.

Oh this book has turned me so many times. Throughout I adored the love story of Will and Elsa but I couldn’t make my mind up about Laura’s story. It feel too heavily implied and hinted at without enough substance for me to care. But the Laura in the here and now dealing with her anxiety was so real and the subject handled so delicately that it was beautiful to read.

Without giving away spoilers whilst enjoying the story I was distracted by the constant question of how does Stuart bring this to a conclusion. How are the different stories brought together? The answer, rather cleverly. Although you have to be prepared for a little light science fiction within what has primarily been a then and now love story.

I’ve seen people say this is his best book yet and I would have to disagree having preferred A Boy Made of Blocks but it was still a good page turner.

Keith Stuart’s best yet, something so different and unique. Not going to reveal too much but could see it being a bbc one Sunday night drama.. Highly recommend.

I’ve read two books by Keith Stuart and have always been impressed by the way he can handle emotive subjects and people who are on the edge. This is no exception. Laura suffers from crippling anxiety and is given a job by her mum’s friend. She’s asked to act as carer to Will, nearing his nineties, to see if he’s safe in his home or needs residential care. He’s curmudgeonly, but Laura persists with him.
I found myself really caring about them both. He seemed to live in the past, yearning for his wife, Elsa, though she was never recorded anywhere as living at that address. We watched the story unfold and had to decide whether he really had lost his wife in the bombing, or had fantasised a relationship that never existed. We jump through time to the war and back to 2008, wanting Will to be right, and not a dementia victim. Laura has her own demons, and we begin to find out why. The story intertwines these separate lives in a brilliant way. I adored the final outcome. I wish all the books I read were this good!

Laura is a young woman who is struggling to manage her job as a carer due to personal reasons. Her work are understanding and instead of a normal caseload, they allocate her one client- Will Emerson. She has to get to know Will and determine if he is still fit for independent living or if he needs to be moved to a nursing home. Will is known as an eccentric man, he talks about his wife Elsa who he lost during the war. The problem is, there's no record of Elsa living with him or even existing. It's Laura's job to find out if these are true memories or a fantasy caused by dementia. I thought this book was well written with well fleshed out characters that you end up caring about a great deal. Some of the book crosses slightly over to science fiction and fantasy which was unexpected but done very well. I'm a big fan of Keith Stuart's other work and this one definitely doesn't disappoint!

Wow this book was amazing! As soon as I finished it I wanted to read it all over again, something I never do!

I loved Days of Wonder when I read it a couple of years ago, and was so excited when I received an email from the publisher to read the author’s latest book. Well it grabbed me from the first page! I had to know more about Will and his wife Elsa and if Laura was able to help him.

I love dual timeline stories and this is one of the best I’ve read. It’s told through Will’s journals from the late 1930s, and from Laura’s point of view in 2007.

I loved Will, Elsa and Laura, they were fabulous characters who I believed in and wanted the best for. I sympathised with Laura as she struggled to make sense of Will’s situation. Was he telling her the truth or was the dementia making him make everything up about Elsa?

This was one of those books that captivated me and made feel like I was inside the book with the characters. I could see everything that was happening to them and could almost feel the electricity and here the buzz of the radio in the house when strange things were happening every time Laura visited Will. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, the withdrawal affects from her medication or something spooky going on! I didn’t know either and really hoped it was real. There were some fantastic reveals in this story with one near the end that really took me by surprise.

I loved the period details from the wartime story and went scurrying off to Google to check out Sham’s Castle. I can easily see this as a film, it’s ripe for a book to screen adaption, and I can imagine David Warner playing Will.

I highly recommend this one if you enjoy dual timeline novels partly set in World War Two.