Finished: The Double (Dostoevsky) Very weird and rather sad book by Dostoevsky...not one of his most popular, about a man, Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, who is socially awkward and just an average Joe, who one night sees his exact double...a man who worms his way into Yakov's life, job, and mind, sending him spiraling in his sanity. It turns out, which you figure out pretty quickly, that Yakov is really just going insane and the double he is seeing, which he thinks everyone else is seeing and interacting with, is all in his mind! A bit of a disturbing read, but Dostoevsky is such a great writer! I confess, I got this book for Josh, my Russian studying son, and I read it before I'm giving it to him, lol. Anyway, I'm just going to cheat and put the Wikipedia recap below:

The Double centers on a government clerk who goes mad. It deals with the internal psychological struggle of its main character, Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, who repeatedly encounters someone who is his exact double in appearance but confident, aggressive, and extroverted, characteristics that are the polar opposites to those of the toadying "pushover" protagonist. The motif of the novella is a doppelgänger (dvoynik).

Golyadkin is a titular councillor. This is rank 9 in the Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great. As rank eight led to hereditary nobility,^[3] being a titular councillor is symbolic of a low-level bureaucrat still struggling to succeed. Golyadkin has a formative discussion with his Doctor Rutenspitz, who fears for his sanity and tells him that his behavior is dangerously antisocial. He prescribes "cheerful company" as the remedy. Golyadkin resolves to try this, and leaves the office. He proceeds to a birthday party for Klara Olsufyevna, the daughter of his office manager. He was uninvited, and a series of faux pas lead to his expulsion from the party. On his way home through a snowstorm, he encounters his double, who looks exactly like him. The following two thirds of the novel then deals with their evolving relationship.

At first, Golyadkin Sr. (the original main character) and Golyadkin Jr. (his double) are friends, but Golyadkin Jr. proceeds to attempt to take over Sr.'s life, and they become bitter enemies. Because Golyadkin Jr. has all the charm, unctuousness and social skills that Golyadkin Sr. lacks, he is very well-liked among the office colleagues. At the story's conclusion, Golyadkin Sr. begins to see many replicas of himself, has a psychotic break, and is dragged off to an asylum by Doctor Rutenspitz.

Finished: A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal (Macintyre) Wow, a true story about the infamous British MI6 agent, Kim Philby, who was, for thirty years, secretly a spy for Russia! Born into the British elite, Kim Philby's head and his loyalties were turned by communism while he attended Cambridge. It was an ideology he never wavered from, even at the expense of lifelong friends, wives, children, and his own country. He was responsible for systematically getting his own fellow MI6 agents to talk about their own assets and various operations in Russia, and then tipping off his bosses in Russia, invariably leading to the botching of the operations and the deaths of countless British intelligence agents. He charmed everyone he met, and befriended two men in particular, Nicholas Elliott, who would make his way up the ranks in MI6, and James Jesus Angleton, an American who would eventually go on to lead the CIA. Both of these men were outstanding agents, and both of them fell for the charm and camaraderie supplied by Kim Philby. They told Philby everything, as the agents, unable to tell their wives or families where they really worked, often unburdened themselves with each other over great amounts of alcohol at various posh British clubs. Throughout the entire World War II Philby passed any intelligence that he acquired as a British agent on to his superiors in Russia. At the time, he could rationalize that England and Russia were on the same side against Hitler. Once the war was over, though, and the Cold War years started, and particularly during Stalin's years, there was nothing he could do to rationalize his loyalties, and he didn't think to. He was staunchly a communist with his heart in Russia. When Philby was recruited at Cambridge, so were four other university students that he knew. They came to be known as the Cambridge Five. They all went on to very high level positions in secret intelligence. Philby rose so high and was so favorably thought of in Britain's MI6, that he was at one point made the chief over their Russian intelligence division! He had to maintain a balance of not failing in that job while at the same time making sure none of their planned operations succeeded. Eventually he was promoted to be the MI6 representative in America at the CIA!! Finally, in 1951, two of his former friends from the Cambridge Five were identified as Russian spies by a defector from Russia. Being in the know, he was able to tip them off and they made their escape to  Russia right before the MI6 came down on them. The fact that they were friendly with Philby, however, put the spotlight on him and he was subjected to a long interrogation. The CIA (except for Angleton) were convinced he was guilty, and the MI5 side of the British intelligence was as well. They couldn't prove anything. With Nicholas Elliot and his other MI6 buddies loudly proclaiming his innocence and how absurd the idea was that Philby would in any way be involved as a Russian spy, all the MI6 ended up doing was asking him to step down. Philby did this, and remained in England...but was out of work and bored. It took several years of being tailed and bugged, but Philby maintained radio silence with Russia and eventually Elliott was able to convince MI6 to rehire Philby. At that time, the Middle East was becoming a hotbed, so Philby was assigned to a lower level position in Beirut, while Elliott was made chief of a couple of other offices in different cities before being made the chief in Beirut. After the coast was clear, his Russian superiors made contact with him again, and Philby was back to his spying for Russia. Finally, in 1963 when yet another high level KGB agent defected to England, there came more definitive proof (even though his name was never uttered) that Kim Philby was, in fact, a Russian spy. Elliott's boss at MI6 called him in to inform him, and Elliott was crushed. Philby was his friend, his mentor, his hero, and he'd betrayed him all these years. Elliott insisted on being the one to confront Philby to get him to break and tell the truth. He thought he could succeed where so many had failed back in 1951. Meanwhile, Philby pretty much figured out that the noose was tightening around his neck with the latest defection. When called to meet with Elliott in a hotel room for tea, he said "Ahh, I always knew it would be you." And with that, they began a conversation where Elliott offered Philby full immunity and no prison if he'd give up all his operations and the names of all other known Russian spies. Philby finally confessed, but gave very few details in some flimsy papers. He agreed to meet back with Elliott the next day and then promptly got in touch with his Russian handler. Russia agreed that it was time to extract Philby and bring him home, but it would take a few days. Philby stalled, insisting that Elliott come to dinner to make sure the wife didn't think anything was amiss. They then had yet another session where Philby brought more papers with more information. Elliott informed his bosses that they were on their way to the full confession and turned the job over to his higher ups. Elliott left for his next assignment, but incredulously, no tail or watch at all was put on Philby! Philby was able to be extracted from Beirut by his handler within a couple of days, and was taken to Russia where he lived out the rest of his days. Some say that the MI6 couldn't afford another scandal after the defection of the other two Cambridge spies to Russia years before, and the recent uncovering of yet another Russian spy high up in their ranks, who was tried in England and basically sentenced to the rest of his life in prison. They say that not putting a guard on Philby was their way of leaving him to be extracted by Russia to become their problem. The truth of that will never be known. Meanwhile, James Angleton at the CIA was beside himself! He worshiped Philby more than Elliott did and from that moment on, nearly ruined the CIA by "seeing" moles at every turn. He was eventually retired from the CIA. Though it didn't read like fiction (which it wasn't, lol), the book still held my interest! I'd never heard of any of these people or of this betrayal, so it was fascinating to read.

Finished: My Life With Bob (Paul) A book about books, written by New York Times Review editor, Pamela Paul. Bob is her Book of Books. It's the book she has kept listing all of the books she has read since her junior year in high school. My Life With Bob is a book about Pamela's life as a shy, book-loving, person and how each of the books she read had some impact, good or bad, on her life. She talks more about her own life experiences than she really does about the books, so the chapter titles, which drove me to buy the book, were a bit misleading. However, it was interesting to see her grow as she weathered: her parents' divorce, having all brothers, having all step-brothers, her parents' stand-offishness, her own self-consciousness and misgivings, her dream wedding to her dream man that turned into a broken-hearted divorce less than a year later, her traveling to live in Thailand with no language or culture experience about Thailand what so ever, her struggles and self-doubt about whether she should become a writer, her post-divorce relationship, her father's death, and finally some of the good things: meeting her next soul mate and husband, having three children with him, becoming a successful author, and finally having her dream job as first the New York Times Children's books reviewer, and then moving on to the New York Time Review editor for all the books. Though I think I would have liked reading more about the actual books that influenced her, just the snippets she gave were interesting and prompted me to write down a few titles that I'm adding to my "to read" list. :-)

Finished: All's Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare) Another twisty Shakespeare dramedy with the witty banters and lovely soliloquies typical of his writing. This one gives us the famous quote, All's Well That Ends Well, among others, but one of my favorites was "Who cannot be crushed with a plot?", uttered by side character, Parolles, after he realizes he was set up in an intricate plan to confess that he would betray his friend Bertram, the Count of Rousillon. Then, there's this quote that I loved:

"Love all, trust a few,
Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use; and keep thy friend
Under they own life's key..."

Love that one! The play is about a girl named Helen who is the daughter of the now deceased physician to the Countess of Rousillon, Bertram's mother. The countess considers Helen to be like a daughter, even though she is "common" and beneath their station. Helen is in love with Bertram, but he doesn't give her much thought. Bertram's father has just died and he will soon step into his father's shoes. He's a bit arrogant. His mother sends him to see the King of France who is very sick and not expected to live much longer. Their families are good friends. Meanwhile, the Florentine wars are going on in Italy, and France has not committed to helping out in Italy. After Bertram leaves, the Countess realizes that Helen loves her son! She thinks Helen would be a perfect match for Bertram. When Helen tells the Countess that her father taught her many of his cures, and she can fix the king's particular ailment, the Countess sends her immediately to see the king. In trying to convince the king that she can help him, Helen even promises that if she doesn't cure his ailment, she will offer her life as payment. In return, the king says if she does cure his ailment, she can have her pick of the eligible bachelors in France to marry. Helen is successful in curing the king, and she chooses Bertram to marry! The king loves the idea and also gives Helen a very rich dowry and a special family ring. Bertram balks and wants nothing to do with marrying Helen. The king is insulted and will have none of Bertram's attitude and insists Bertram marry the person who saved his life! Bertram relents and marries Helen, but doesn't consummate the marriage. Instead he goes off to Florence to fight in the wars. He writes Helen a letter and tells her that he will only consummate and respect their marriage once she has his family ring on her finger and is pregnant with their child. In other words, never, because of the obvious Catch-22. Helen is distraught at the rejection, but more so at the idea that Bertram has gone to war and put himself in danger because of her. Helen has a letter delivered to Bertram in Florence telling him that his new wife has died, hoping it will make him come back home and to safety. She plans then to head to a monastery that just happens to be in Florence. In Florence she meets a widow woman and her beautiful daughter, Diana, who Bertram is pursuing now that his wife is "dead"! Bertram is basically a hound and just trying to get the virgin Diana to sleep with him. She refuses and refuses, making him more and more interested. Helen comes up with a plan! She promises the widow that she will pay Diana's dowry for when she does get married if they will help her out. She has Diana tell Bertram that she will succumb to his advances, first if he will give her his family ring, and secondly, if he will meet her in the silence and darkness of her room, not speaking, to consummate their relationship, so her mother will not hear them. Bertram does both these things, and has his way. Of course, he was not interested in a commitment to Diana, and after his conquest, he heads for home since he is no longer tied down by an unwanted wife. Helen then also makes her way home, with Diana and her mother in tow. The king goes to visit the Countess and Bertram, hoping to arrange yet another marriage when Diana shows up. She claims that Bertram has taken her virtue and therefore should be betrothed to her. Bertram denies all involvement with Diana, but can't explain to his mother or the king why she has his cherished family ring! They are beginning to see how duplicitous he is when Diana admits that she is not the one who Bertram slept with that night, but Helen. They are all shocked and happy to see Helen, and of course, Helen is with child! Helen shows the king Bertram's letter that said he would honor their marriage if Helen had his ring and was pregnant with his child, so the king says, done deal! Even Bertram realizes the lengths that Helen has gone to just for his love, and he gives in and says he will love her well. I'm sitting there thinking, do you really WANT this dude, Helen? But, you know, all's well that ends well...and that's the end of the play. :-) This is one I'd seen as a production, but never read, so glad I finally did. :-)

Finished: It Ends With Us (Hoover) The first book in a long, long time that I've read in one day. I don't really want to give a detailed recap or really state any spoilers, because this is a book that just needs to be read and page-turned as the layers unfold. But...I guess I'm going to recap, so beware of spoilers, lol. Lily Bloom is a 23 year old college graduate, finally moved away from home, living and working in Boston. We meet her on the day of her father's death. We also learn that her father was a physically abusive, non-repentant man to her mother the entire time Lily was growing up. Lily's entire life is shaped by these experiences. One thing she is certain of....a weight has been lifted from her shoulders as her father's death has allowed her to finally move away from her mother's home in Maine and onto her own life. On the night of her father's death, she is up on the rooftop terrace of another building when she first meets Ryle Corrigan, a brilliant, handsome neurosurgery resident with childhood demons of his own. They have a very deep conversation that night, being completely truthful with each other. Ryle never wants a relationship....one night stands for him only. Lily wants to find Mr. Perfect. Obviously they aren't meant to be together, they say, but they are extremely attracted to each other. Before they can act on their attraction, Ryle is called into an emergency and the strangers say goodbye. It's six months before they run into each other again. Meanwhile, we get glimpses of Lily's teenage years as she re-reads her old letters to Ellen that she had written and never sent when she was fifteen. Yes, Ellen DeGeneres. We see how Lily is emotionally abused by her father's physical abuse of her mother. The most important thing we learn is that Lily literally saves the life of an eighteen year old high school classmate who she realizes is living in the abandoned house behind their property...a house with no electricity or running water. Lily leaves food on the porch one night, and when she sees the boy, Atlas, on the bus the next day he thanks her. They develop an incredibly close bond and come to trust each other explicitly. Lily lets Atlas shower and eat in her house each afternoon before her parents get home. He tells her that his stepfather, who his mother recently married, kicked him out of the house after a fight. Since he was eighteen, he had no options but to make his own way. (It's very sad. :-( ) Lily and Atlas fall in love and after she turns sixteen, they consummate their relationship....only once. The next day Atlas must leave to live with an uncle in Boston who has been made privy to his plight. And besides, Atlas is going to enlist in the military so he tells Lily to go to college, live her life, and if he ever is able to stand on his own two feet and feel like he's worthy of a life with her, he will come for her. So, heartbroken Lily goes on with her life. She does go to college, dates other guys, gets a job, etc. When she meets Ryle the night of her father's death, she hasn't heard from Atlas in eight years. Six months after meeting Ryle, Lily has finally been brave enough to open her own florist shop in Boston. She luckily meets, Alyssa, an enthusiastic, rich young woman who is bored at home and wants to help her make the shop a success through hard work. Of course, Alyssa ends up being Ryle's sister. Ryle and Lily meet back up and fall deeply in love. He breaks his phobia about having a relationship and they even get married. Sadly, shortly after they're married, Ryle burns his prominent surgical hand while taking a casserole out of the oven, which then shatters on the floor. Lily laughs at the mess and Ryle goes into a rage!! :-( He lashes out and pushes Lily causing her to hit her head. She's in shock that her husband has just been violent with her. All she can think about is her own father. Ryle begs her to forgive him and swears he just lashed out in pain and anger. She loves him so much, and blames herself for laughing, so she stays. It's a complicated story, which involves her running back into Atlas who has actually opened his own restaurant in Boston! He sees her happy with Ryle, though, and doesn't do anything to encourage her to be with him. It also turns out that Atlas did come to find Lily in college, but again, saw her across the campus with her then boyfriend, so he left her to be happy. Ryle finds out that Atlas has given Lily his number and that she didn't tell him and he goes into another rage. They are fighting near the stairs and he pushes her and she falls down the stairs. This time he begs her forgiveness again and tells her that he has been seeing a therapist since he was six years old because when he was six, he accidentally shot and killed his older seven year old brother. It was a traumatic experience and to this day he has blackouts sometimes and lashes out in anger. Lily says she will stay with him if they can make a plan to realize when something is upsetting him that he walks away and cools off for awhile and then comes back and they talk about things. This plan works out for their next fight, but not the next one. :-( Lily and Ryle love each other so very much, but after the third time, Lily says no more. Of course, right at that moment, she finds out she's pregnant. Ryle goes to do a neurosurgery fellow in England for three months, and when he gets back, he finds out Lily is pregnant. During his absence, we hear Lily's thoughts, hopes, dreams, regrets. She realizes that she always judged her mother for never leaving her father, but now she sees that you may know logically that you should leave someone who is hurting you, but how do you fall out of love with that person? And, what if that person truly loves you and is truly remorseful, but strikes out in anger because of a deeper problem? Lily realizes that Ryle is nothing like her father, who was never remorseful and always mean. Ryle doesn't pressure her to come back, but lets her know that he'd like them to have a life as a family. After they have their new baby daughter, Lily realizes she can't put her daughter in the same position that she was in as a child. She wants her daughter to love her father and not hate him, like she did hers. For this reason, and because she knows that she truly can't go back to this man she loves, but who she is afraid of, she tells Ryle they must divorce. Thus the title of the book, It Ends With Us. In the epilogue, 11 months later, they are sharing custody of little Emmy and getting along fine. And...Lily runs into Atlas again and it looks like maybe they will have a future after all. It's long and complicated, and I guess I did give a detailed recap, but nothing like the story was. It was a really good book, but heartbreaking. The characters were all so well done that it was really hard to hate Ryle. I mean, it was much easier to sympathize with what he went through as a child and hope that he could still get help to overcome his anger issues. A book that really makes you think about things, that's for sure!

Finished: The Hound of the Baskervilles (Doyle) Finally in the mood to read some Sherlock Holmes, I went with one of Doyle's most famous...the story of the Baskerville family in the English moors and the otherworldly hound that has terrorized them for generations. As usual, Sherlock Holmes is essential to solving the big mystery. He's got his trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson, who does some very good investigating, but it's always Holmes who comes to the rescue with his seemingly miraculous brain. :-) I'm not going into depth with the recap. The whole story boils down to the substantial wealth of the latest Baskerville, Charles, and who would inherit his money and estate if he were to die. Of course, he does die right off the bat, and his nephew, and supposed only living heir, Henry Baskerville comes to town to take over where his uncle left off. Henry is a very good guy and is instantly taken under the protective wings of Holmes and Watson as they sleuth this one out. Turns out there IS another long lost, unknown heir who is less than benevolent who's got his sights set on being the next heir, even at the cost of Henry's life, and he happens to be a neighbor. The enormous hound does turn out to be more than the mere legend it was in the past, but it's not otherworldly. It's real hound...a cross between a bloodhound and a mastiff, who Mr. Stapleton, the evil heir and neighbor, keeps hungry and then cruelly paints with phosphorous paint around the mouth and eyes to simulate fire before he lets him out to terrorize the Baskervilles. Naturally Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson figure things out in the nick of time and save the day! An entertaining read. :-)

Finished: The Orphan's Tale (Jenoff) A heartwarming and heart wrenching book about two women who unexpectedly become friends as they struggle to survive in Germany during WWII. Noa is a seventeen year old Dutch girl who is thrown out of the house by her parents after she becomes pregnant by a German soldier who came to stay at their house one night. Shamed and in shock, Noa makes her way to a facility for pregnant teens in Germany where the blond haired, blue-eyed beauty is assured that her baby will be put in the German program where unwanted babies are adopted by rich German couples. However, when Noa's baby is born, he isn't "Aryan" looking enough, and even though the nurse takes the baby from Noa and refuses to let her change her mind and keep him, it is heavily implied that the baby didn't live up to the adoption standards, so we don't know what truly happens to him. :-( Noa makes her way to a small town with a train station and takes a job cleaning floors, bathrooms, etc., and lives in a closet-like space at the train station. Meanwhile, Ingrid is a 29 year old circus aerialist with the famous Klemt circus in Germany. Her entire family, mother, father, and three brothers are all a part of the circus which has been in the family for years. They are also Jewish! They live in a big house near another circus family, the Neuhoffs. Before the regime of Hitler has acquired much power, Ingrid falls in love with a German officer, Erich, and he with her. They get married and live very happily in Berlin for a few years...Ingrid giving up her circus life and moving away from her family. However, once Hitler gets more and more power and Erich becomes an officer of the Third Reich, he is ordered to divorce his Jewish wife. He comes home one day and coldly tells his wife they are no longer married and gives her a few minutes to gather her things and leave. (It's sad :-( ) Ingrid makes her way back home, only to see that her family home has been overtaken by German officials and her family is nowhere to be seen. She has no choice but to knock on the door of the Neuhoff family to see if they have any news of her family. Herr Neuhoff, the head of the family and the head of the Neuhoff circus, remembers Ingrid well and takes her in. He says he doesn't have any news of their family, but he would like to have her come and be an aerialist for him. They will change her name and he will get her German papers, essentially hiding her from the Jewish persecution. Realizing that her family is probably all dead, Ingrid accepts his offer and Astrid Sorrell is born. Astrid becomes the new star of the Neuhoff circus and after a couple of years, falls in love with Peter, a Russian clown performer and key member of the circus. We switch back to Noa's story (which is actually the story that opens the book) and find her hearing some strange sounds coming from a train boxcar one night late at night. Noa has seen the trains stopping and going at their small train station before, often with Jewish people aboard. She assumes they are being taken to refugee camps. On this night, Noa makes her way to the strange sounds in the boxcar, opens the door, and sees babies, all babies, piled upon one another in the freezing boxcar, most of them naked, many already dead and many dying. In the very middle of the babies she sees some little feet kick and sees a squirming baby boy! Before she knows what she's doing, she grabs the baby and runs. She briefly thinks it could possibly be her own child, but when she changes his diaper, she sees that he's circumcised and therefore, Jewish and not hers. She doesn't care. He's an innocent child and she wants to save him. As the train guards realize that the boxcar door is open, Noa flees for her life and the baby's, through the snowy woods. After traveling all night, with no food and in freezing temperatures, Noa can finally make it no further and collapses. Enter Peter, Astrid's circus love who finds Noa and the baby in the forest and takes them to the circus! Ashamed of her own past, Noa claims that Theo, as she names the baby, is her little brother, and that they fled an abusive father after their mother died. Herr Neuhoff is once again kind, and after Noa lets him know that the baby is Jewish, he takes them both in and gets them German papers. He also tells Astrid to train Noa to be an aerialist and get her ready to perform when they go on the road to France in only six weeks. Astrid resents Noa at first, but grows to love her like a sister, and also grows very attached to baby Theo. Having gymnastics training, Noa catches on fast, and by the time they arrive to their destination in France, Noa is ready to "fly". This doesn't negate the dangers of the German officers constantly being around, coming to view the circus shows, and sometimes springing surprise checks on the circus to make sure they aren't harboring any Jews. Herr Neuhoff always manages to appease them with coins and drink, but the fear is never far from Noa, Astrid, or Peter who loves her. Peter, though, doesn't realize that his own clown act where he mocks the high-stepping German soldiers is dangerously close to having him arrested for treason. Meanwhile, Noa meets a handsome young french man in town, Luc, who falls instantly in love with her. She can't help being attracted to him as well. What he doesn't tell her is that he's the mayor's son, and the mayor must go along with the German soldiers and anything they order to keep his town folks safe. Noa begins to feel more and more a part of the circus family, but knows that eventually she'll have to take Theo to a safer life. Astrid, who has become Herr Neuhoff's right hand woman, finds out that she's pregnant. She tells Peter and he plans a surprise wedding for her! The whole circus is in on it and wary as she is about trusting in marriage again, Astrid says yes. They're happiness is very short lived, however, as the German police come to arrest Peter for his treasonous clown act, brutally clubbing and kicking Astrid in the stomach as she tries to grab for Peter. Peter is taken away and never seen again. :-( Of course, Astrid starts bleeding and she and Noa realize she's losing the baby. With all the stress, and as he himself is trying to keep Astrid from being beaten, Herr Neuhoff keels over and dies from a heart attack! The circus goes downhill from there and is ordered to go back to Germany with Herr Neuhoff's no-good son in charge. He fires many of the crew workers, making the circus a far less safe place than it was. Luc, who has begged Noa to run away with him after they finally have an intimate night and believe they are in love, finds out the circus has moved and makes his way to Germany. He has finally stood up to his father and told him he should have helped the Jewish people in town instead of following the Germans' orders. Luc brings with him a letter that had arrived at the French town that is addressed to Astrid! The letter is from her youngest brother, Jules! He is miraculously alive and made his way to America!! He tells Astrid that he's got a pass for her at the embassy in Lisbon that will allow her to come to America, but she must go right away. Astrid is still numb from the arrest of Peter. She knows in her heart they have probably already killed him, and feels completely devastated without him or their child. With Herr Neuhoff dead, her only remaining emotional links are Noa and Theo. Now, she's heard from her brother who she thought was dead! Also in the letter is a note for $10,000 and a German pass from the Third Reich that will actually allow her safe access out of the country. Astrid realizes that Erich had received Jules' letter first, and added the money and the pass to assure that she would safely escape, before forwarding the letter to her. She's heartbroken all over again about Erich, but knows this is her chance. However.....a big however....she has grown to love Noa and Theo and insists that Noa take  the pass and money instead!! She wants Noa to take Theo and take him to a safe new life. Noa, though, against Astrid's wishes, has made plans to run away with Luc. Luc has said they can raise Theo as their own and he wants them to go and join the resistance fighters in the encampments in the woods. Astrid is furious with Noa that she would endanger Theo that way and not take the pass to leave the country. Whatever final decision they make, they must both leave that night after their last circus performance! Noa insists that Astrid go to her brother, and she takes Theo to meet Luc at their pre-arranged point, but Luc never shows up! :-( Noa runs back to the circus hoping to catch Astrid and at least have her take Theo with her. As she arrives, she sees that the circus tent is on fire. Bombs had dropped terribly close during the show and she fears that some spark has ignited the tent. As the panicking people run from the circus tent, Noa runs in in time to see Astrid stuck up on the aerialist platform where she had been for her last bow before leaving. She is stuck! Her only way down is for Noa to climb up to the opposite platform and catch her in the middle on their trapezes, and then drop her into the corner of the net nearest her where no fire has burned the net yet. They are successful in their attempt, but as Noa clumsily climbs back down her ladder with Theo in tow, the tent begins to fall. Noa tosses Theo to Astrid as the poles of the circus tent come down to crush her. As she lays dying in Astrid's arms, she begs Astrid to take Theo right away and make her escape to her brother. As Noa closes her eyes for the last time, Astrid does that, and finally with some luck on her side, manages to make it all the way to America (and Jules) with Theo. Years later, when she is in her 90's, Astrid makes her way to a Neuhoff circus exhibition in New York when she sees in the paper that one of the exact train cars that was used in the Neuhoff circus is in the exhibit. She makes a wild plan to leave her nursing home and goes there to relive all her memories. Of course, her children make it there when they are notified, and they lovingly tell her they must now return to the home. Her children are the grown Theo and a grown daughter named Petra!! It turns out, Astrid did NOT lose her and Peter's baby. She only had severe bleeding and thought she had. Astrid sees in the exhibit an old picture of Peter with a plaque saying he died at Auschwitz. Then, she sees a beautiful painting of Noa flying through the air from the trapeze! It's a picture she's never seen before. She knows that Luc, who no one ever heard from again, was a budding artist and wonders if it could have been Luc that painted it. The plaque beneath the painting says that it was discovered in the possession of a young Frenchman who was killed in a bombing in 1944. Astrid realizes that Luc was killed in the very bombing that most likely set the circus tent on fire, and that's why he never showed up for Noa. Noa and her beloved Luc died on the same day. This was a good book and fast read!

Finished: The Fix (Baldacci) Another good page-turner, the third book in the Amos Decker series. As in the first two books, former detective and now FBI team member, Amos Decker, along with his team members, works to solve the mystery of why an otherwise devoted family man would snap and kill a woman on the street before taking his own life. The story comes down to espionage, spies, national secrets being stolen and sold, and families that are not what they seem to be. :-) Amos works with his young woman friend and former journalist, Alex, again, as well as Bogart, his FBI team leader. We also see Decker's friend and client from the second book come back, Mars. So, slowly but surely, Decker is building a group of trusted people around him after the devastating loss of his wife and daughter, now two years in the past, but never in the past for Amos as his special ability is remembering every single thing that he ever reads, sees or knows. Entering the series in this book is Harper Brown with the Defense Intelligence Agency. Reluctant to work with and share information with Decker and his team at first, they end up respecting each other and working together. Harper even falls for Mars, and he for her! I see another new trusted person added to the circle as the series expands. In the end, Decker and team get their man or woman?? :-)