Review and Blog Tour – A Dangerous Act of Kindness by L P Fergusson

A Dangerous Act of Kindness by L P Fergusson

My Review

A thought provoking and harrowing Wartime Romance which packs quite a punch. Set during the Second World War in the UK I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading it.

The lead character Millie is a young widow left alone to manage her husbands farm and battle daily with guilt and shame over the manner of his death. Aided mainly by a helpful landgirl whom she also regards as a friend, her loyal dog Gyp and occasionally by the young farmer Hugh, a friend of her late husband who secretly carries a torch for Millie.

Life is hard on this rural farm and her working days are long, but when she hears about a nearby German plane crashing she never imagines she will find an injured German Luftwaffe pilot on her own farm, hiding in a barn which already holds horrific memories for Millie.

She is drawn to this enigmatic and strangely gentle fighter pilot and a moments decision to help him will lead to repercussions she could never have forecast.

It’s not just forbidden to help the enemy but a crime punishable by death if found out so she has to proceed to help Pilot Lukas with stealth and great care. She finds herself choosing him over her own safety when she chooses this small, dangerous act of kindness with deadly consequences.

We watch the flames of romance flicker and burn and experience some tender moments of extreme passion. Then, when I read about Lukas’ struggle to even believe, never mind come to terms with, the atrocities committed by his fellow German compatriots he wormed his way into my heart too.

This is quite a deep and dark romantic novel it’s certainly not all fluffy and light. Some of the barbarous acts committed by the Nazis is sickening and even though we read about them third hand, as described to Lukas by fellow Germans they are nonetheless pretty harrowing.

The book itself is a sheer joy to read and swept me back in time to the days before I was born as though they took place yesterday, I felt every heartbeat.  If, like me you like your historical fiction filled with detail and your romance to have a sombre flavour this book will fit the bill perfectly.

Published by Canelo you can find the ebook on Amazon

The Blurb

When widow Millie Sanger finds injured enemy pilot Lukas Schiller on her farm, the distant

war is suddenly at her doorstep. Compassionate Millie knows he’ll be killed if discovered,

and makes the dangerous decision to offer him shelter from the storm.

On opposite sides of the inescapable conflict, the two strangers forge an unexpected and

passionate bond. But as the snow thaws, the relentless fury of World War Two forces them

apart, leaving only the haunting memories of what they shared, and an understanding that

their secret must never see light.

As Millie’s dangerous act of kindness sets them on paths they never could have expected,

those closest to them become their greatest threats, and the consequences of compassion

prove deadly…

About the Author

LP Fergusson grew up on the borders of Wales in a Tudor house on the banks of the River

Wye. 

As a child, she longed to go back in history. Now she does, through her writing. She

has an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University and won the Blackwell’s Prize

for MA Creative Writing. 

Her psychological thriller reached the final three of a Quercus/Psychologies Thriller competition and her wartime novel A Dangerous Act of Kindness was Highly Commended in the Caledonia Novel Award 2018. 

She edits the historical blog With Love from Graz which was featured on BBC Radio Wales, Radio 2 and BBC4’s A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley. She now lives in an Oxfordshire village beneath the chalk downs where her debut novel is set.