A PACT WITH THE DEVIL by Anna Legat @LegatWriter

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)

On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: a favourite author of mine, originally discovered by a tweet for one of her other books

In a Nutshell: murder and demonic possession in 15th century Poland

Loved this book - it's so unusual to read something set in the 15th century in eastern rather than western Europe.  I was fascinated by the names of all the territories, principalities and kingdoms, few of which remain today, in a time when the map of the world looked very different.  Ms Legat talks about this at the back of the book, which has inspired me to find out more.

The story centres around Nicolaus Copernicus, studying in Cracow (Krakow) in Poland, when the death of a certain doctor of much reknown causes angst around the neighbourhood; had he really sold his soul to the devil, or are diabolical plots of a human kind to blame for his and subsequent murders?

The plot is intriguing and well thought out, and Nicolaus leaves no stone unturned in his attempts to get to the bottom of what is happening.  More than this, what delighted me so much about the book was the sense of place and time, the descriptions of the towns and the townsfolk, the customs, the social mores, the beliefs, and the banter between Nicolaus, his wayward brother Andreas and their friends.  The characters sprang from the pages, fully formed.

Highly recommended!

BURIED IN THE PAST by Anna Legat @LegatWriter

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've enjoyed others by this author so thought I'd try this one!

In a Nutshell: A novel about the Polish partisans of WWII, and a mystery surrounding an unmarked grave, waiting to be solved fifty years later. 

This is a terrific book that taught me much I didn't know about Poland eighty years ago - I didn't realise that, during World War II, Russia was considered as much an enemy as Nazi Germany, or why.  I read the second half of the book in one afternoon; I was utterly gripped.  

The main timeline of the story concerns Edek and Szymon, two young lads wanting to join the partisans (or Home Army).  Now and again, we move forward a few decades and meet Dorota, who is fascinated by and determined to solve the mysteries surrounding her family ... and the identity of a body in an unmarked grave.

The mystery side of the story was well thought out and provided a completely unexpected outcome, but I found the chapters set during the war the most compelling.  It is so hard for us to comprehend the hardship people endured in their daily lives less than a century ago, and what they were prepared to suffer for the sake of their country, what they would risk to help their friends; this novel really brought home the terror of Nazi occupation, and the bravery of the persecuted people of that time and place.  The Warsaw uprising, the stealing of munitions from the local German garrison, a thrilling escape from one of the cattle trucks heading to Auschwitz, the annihilation of whole villages, the murder of so many innocents.

Highly recommended!