The Other Cipher
Soli Hansen Mysteries Book 2
By Heidi Eljarbo
In the captivating second book of the Soli Hansen Mysteries, two women—separated by more than three hundred years—are connected through their love of art.
1613. Fabiola Ruber is been wed to a man she does not know and must live in a country with a new language and different customs. The memories of a lost love in her hometown Malta haunt her, and she sets out to find an artist who can do her portrait and recapture the feelings she had when she once modeled for a renowned Italian master painter.
1944. Four years into World War II, art historian Soli Hansen works with the Norwegian resistance to locate significant artwork and safeguard the pieces from the Nazis. When she finds out the Germans are after a hidden baroque depiction of a seventeenth century woman, she must muster all her courage and skills to decipher encrypted codes and preserve the mysterious art before it’s too late.
Both women are determined to do what they can to bring healing and redemption to their otherwise ominous future. Through tangled, bewildering clues and an eye for detail, Soli’s bond to Fabiola grows closer by the day. She must find the missing painting before the enemy does.
Ranging from a privileged life in seventeenth century Antwerp to Oslo during the German occupation of the second world war, this dual timeline is a historical mystery thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Publication Date: 2 December 2020
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length: 200 Pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
MY THOUGHTS!
I adore stories about the Resistance during World War Two, and I thought the premise of this novel sounded fabulous. Soli Hansen lives in Oslo, and she is an art historian and dealer, she also works undercover for the Resistance snatching priceless artwork right from under the Nazis noses. There is a rumour that the Nazis are looking for a painting, possibly painted by Rubens in the early 17th Century. Soli will not allow that painting to be taken by the Nazis, but finding the painting turns out to be far more problematic than she had first envisaged. For the owner of the painting, a prominent member of the Jewish, community has hidden his painting from those who wish to take it from him. The race is one, can Soli and her Resistance friends find the painting before the Nazi’s do?
There is so much excitement and tension in this novel that I simply could not put it down. In fact, I read it in one sitting! The characters screamed realism, and the story was filled with non-stop action and intrigue. The Resistance is always one step in front of the Nazis, but the Nazis are closing in fast every step of the way – talk about nervous excitement, this book had bucket loads of it!
This isn’t however just the story of a treasure hunt to find a lost painting before the bad guys do, it is also a story of a few very brave individuals who cannot stand ideally by and submit to Nazis control. These brave men, women and children, risked their own lives every single day. It was a very sobering thought.
Soli, the main character in this story, is a woman who is strong, determined, but there is also a sense of vulnerability about her. She is at times, completely out of her depth as she finds herself shoulder to shoulder with men that she despised, and at times, it is only the comfort of her friend Heddy Vengen and Nikolai Lange that give her the courage to forge forever onwards. I really enjoyed reading about Soli. She came across as very real in the telling.
Heddy was also another character that really intrigued me. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but oh is Heddy hiding a dark and shameful secret from her Resistant friends. But shhh! I have said enough. You will have to read the book to find out what that is!
This novel is told through two different timelines. The majority of this novel is set in Norway in the 1940s, but the author also takes her readers back to when the painting was commissioned in 1613 in Antwerp. I thought this was a wonderful way of giving this painting that everyone is looking for, a sense of history. I thought the two time-lines really complimented each other.
I really enjoyed this novel, and I shall certainly be going back and reading book one very soon.
Heidi Eljarbo
Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, thirteen grandchildren--so far--in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.
Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.
Heidi's favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
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A wonderful review. Thank you so much.
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