Mandy Robotham

The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux has something that I really love in a book. I always enjoy stories that look back over a long life and which follow history, whether that be important events or social history.

Ruby is now in her 90th year. She's an acclaimed author and her publishers hope she has one book left in her: her memoir. Agreeing to go forward with the project, Ruby sets about telling her life to her new assistant but this memoir has a difference: it's told by means of her show more memories of twelve men in her life and the adventures she had both home and away. Via New York, Berlin, Budapest, Venice and Vietnam, and of course England, the reader accompanies Ruby on a journey through her past. What a life she had!

My favourite sections were those set in England. In many ways these were the least adventurous but for me they were the most interesting and the men in those sections seemed the most fleshed out. However, as a whole this book is quite fascinating, a romp through the second half of the 20th century with several of those scandals referred to in the title making an appearance.

Ruby really has some quite incredible experiences. She's a wonderful character, feisty, no-nonsense, strong, wily and fun, and when life knocks her down she gets back up again. She has her good times and her bad, just like in any life. Her tale felt fresh and real, and yet also surreal at times. I enjoyed reading it and think M J Robotham has done a really great job at crafting this fictional memoir. I don't think I'll forget Ruby in a hurry. show less

Although "The Girl Behind the Wall" started slowly, the pace soon picked up once the Berlin Wall was erected and Jetta discovered a small hole she could escape through to see her twin sister, Karin, on the East side.

The risks the sisters took were nail-biting and I was a nervous-wreck fearing that their secret would be discovered. Their last meeting had me on the edge of my seat! I loved the bond Jetta and Karin shared and the fact that it was breakable despite the sacrifices, politics and show more dangers they constantly faced. I also liked many of the secondary characters including Dr Walter, Danny and Otto.

"The Girl Behind the Wall" gave a realistic insight into the impact the Wall had on families who suddenly found themselves divided simply because they were in the wrong place and the wrong time. The author captured the fear, confusion and atmosphere well and the plot was suspenseful. I will be looking for other novels by Ms Robotham. show less

It seems there have been a lot of novels lately about Germany in the 30s and 40s. Coincidence, considering what is going on these days? Anyway, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read another one but was glad I did. It is an engaging read, with solid plot and well developed characters. Georgie is a strong, independent female character for her times and I particularly liked that the author took time at the end of the book to followup on her characters’ lives after the war years.

It is also a show more cautionary tale for our times. What happens when an authoritarian takes over…when venom and nationalism is spewed from the top….when treaties and agreements are ignored…when the persecuted are refused a refuge by “humanitarian” countries….how deluded and hypnotically devoted the populace can become when a “leader” is viewed as a messiah.

This was a rewarding read……. show less

In the acknowledgements of this historical romance, author Mandy Robotham said she wanted to imagine a “what if” scenario where a midwife would be put in impossible circumstances—in this case to care for a secret baby to be born to Eva Braun, mistress of Hitler, after all the horrors she’d witnessed in the Nazi death camps. Midwife Anke Hoff is determined that her patient will be treated no differently from any other. But her assignment remains a prison, merely a more comfortable show more one.

This was well written and had dual timelines detailing Anke’s time earlier in the war, and switching back to the present, where she is with Eva. There is also a romance with the Captain assigned to guard her—and this relationship, along with the relationship Anke has with Eva, was the most interesting of the novel. The author is a midwife, and the detailed medical scenes were extremely well done.

Trigger Warnings: graphic childbirth scenes including death, concentration camp scenes

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. show less