The House at Mermaid's Cove by Lindsay Jayne Ashford (WWII setting)

Another story with a World War II background set between the coasts of Cornwall, scenes of quiet rural life with hidden secrets and then moving across to France and all the turmoil there with German occupation. Alice is a survivor of a ship torpedoed by the Germans and washed up on the Cornish coast. With her shorn hair and secretive speech, her rescuer knows that there are secrets behind the façade of the washed out, exhausted woman found at his doorstep. When her life story is told which in itself is intriguing (a convent in Africa, a questioning of faith, an idea of leaving the strict no feelings to be shown policy of the convent) and with her knowledge of French, Alice becomes a key person in the permanent quest of finding people who can infiltrate the French coast and bring back airmen and others who need to get back to England. Following her adventures both in and out of France at great personal risk to herself and reading about her life in the convent in Africa, both the highs and lows - you can see how far the church has come since those difficult times of strict laws, and rules and nothing else. It was a tough time for anyone who chose a vocation unless you were devoid of any natural feelings. The story of survival, of faith, and finally of a peaceful end and love finding a way is all told in this imaginative story. Sent by Lake Union Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.