The Keeper of Lost Art by Lelita Baldock

 

Rome pre 1944. Siena works in an art gallery, working for a man she has come to care for as a grandfather and who has inculcated in her a love for art, and the need to protect what they have against the foreboding shadows of Nazi Germany. When the inevitable happens Siena flees to Bari seeking safety for one book containing details of paintings.

What follows is the death and deprivation that followed wherever the Nazis went. It also highlights the resistance displayed by ordinary citizens who against the odds, worked in insidious ways to hinder the enemy progress. Books written about this period of history are stark and destructive and it never fails to unnerve because it happens again and again.

The three timelines were difficult to follow (at times) but overall the story was a good one, well told.

Sent by Storm Publishing for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.