By: Gabi Rutherford

Maya Wiesberg had a strong connection with her grandmother, Martha. After all, it was Martha who raised Maya in Germany and told her spellbinding fairytales that grew Maya’s passion for reading. Martha even pushed for Maya to travel to the United States, and then she disappeared. Maya had come to terms with this fact, until, twenty-seven years after Martha’s disappearance, her body is found in upstate New York near the Montgomery Hotel. Maya travels there to find the truth about her grandmother’s death and finds that, to do so, she must uncover the Montgomery family secrets.

Daniela Tully did an amazing job writing this novel. Tully’s storyline starts in 1930’s Germany, and it pulls the reader into that time period just enough so that they will want to continue reading. She is able to combine the Wiesberg’s family history with the Montgomery’s family history in a way that will make sense to the reader once they learn all the details. She includes numerous points of view, but is able to keep them distinct from one another. Tully also includes some of Martha’s fairytales in the novel, which I found very unique.

I really enjoyed this story. It showed me a perspective of WWII that I haven’t encountered before, which piqued my interest. I was also intrigued by the mystery that surrounds the Montgomery Hotel. I was quite captivated by this novel, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or mystery novels.