The Postmistress
by Sarah Blake
Amy Einhorn Books

What sort of postmistress chooses not to deliver a letter? That’s the question that propels the drama in this remarkable novel set in the days leading up to America’s involvement in the Second World War. Frankie Bard is a reporter covering the Blitz on the radio, while in a town on Cape Cod, Iris James is postmistress and Emma Fitch is the doctor’s wife. Each of these women is a sharply drawn character, and they have very different perspectives, as though each is living in a separate world. These three worlds intersect in unexpected ways and eventually collide, through dark wartime days when many people had to bear the unbearable and grow past their innocence. Especially poignant is the depiction of Frankie’s journey through Europe as she witnesses the displacement of thousands of Jews, followed by her arrival in New York where everything is business as usual. Vivid and compelling, this novel will appeal to readers of historical fiction with strong female leads.

--Shannan Starnes Rosa, MSLS Collection Development Librarian, Adult Materials