TANgLed ASHES by Michele Phoenix

Book Description:  When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark World War II history few in the village remember. The project that was meant to provide an escape for Becker instead becomes a gripping glimpse into the human drama that unfolded during the Nazi occupation and seems to live on in midnight disturbances and bizarre acts of vandalism.

My Thoughts:  Wow!  This debut novel, TANgLeD ASHES by Michele Phoenix is an incredible read!

First of all, I love to read about World War II and how many people escaped or helped others in their time of need.  TANgLeD ASHES (don't you love the way the title is upper and lower case words to represent tangles?!?!)well, just a side note .... this is a book that deals with a different side of Hitler's plan to bring ALL Aryan peoples into the world to rule and have a "perfect" bloodline.

Now, in the present day Marshall Becker, otherwise known as Beck, has been "suckered" into renovating a massive Renaissance-era castle by his partner, Gary.  When Beck arrives at the train station in Chantilly and is met by Therese Gallet who is to accompany him to the castle in Lamorlaye, Beck is intrigued.  Beck learns that the castle was a Kommandnatur-a Nazi headquarters-during the war.  Lamorlaye and Chantilly were Hitler's calvary's home base.  

Once Beck and Miss Gallet begin to unearth the old castle and renovations begin--odd things begin to happen making Beck come to the realization that someone wants to hide what happened here so many years ago.

Once the story begins chapter three begins with Elise and Marie's story.  How all those years ago smart and gussy Marie pulled a stunt to rescue one child.

From chapter three until the end of the book about every two chapters is the story about what Elise and Marie were going through during the war.

I had heard about the Lebensborn.  It was a place that offered an attractive alternative to a hospital birth to many women, especially single ones. The Lebensborn homes offered unwed mothers a place to go have their baby in secret, in pleasant surroundings, with top-notch pre-natal care. "We were treated like princesses," remarked one girl who brought her baby into the world at one of these homes. About 75 per cent of these girls came from the BDM or the Reich Labour Service. A number of children were born disabled and were dispatched to euthanasia clinics where they were either poisoned or gassed. 

Oh! The sad incidents that came with Hitler's regime!  But oh! the wonderful courage that God wrought in many also!

Mystery, suspense, history and love all wrapped into one fantastic read!

*This book was provided by Handlebar/Tyndale Publishing*

**I was not required to give a positive review...only my thoughts**

Meet the Author:

Born in France to an American mother and a Canadian father, Michele Phoenix is an international writer with multi-cultural sensitivities. A graduate of Wheaton College, she taught writing, music, and theater at the boarding school for missionaries' children she attended in Germany as a teenager. She currently works for Global Outreach Mission as an advocate for Third Culture Kids, helping them transition back into North American culture and educating stateside churches and missions about the special needs of this people group. Michele lives in Wheaton, Illinois. Visit www.michelephoenix.com for more information.

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers; Original edition (September 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414368402
• ISBN-13: 978-1414368405