Bonnie Toews - Dar Tomlinson
Toews, Bonnie - TREASON & TRIUMPH (Whistler House - 1997) (4)
In the late 1930s, Marla Franklin, a syndicated columnist for the London Times, is sent on assignment to Europe. A Russian-born American of Jewish descent, Marla is well known for writing news stories that make the free world aware of Hitler's aggressive moves to conquer Europe. Her journalistic talents, beauty and reputation for promiscuity will become the perfect cover for her spy activities.
Christopher Tobin is a member of the British Secret Service. His current assignment is to act as Marla's Bureau Chief, which allows him free reign to pursue his covert activities, undetected by the German government. Lady Catherine Rushmore, cousin to the King of England, is a celebrated pianist who, during a Vienna piano competition, catches a glimpse of a handsome German SS officer and falls in love. Baron Jochim Von Daren is a member of Hitler's elite SS unit. He carries with him the image of the lovely Catherine, who is so unlike the women Hitler approves of for his "SS Studs."
TREASON & TRIUMPH is a story that brings to life all these characters, along with the intrigue and horror of World War-II. Author Bonnie Toews paints a vivid picture of Hitler's reign of terror, and the atrocities performed against the Jews are described in explicit terms. The heroines of the story, Marla and Catherine, are exposed to violence and the strongest forces of evil as they team up to prevent Hitler from providing the world with the first atomic bomb.
This is not a book for the faint of heart and it does not provide a happy-ever-after ending. While there is a tender love story between Lady Catherine and SS Colonel Von Daren, the circumstances surrounding their meeting and subsequent relationship pales in comparison to the theme of this book. The relationship between Marla Franklin and Christopher Tobin leaves the reader dissatisfied and frustrated. Traditional romance readers will not find this book appealing.
TREASON & TRIUMPH will hold your attention from beginning to end and keep you on the edge of your seat. It will also disgust you. There is a scene in this book where Hitler's "Storm Trooper" grabs a Jewish baby from it's mother and plays football with it! One of the heroines in the story suffers all kinds of indignities at the hands of the Nazis, including disfigurement. I cannot say that rape should be added to the indignities, because this woman never said "no." In short, TREASON & TRIUMPH is definitely mainstream fiction. Toews is a good author, but not a romance author. ~Olivia Holton for Bookbug on the Web
Tomlinson, Dar - FORBIDDEN QUEST (Genesis - 1998) (4)
Carolyna Sinclair is a very successful designer, who is thinking about marrying her lover, renowned architect Hugh Wilson Masters, even though she does not like the way he treats her like a little girl when they disagree. In spite of his having a pre-teen daughter, Carolyna likes the orderliness that Hugh provides her. Carolyna drives to the Savannah docks to pick up a crate. There she meets humorous Jamaican, Paul Michael Quest, in an encounter that will change her life forever.
Paul gives her, with his mellow, jocular, but serious look on life, a happiness she has never known. However, falling in love with someone outside your own race means dealing with the baggage of racism from both races. As Carolyna and Paul struggle to find a lifetime of love and happiness together, they must overcome their own pasts and the bias of their respective communities. Lesser obstacles have destroyed relationships, so the probability of this couple succeeding, although obviously in love with each other, appears remote.
The launch ship of the new Love Spectrum line, FORBIDDEN QUEST is a great relationship novel that deserves wide readership. The story line of a black-white relationship and the landmines trying to end it are incredibly scribed by Dar Tomlinson, a talented author. Cross-cultural love has never been written in a more poignant, realistic manner than in this book, which leaves the message that "erasicm" is the only way to go in a truly multi-cultural society in which the old EEO categories no longer fit for a large segment of a growing and knowledgeable populace. This book is a great, sensitive novel by a delightful newcomer, who will be fully welcomed by a myriad of fans. ~Harriet Klausner
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