Loyalties to families and to the repressive regimes of Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany are tested in the first book, "Leningrad: The People’s War," of the World War II historical fiction series by Rachel R. Heil. The story is told through the eyes of a young Russian female sharpshooter, Tatiana Ivanova, and a reputed German commander, Heinrich Nottebohm. The NKVD secret police's arrest of some of Tatiana's family members has profoundly impacted her. To protect her remaining family from possibly being arrested, Tatiana agrees to do whatever a reporter loyal to Stalin asks her to do. The uninformed people in Leningrad are taken by surprise when the Germans invade Russia and march rapidly to Leningrad. Tatiana accompanies the state-loyal reporter to fortifications being built to defend the city so he can take photos to inspire the townspeople to fight by using persuasive propaganda. During a German attack on Leningrad, Tatiana recklessly saves a wounded woman. As a result of her bravery, she is recruited to train as a sharpshooter and wins public notoriety for her deadly ambushes on German soldiers.
As Tatiana's story unfolds, we are introduced to a reputed German commander, Heinrich, who has a dark secret about a previous liaison with a woman. A brilliant military strategist, he questions the brutality of his superiors' orders and secretly defies them on his march and assault on Leningrad. The perspective of the German attack on Leningrad alternates between the points of view of Tatiana and Heinrich—adding to the heart-pounding suspense about their fates when they face each other.
Author Rachel R. Heil does not spare you from the horrific scenes of war and the death toll on civilians—both from starvation and assaults. She explores the theme of duty to the state vs. loyalty to the family in the novel. Tatiana is an engaging character who defies the stereotypical role of a woman in war. She is cunning and brutal in her ambushes on Russian soldiers. She will do what is necessary to save her family from the dangers of the NKVD secret police, which are as brutal as the Germans from her perspective. Heinrich walks a tightrope to outwit his superiors and minimize the brutality he is ordered to carry out.
A page-turner, the story accelerates to a breakneck pace with unexpected twists toward the end. The story does not end in a traditional climax, but it continues into the next book. I'm eager to read the series to find out the fates of the characters in what was considered the most devastating battle in World II. For the most part, the narrative is well-edited and tight, but there is a noticeable punctuation error in using commas instead of em dashes outside the quotation marks to set off a bit of action without a dialogue tag. Nonetheless, the storytelling is riveting and kept me on the edge of my seat as I continued reading the book late at night.
I highly recommend "Leningrad: The People’s War" to readers who enjoy reading character-driven, fast-paced historical fiction that will leave you breathless from its unexpected twists and suspense.
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