One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hore follows the plight of the Anderson family during World War II, the secrets we keep and what happens when we discover the truth.
I’ll get right to the point. I’m a massive Rachel Hore fan. I consumed A Week in Paris and The Memory Garden and I absolutely adore how she cleverly weaves different timelines into her beautifully evocative novels. I was therefore chomping at the bit to start One Moonlit Night.
This story begins in 1970s London and then swiftly jumps back to the same city in March 1941. It’s The Blitz and bombs rain down on the capital. One such device obliterates the Anderson family’s house. Rendered homeless, Maddie and her two young daughters must find somewhere safe to live. Going to her family is impossible. Her father is ill. Her stepmother cares little for the children so Maddie has no other option.
Knyghton – a beautiful house in Norfolk offers sanctuary. Or does it?
For over a year Philip Anderson has been missing in action. He’s presumed dead by everyone – except Maddie. And it is to his family’s rambling pile in the countryside that ‘three bombed-out waifs’ head. To a place Philip grew up in but has never been back to in years. To a place where something happened that he refused to discuss with his wife.
“Gussie sighed. ‘Philip was such a dear child. I remember so clearly the day he arrived at Knghton with his mother. Very loyal to her husband, Rose was. Wouldn’t stay here with Philip. Simply dropped him at his school and went back to India. That was the year that the last war broke out, 1914.’”
The house holds secrets that Maddie is desperate to uncover as she tries to fit in with a rather absentminded aunt Gussie and her beloved dogs, cousin Lyle whose moods change like the wind and the brusque and loyal household staff who all lend a slightly sinister edge to day-to-day life.
Missing in Action
The story shifts between Norfolk and France as we discover that Philip, although injured, is very much alive and desperately trying to get home to his wife and children. Danger lurks at every turn. Along the country lanes. Behind the hedgerows and in small provincial villages. Who can Philip trust? And if he does make it home, what will he find?
The choices we make
One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hore explores complex themes of love, loss, hope and trust in a gentle manner. It offers an insight into human nature, the secrets we keep and the long-term impacts they can have. I’d certainly recommend One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hore as a touching story to curl up with . It’s a thumbs up from me.