Germany, 1945. As the ground shakes and the air raid sirens wail, Katja holds her tiny baby to her chest. She pictures Karl's handsome face and kind blue eyes, her breath catching at the thought of him heading back to the front. She must never tell anyone about the letters she delivered for him, or the other secret she is hiding...
London, present day. In the midst of a divorce and with her mother Katja recovering from major surgery, Jo is heartbroken and lost: especially because Katja has always been distant, even when Jo was a child. Now, Katja is too frail to be alone, and has moved in to Jo's cosy bungalow - where Jo hopes they can finally find peace with each other.
But clearing out her mother's empty home, Jo discovers a dog-eared black diary hidden in a tiny kitchen cupboard. Tucked within the pages is a yellowed envelope with an unfamiliar, faded postmark. The scrawled handwriting reveals a shocking past Jo can scarcely believe, and she realises that she must finally learn the truth about where she came from, before time runs out...
As Katja slowly opens up, she is thrown back to the war-ravaged German countryside: where a brave young woman in love risked everything to memorise detailed maps by candlelight, and had to flee from soldiers in the early light of dawn to save herself and her child.
But Jo can see the pain in Katja's eyes. She is still holding something back, and the key to her silence lies within the pages of the diary.
Will uncovering the devastating truth about a forbidden love affair kept secret for decades tear mother and daughter apart forever? Or will confronting the past finally help Jo and Katja heal?
Fans of The Letter, The Nightingale and We Were the Lucky Ones will be utterly swept away by this heart-wrenching read. Based on an incredible true story, The Lost Diary is a gripping and unforgettable tale about bravery in the face of unimaginable terror and how a woman pushed to the brink was forced to make a terrible choice.
Readers love Rose Alexander:
'Beautiful... it just took my breath away. Definitely had to wipe a tear away.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐