The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt

Eleven year old Lydia has caught the train home to Suffolk from Wales where she was sent as an evacuee. When she arrives at the station the rural village seems deserted, she makes her way back to her house only to find this is also empty with no sign of her mother. Later that night a German soldier lets himself in, he claims he won't hurt her but she mustn't leave the house and he knows her name despite her never having told it to him. Where is everyone and what is going on?  

 

The book is split into days rather than chapters with each section also telling us what has happened to Heiden, the soldier, and led to him being in England. I did find the way the story jumped between the three different points in time it covers a little confusing at first but soon got into it. As the book progresses and things start to be revealed and become clear then I had to keep reading to find out how it would conclude. If, like me, you're a fan of novels during this time period then you should give this a try, it gives you a different slant on the usual. 

 

This is Jason Hewitt's debut novel, according to the interview with him in the back of my copy he has started on his second which is also set during the Second World War, I look forward to reading it. 

 

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this novel, it's due to be published on 27th March. 

 

 Rating: 4 out of 5