MONUMENTS MEN #1: SHADOWED BY GRACE by Cara Putman

Posted a week prior to Women's History Month, I am adding this to the series due to Cara Putman's intriguing story of Rachel. A young American woman pursuing her craft as a photographer, Rachel longs to photograph WWII activity overseas. Her desire is granted when her newspaper employer agrees to   relocate her for a frontlines position in Italy. Unusual for a woman of her time, this story is worthy of inclusion in this series... SHADOWED BY GRACE [STORY OF MONUMENTS MEN #1] by Cara Putman "Shadowed by Grace "is a dramatic story inspired by the Monuments Men of World War II by acclaimed author, Cara C. Putman.
Desperate to save her dying mother, Rachel accepts her newspaper's assignment to travel to Italy to capture images dangerously close to the front lines of WWII. Her real motive - to find the father she never knew -- an artist she hopes can offer the comfort and support both she and her mother need to survive.  In her quest, Rachel becomes involved with what will become the Monuments Men effort to save great monuments and works of art from the Third Reich. Soon enough she will find more than she ever imagined--in war, in love, and in God.  
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Pages: 352 pb Publisher: Broadman and Hollman Books
Published: Dec 4.13 and Jan 1.14 * Author, Cara Putman's thoughts :
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Books are born many ways. Shadowed by Grace started when I walked by a display at our local library the summer of 2010. There a new non-fiction book stood cover out.

The photo on the front piqued my interest: a clearly WWII soldier standing with a large painting. The stories I read in that book, Monuments Men, by Robert Edsel, intrigued me and made me want to learn more. Before long, characters and story ideas filled my mind, and I began fleshing out the story that became Shadowed by Grace.

The idea of an elite, tiny group of soldiers who were tasked with saving Western civilization fascinated me. Their task was compounded by the fact that WWII was the first war that involved constant aerial bombardment.

What challenges would they face?

What would they fear? 

Then I started looking for unique roles American women filled on the European front. The idea of a war correspondent who was a photo-journalist seemed the perfect fit. An artist in her own right, she would understand the importance of saving art. Rachel Justice and Scott Lindstrom were born and became the heroine and hero in Shadowed by Grace.

* My thoughts?
Cara Putman's WWII novel explores a variety of plots and subplots,
ever increasing levels of wartime intrigue and human interest. Rachel is conflicted in caring for her ill mother whilst pursuing her desire to find the father she's never known.   In a bid to gain the finances that will help fund the health treatments that could save her mother's life, Rachel gains approval for overseas travel to photograph frontlines of the war.  Though her mother is adamant in dissuading her, Rachel remains single minded in her pursuit to find her unknown father.
The journey to attain her goal is treacherous and self-affirming.  Rachel grows in her art of photography, relationships, and faith  even as she is both captured and captivated by the intrigue of the journey. Historical details of the time and Monuments Men's mission specifics well researched and intriguing, 
I did not want to put this story down.   The horrors of the war scenes encountered were realistic and emotionally engaged me even as the relational interludes offered relief in the story's ebb and flow. Descriptions were colourful.
Pacing kept the story alternately moving and standing as the main characters experienced
wartime realities of siege and retreat.  I found the story filled with enlightening historical detail and rich in relational interactions.
The blossoming romance was drawn with many emotionally lovely touches.
Putman created an intelligent hero of worth and honour with intriguing past connections  to the monuments he was sent to protect.
Suspense regarding these efforts was superbly sustained
and concluding revelations dramatic enough to please even this reader. Definitely a pleasing entry for my first experience with the writing of Ms Putman. A welcome addition to libraries of WWII historical readers . I look forward to more reading opportunities from Cara Putman in the near future. *

About this author

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a teacher at her church as well as lecturer at Purdue. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. She loves bringing history and romance to life.

An honours graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law,
Cara left small town Nebraska and headed to Washington, D.C., to launch her career in public policy. 
Find Cara Putman HERE  for all online links  @ cara_putman twitter



* *Appreciation to B&H Books for providing an ecopy for reading and review. *

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