Shadowed by Grace-Cara C. Putman

Shadowed by Grace Cara C. Putman B&H, Jan 1 2014, $14.99 www.BHPublishingGroup.com ISBN 9781433681783 In 1944 Philadelphia, Bobby Hamilton explains to photographer Rachel Justice that he managed to do the impossible by getting her an assignment in ravaged Italy as no one but a lunatic would send a female into a war zone. Rachel conceals from her boss her secret agenda for craving an assignment in Europe. Using initials on sketches her mom possesses, she hopes to locate the dad she never met and beg him to pay her mother’s unmanageable medical costs. In Europe, the brass sticks Lieutenant Scott Lindstrom with keeping the crazy woman safe. Rachel proves useful with her photography skill helping Scott with performing his military job of protecting Italy’s priceless art from the retreating Nazi looters and vandals. As they fall in love, his mission and her personal quest place their lives in peril and consequently leaves their relationship teetering. With a nod to the Monuments Men (see the nonfiction account of the Monuments Men by Bret Witter and Robert M. Edsel), this is an exciting WWII drama that focuses on art preservation and the heroine’s missing father with the romance supporting the action. Although there is too much significant happenchance moving the entertaining storyline forward, readers will appreciate the perilous efforts by the Allies to preserve Italian treasures. Harriet Klausner