Today I'm welcoming Heidi Eljarbo and her book - The Other Cipher - to my blog

 Today I'm welcoming Heidi Eljarbo and her book - The Other Cipher (Book 2 of Sol Hansen Mysteries) - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde)

 I'm delighted to share a review with you all, but first I will introduce the book.

The Other Cipher

In the captivating second book of the Soli Hansen Mysteries, two women—separated by more than three hundred years—are connected through their love of art.

1613. Fabiola Ruber is been wed to a man she does not know and must live in a country with a new language and different customs. The memories of a lost love in her hometown Malta haunt her, and she sets out to find an artist who can do her portrait and recapture the feelings she had when she once modeled for a renowned Italian master painter.

1944. Four years into World War II, art historian Soli Hansen works with the Norwegian resistance to locate significant artwork and safeguard the pieces from the Nazis. When she finds out the Germans are after a hidden baroque depiction of a seventeenth century woman, she must muster all her courage and skills to decipher encrypted codes and preserve the mysterious art before it’s too late.

Both women are determined to do what they can to bring healing and redemption to their otherwise ominous future. Through tangled, bewildering clues and an eye for detail, Soli’s bond to Fabiola grows closer by the day. She must find the missing painting before the enemy does.

Ranging from a privileged life in seventeenth century Antwerp to Oslo during the German occupation of the second world war, this dual timeline is a historical mystery thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Publication Date: 2 December 2020

Publisher: Independently Published

Page Length: 200 Pages

Genre: Historical Mystery

You can purchase the book via -

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Other-Cipher-Soli-Hansen-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08LBD5JTJ

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LBD5JTJ

Now for the review-

The year is 1613 and Fabiola Ruber has commissioned a painting of herself and her daughter for her husband. Four centuries later and the Nazis are pillaging the priceless artwork of the countries that they have occupied. They have heard about a painting by the famous baroque artist, Peter Paul Rubens, and they are determined to add it to their collection. Unfortunately for them, the Resistance is looking for it as well, and unlike the Nazis, the Resistance has the cipher which will tell them where the painting has been hidden, but first, they must decipher the code. The race is on. Who will get to the painting first?

If I could describe the perfect book, it would probably be this one, for it has everything that I love. There is nothing better than a good historical mystery in my opinion, and this book had everything in it that I love. It has art, conspiracy, secrets, lies, oppression, defiance, and there is also a hint of a very tender romance. Who is on the side of the Resistance and who is not? Who can be trusted in a world turned upside down by warfare and occupation? There are a lot of questions in this novel, and I enjoyed trying to figure the answers out along with Soli.

I thought the depiction of Oslo during the occupation was masterfully drawn. The author has portrayed a country that is seemingly submissive but there is a core of anger, honour and determination that they will win their country back someday. And although stealing and hiding a painting may seem like a small thing when taking into consideration the larger picture, the fact that, if they succeed, they will thwart the Nazis and save something that belongs to their country cannot be dismissed. It would be a small victory, but a victory none the less.

I thought this book was a wonderful novel, and it is one that I can see myself coming back to again and again.

Heidi Eljarbo

Heidi Eljarbo is the bestselling author of historical fiction and mysteries filled with courageous and good characters that are easy to love and others you don't want to go near.
Heidi grew up in a home filled with books and artwork and she never truly imagined she would do anything other than write and paint. She studied art, languages, and history, all of which have come in handy when working as an author, magazine journalist, and painter.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She and her husband have a total of nine children, thirteen grandchildren--so far--in addition to a bouncy Wheaten Terrier.

Their favorite retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summertime and ski the vast, white terrain during winter.

Heidi's favorites are family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.heidieljarbo.com/newsletter

You can connect with the author via -

Website: https://www.heidieljarbo.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorheidieljarbo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeidiEljarbo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidieljarbo/

Pinterest: https://no.pinterest.com/heidieljarbo/

You can learn more about the book and the author by visiting the other blogs on this tour.

That's it for now.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe