Where The Heart Is

Where The Heart Is is a remarkable story featuring an unforgettable cast of islanders and is a page-turning wartime adventure full of tension, secrets, heartbreak and joy.

About Where The Heart Is

It is 1916, the world is at war and the only trans-Atlantic communications link between Great Britain and North America is a lone cable station that sits in Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, an isolated Newfoundland coastal village.

An American undercover agent, Linton Colt-Lodge, arrives in Heart’s Content to find out how sensitive information targeting British and American supply convoys is leaking to the enemy from the cable station.
Linton finds an unlikely ally in Frankie George, a cantankerous and mysterious local woman. As Frankie and Linton join forces, their lives change forever.

My Thoughts

This was an incredible story from start to finish, I literally could not put it down (no easy task with a six month old at home!). I typically really enjoy reading novels set in this time period, and Mary did not disappoint in how she captured the spirit, and pain of the time period, but also the strength, courage, and resilience of the female characters in this difficult period.

Frankie is an incredibly strong and resilient young woman, who by no fault of her own, has been cast away by society. Her character is what had me hooked. She has so many strengths, knowledge and skills but because of her gender and her past, they are looked down upon (until society is forced to acknowledge that they need her skills despite her gender and past). The story peels away slowly at Frankie’s past and we get a glimpse of a beautiful soul, sacrificing her own wants and needs to ensure her sisters are well provided for. No matter what is thrown her way, she stands strong in the storm, ready and willing to do anything to ensure that her family is taken care of.

The way that Linton and Frankie come together to uncover who is sharing secrets with the Germans made me smile. I really liked how their relationship evolves, there is no overbearing romance that takes away from the story but you can definitely feel the bonds forming between the two. I have to admit, I did not see the case they were working on turning out the way it did (the guilty parties!). The story kept you on your toes at all times trying to determine who it is that would share such sensitive information with the enemies.

This novel is a must read, that does not disappoint! You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

MARY C. SHEPPARD was born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She worked as a journalist for more than thirty years, first at Maclean’s Magazine and then at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter, news producer and news executive producer in Moncton, Charlottetown and Toronto.She also lived in Amsterdam for two years where she started writing novels. Mary has degrees from St. Francis Xavier and Columbia universities and has taught journalism at the Toronto Metropolitan University. She is a middle child in a family of nine children. Mary spent most of the summers of her youth staying with relatives in an outport community, Lark Harbour, which is very much like Cook’s Cove.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book, all opinions expressed are my own.