The Munich Girl

by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring is an elegant historical fiction novel of Eva Braun. Besides being Adolph Hitler's mistress (and short-lived wife) little is known about this woman in history.

The Munich Girl is essentially a story of discovering oneself and is shared in three parts.

First, of course, is Eva. Phyllis Edgerly Ring stripped her away from cyanide and showed her as a real person. Eva was vulnerable and so very young. I felt sorry for her as she floated along in a constant waiting game. However, she had an unbridled strength and could see the girl waiting to emerge.

Second was Peggy, the woman who befriends Ava. She was as filled with secrets as Miss Braun. Learning of Peggy's past was like peeling back an onion. Each layer was more complexed than the last and gave more questions than answers.

Last was Anna, she was left with the task of piecing the puzzle together and discovering how much Ava Braun changed the course of her life and in a sense led to rediscovery.

Hannes is the love interest in the novel and the connector to the erector set. It is he, not our heroines who truly encourages Anna to move forward with her research. However, Hannes holds secrets of his own on the brink of a reveal. He contains the remaining piece of a burning answer Anna and the reader have been looking for.

Historical fiction novels that are told in past and present tense can be tricky. If not done right they can be jerky and painful to read. This was not the case in The Munich Girl. Peggy's diary entries were applied seamlessly blending past with the present. I yearned to enter the streets of 1940s Germany and discover the meaning behind a simple portrait and view the forging of an unlikely friendship. Phyllis Edgerly Ring has written a superbly researched novel of a historical figure whose' story is impeccably told.