A Name Unknown Book Review

Title: A Name Unknown

Author: Roseanna M. White

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance, World War 1, Writing, Drama

Plot: Rosemary Gresham is a talented thief whose family is a band of orphans and also more talented thieves. Ever since her parents died of fever when she was a child, Rosemary has been on her own and kept her back to a seemingly heartless God. With rumors flying and trouble from Germany brewing, Rosemary accepts a job that could pay off big time and finally allow her family a chance at food on the table every day and new shoes. But the cost of the job could be very high.

Meanwhile Peter Holstein flees London for his quiet country house to finish his story and try to dig into his family's past, hoping to unearth solid proof that he is in fact English and not a German spy. But given the state of his library, he's certain the needed information won't be found in time, possibly not even for years. That is, until a lovely lady librarian from London arrives on his doorstep.

With both harboring secrets of their own, will Peter and Rosemary be able to find the missing papers before its too late?

Likes/Dislikes: The premise of this book intrigued me and it had promise. Who doesn't want a capable girl thief running around pre-war? But it quickly lost its appeal; we only see Rosemary's thief family for the first couple chapters and then the last chapter {I skipped ahead} though she talks about them consistently. Peter stutters horribly and it was very badly written. Some characters who stutter are written so well that you hardly noticed but this was too obvious and his "fault" was repeated too many times. I can't stand a stuttering hero. I liked how his mental process went through working on his story; that was a familiar writing high. Rosemary's sense of organization for the library really bothered me, mainly because I would've done it differently. And it's four hundred pages of them whining stuttering, worrying and going off on tangents inside of actually doing something. At a different season in my life this would've made a great story but right now it just didn't gel with me. Maybe I'll try it again in a few years.

Rating: PG-12 and up, mainly for reading level. Very clean book.

Date Review Written: November 16th, 2017

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Bethany House for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.