The Last Secret: A Novel
A sweeping, dazzling dual-timeline novel centering on two unforgettable women-and their inextricable link to each other decades apart.

Ukraine, 1944

As the world around her is ripped apart by war and infiltrated by Nazi soldiers, Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance, stitching wounds by day, stealing supplies by night, and dodging firefights between the SS and Soviet partisans. When her husband, Marko, a reluctant member of the Waffen-SS, forces her to deliver a coded message to an underground bunker, she's terrified. But when her mission doesn't go as planned, and her son, Taras, is kidnapped by the KGB, Savka fears she'll never see him again.

Salt Spring Island, 1972

For Jeanie Esterhazy, the world, with its whispers and curious eyes, is too much to bear. Ever since the horrific accident that left her badly scarred, Jeanie, unable to remember anything about that awful day, has pulled away from society, utterly isolated.

Then a mysterious stranger appears at her house, and Jeanie suddenly begins having flashbacks about the night of her wedding-flashbacks that hold answers to the questions she's had for years; flashbacks that make her realize the world around her is not as it seems.

Weaving together Savka and Jeanie's stories with artful precision, The Last Secret is at once luminous and transporting, a brilliant and impossible-to-forget story of love, hope, and the breathtaking resilience of women.
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The Last Secret: A Novel
A sweeping, dazzling dual-timeline novel centering on two unforgettable women-and their inextricable link to each other decades apart.

Ukraine, 1944

As the world around her is ripped apart by war and infiltrated by Nazi soldiers, Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance, stitching wounds by day, stealing supplies by night, and dodging firefights between the SS and Soviet partisans. When her husband, Marko, a reluctant member of the Waffen-SS, forces her to deliver a coded message to an underground bunker, she's terrified. But when her mission doesn't go as planned, and her son, Taras, is kidnapped by the KGB, Savka fears she'll never see him again.

Salt Spring Island, 1972

For Jeanie Esterhazy, the world, with its whispers and curious eyes, is too much to bear. Ever since the horrific accident that left her badly scarred, Jeanie, unable to remember anything about that awful day, has pulled away from society, utterly isolated.

Then a mysterious stranger appears at her house, and Jeanie suddenly begins having flashbacks about the night of her wedding-flashbacks that hold answers to the questions she's had for years; flashbacks that make her realize the world around her is not as it seems.

Weaving together Savka and Jeanie's stories with artful precision, The Last Secret is at once luminous and transporting, a brilliant and impossible-to-forget story of love, hope, and the breathtaking resilience of women.
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The Last Secret: A Novel

The Last Secret: A Novel

Unabridged — 14 hours, 6 minutes

The Last Secret: A Novel

The Last Secret: A Novel

Unabridged — 14 hours, 6 minutes

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Overview

A sweeping, dazzling dual-timeline novel centering on two unforgettable women-and their inextricable link to each other decades apart.

Ukraine, 1944

As the world around her is ripped apart by war and infiltrated by Nazi soldiers, Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance, stitching wounds by day, stealing supplies by night, and dodging firefights between the SS and Soviet partisans. When her husband, Marko, a reluctant member of the Waffen-SS, forces her to deliver a coded message to an underground bunker, she's terrified. But when her mission doesn't go as planned, and her son, Taras, is kidnapped by the KGB, Savka fears she'll never see him again.

Salt Spring Island, 1972

For Jeanie Esterhazy, the world, with its whispers and curious eyes, is too much to bear. Ever since the horrific accident that left her badly scarred, Jeanie, unable to remember anything about that awful day, has pulled away from society, utterly isolated.

Then a mysterious stranger appears at her house, and Jeanie suddenly begins having flashbacks about the night of her wedding-flashbacks that hold answers to the questions she's had for years; flashbacks that make her realize the world around her is not as it seems.

Weaving together Savka and Jeanie's stories with artful precision, The Last Secret is at once luminous and transporting, a brilliant and impossible-to-forget story of love, hope, and the breathtaking resilience of women.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"An extraordinarily powerful novel cinematically weaving one gripping layer into the next. From the frozen hellscape of Eastern Europe during WW2 to the lush green of Salt Spring Island in Canada, The Last Secret delivers a thrilling story of survival and love that held me spellbound throughout. Brava, Ms. Caron! An easy five stars." —Genevieve Graham, #1 bestselling author of The Forgotten Home Child

"A tense and thrilling ride of a story." —Janie Chang, bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon and The Library of Legends

"How delicious to discover sleepy Salt Spring Island, BC, caught up in the icy tendrils of a Cold War thriller. Sweeping from hardship to heartache, The Last Secret is a timely reminder of the improbable bonds forged, broken and recast on World War II’s Eastern Front. Here, revenge is served tundra-cold, but with a dash of sea salt and fire." —Shelley Wood

"This haunting and exquisitely written story will stay with me for a long time to come." —Gwen Tuinman, author of Unrest

The Last Secret is a masterfully crafted historical thriller, a riveting tale that sweeps across decades and continents. The intertwined stories of a Ukranian woman ruthlessly pursued by the Russian secret police and a scarred young artist at the mercy of her nurse’s sinister machinations converge in a climactic, heart-stopping showdown on a remote island in the pacific northwest. Maia Caron has irresistibly woven historical drama, mystery and romance in a gripping tribute to women’s resistance and resilience.” —Lilian Nattel, author of Only Sisters

"With The Last Secret, Maia Caron firmly establishes herself as one of the most powerful, truthful and poetic voices in Canadian historical fiction." —Natalie Jenner, internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls

"This is the kind of sweeping and richly layered novel that is a perfect fall companion for that comfy sweater and a cup of something warm. . . . Vancouver Island’s Caron weaves together the two women’s stories in a tale of love and strength." Vancouver Sun

"The Last Secret by Maia Caron is a tightly plotted, ambitious work of historical fiction that has fast-paced thriller elements and, at other times, the makings of a slow burn romance. . . . In the end, when every character’s motivation finally become clear to each other, it feels like a satisfying puzzle, with a moderate heaping of wish fulfillment, clicking into place." —British Columbia Review 

Library Journal

★ 09/01/2024

With the world at war in 1944, Savka Ivanets works as a medic for the Ukrainian resistance against Soviet control. Her husband, Marko, spent years as a resistance leader, but has now taken a position with the Nazi SS where he's fighting against the Soviets. When Marko shows up after a long absence with a coded message for Savka and their son Taras to take to Underground headquarters, Savka is leery, but she obeys her husband. The mission goes terribly wrong, with Taras taken by the KGB and Savka shot, left for dead. Savka wonders if she will ever see her son again. Fast-forward to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, in 1972. Landscape artist Jeanie Esterhazy, known as the "Fire Bride" due to the burns she received over much of her body on her wedding day in 1959, struggles to free herself from her questionable caretaker, Pat. Jeanie digs into both her own hazy past and Pat's, uncovering a connection to Savka and the world of Soviet intrigue. VERDICT A stunning page-turner, Caron's (Song of Batoche) novel is perfect for fans of World War II and Cold War fiction and stories with strong women characters.—Lucinda Ward

Product Details

BN ID: 2940160510170
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 09/24/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
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