David Baldacci is always an excellent read! This is no exception, excellent story telling. I flew through this book I was so invested in the story of the characters, they totally found a place in my heart. Absolutely recommended.

Strangers in Time is a standalone novel by David Baldacci which is totally engrossing and different from the trillers that, Baldacci writers. This is more a historical story, with a few dead bodies known to the principal characters set in war time London when there were no guarantees you would not be harmed even in 1944. Charlie Masters is fourteen and from the much-bombed East End, and the war has already taken his parents, father at Dunkirk, his mother when a bomb exploded and his grandfather. He and is grandmother live in a very small tenement flat with very little to live on. Charlie steals what he needs to survive like many of the East End. His life changes when he meets Ignatius Oliver at the Book Keep. Molly Wakefield was returning to London having been evacuated in 1939 and she could not wait to see her parents and the house in Chelsea. When she gets home, she is surprised to find her old nanny is there but not her parents. It takes a while to find out what has happened to her parents. She cannot believe what is happening to her and the world and London she had known has changed for the worst. Molly and Charlie’s worlds collide and they need each other, and they have an advocate and support from Ignatius Oliver. He guides them through the much-changed London, especially when life hits them both and they are orphaned in London. They survive and they need each other, and their strength is so strong. This is a wonderful story, that is engrossing and takes you on war torn London, and there is a feeling of hope in the story.

London 1944, Ignatius Oliver owns a bookstore, Charlie Mathers is 14 and lives with his Nan, while Molly Wakefield has just returned to London after being evacuated during Operation Pied Piper. Their lives are hard and complicated and not really safe as bombs fall on London. They will come to know each other. Very well written and narrated (I listened to the audiobook). Excellent characters in this well paced and enthralling novel. Lives have been altered and day to day living hard. This novel follows the lives and histories of these three people and how they come together. Highly recommend.

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London and has been away from her home for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: neither of her parents are there. Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost. What a wonderful story of survival, courage, and an unlikely friendship in the backdrop of war in London. The friendship Ignatius provides for Charlie and Molly after the tragedies they suffer will stay with me for a long time. A wonderful and unforgettable book by David Baldacci!