“I can’t wait for Gillham’s next novel—play it again, Sam.”
—Stephen King
“The writing is a great mix of the literary and commercial, page-turning and suspenseful, with a morally complex, intelligent heroine at its center. If you’re a fan of well-written historical novels in the vein of Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, this one is for you.”
—Slate
“Philip Kerr and Alan Furst have outdone their literary counterparts. Now, with his first novel, City of Women, David R. Gillham joins their rank.”
—Charles Finch, USA Today
“Gillham’s writing is often stunning . . . The characters are complex . . . Deeply felt and mercilessly real.”
—The Plain Dealer, Cleveland
“A meticulously researched and beautifully told love story—and a remarkable look at life in Germany during World War II.”
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“[A] stunning debut . . . Transcendent prose.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“As impossible to put down as it is to forget.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“An exemplary model of historical fiction generously laced with romance, suspense, and exciting plot twists.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A thriller of searing intensity that asks the most urgent of questions—how to love, who to trust, what can be saved in the very darkest of times. . . . Utterly compelling.”
—Margaret Leroy, New York Times bestselling author of The Soldier’s Wife
“A moving and masterful debut . . . Powerful and piercingly real. You won’t soon forget these characters.”
—Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife