Though "The Ghosts of Rome" is a sequel—or rather, part two of a proposed trilogy—you need not have read its predecessor, "My Father's House," to quickly get into the story. I hadn't, and while the character dump of the first few pages did confuse me at first, author Joseph O'Connor cleared things up before I was tempted to quit reading.

The resistance organization at the heart of the novel, which helped thousands of Allied soldiers and Jews escape the Nazis during World War II, did in fact exist, as did many of the book's characters. O'Connor excelled at depicting the historic and fictional players and the ambience of 1944 Rome, and for the most part at keeping the story moving. Switches in POV slowed things down a few times without adding any insights. What I found especially intriguing were the insights into the mindset of the fictional SS commander Hauptmann. It would have been easy to depict him as a monster; instead he was shown to be an all-too-fallible human, which ultimately made him much more frightening.

Thank you, NetGalley and Europa Editions, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Europa Editions for an early copy of The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O'Connor

"The Choir" has returned to damage as much structure as possible in World War II Rome under the Nazi regime led by the Third Reich's Paul Hauptmann (perhaps a fictionalized Herbert Kappler). While Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty remains at the helm of this small band of resistance figures, the focus switches to each of the "choir" members in their particular roles in freeing victims of the Gestapo. The Ghosts of Rome offers a remarkably vivid picture of the dangers, the sacrifices and the tenacity of the small group of warriors bent on destroying the Nazi hold on their beloved city.

As in My Father's House, music and literature are important aspects of the story and add so much to the story's appeal. From the works of ancient writers, quotes from Shakespeare, and lyrics from Irish songs, all fit perfectly into the text and support the personalities of the characters.

The wit and wisdom of the dialog, the intrigue as "The Choir" makes their clandestine plans while singing and the close-up examination of the mindset of someone as evil as Hauptmann all add to the page-turning quality of The Ghosts of Rome along with a hope that author Joseph O'Connor will once again bring "The Choir" to life in future narratives.

Excellent second book in this trilogy between the cat and mouse goings on in Rome
during the Nazi occupation. The characters are so finely drawn and the atmosphere
so tense you feel like you are there: This author is one of my favorites and this book
did not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

What a heartbreaking, compelling read. These stories are always so hard to read but also I'm always very grateful that I did. This one has a story I've never heard and it has a gripping plot with amazing characters and a world and time brought to life. This setting of this book was so well done that it really brought this story to life for me. Such a good perspective and fascinating read.

The Choir is riven with internal tensions and infighting. The organization is in danger of falling apart, which would leave thousands of escaped allied soldiers, POWs, Jews, and objectors stranded in a Rome that is ruled with vicious efficiency by the Nazis. Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, the architect of the Escape Line and acknowledged leader of The Choir, broods inside the Vatican, seemingly paralyzed by what he sees as the intolerable risks of keeping the Escape Line in operation.
One man has been given the task of definitively destroying the entire operation and the price of his failure is high—SS Commander Paul Hauptmann’s wife and children are under Gestapo supervision in Berlin. Hauptmann is ordered to stay on in the city he both loathes and loves and to dismantle the Escape Line, or watch his family perish. Into this deliriously thrilling melee steps the Contessa Giovanna Landini, a reckless, audacious, and magnetic member of the Italian Resistance who has the nerve to challenge Hauptmann’s authority.