The Crimson Thread, Kate Forsyth
The Crimson Thread, Kate Forsyth
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The Crimson Thread

Author: Kate Forsyth

Narrator: Zoe Carides, Aaron Tsindos, Socratis Otto

Unabridged: 13 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/05/2022

Synopsis

In Crete during World War II, Alenka, a young woman who fights with the resistance against the brutal Nazi occupation, finds herself caught between her traitor of a brother and the man she loves, an undercover agent working for the Allies.May 1941. German paratroopers launch a blitzkrieg from the air against Crete. They are met with fierce defiance, the Greeks fighting back with daggers, pitchforks, and kitchen knives. During the bloody eleven-day battle, Alenka, a young Greek woman, saves the lives of two Australian soldiers.Jack and Teddy are childhood friends who joined up together to see the world. Both men fall in love with Alenka. They are forced to retreat with the tattered remains of the Allied forces over the towering White Mountains. Both are among the seven thousand Allied soldiers left behind in the desperate evacuation from Crete’s storm-lashed southern coast. Alenka hides Jack and Teddy at great risk to herself. Her brother Axel is a Nazi sympathizer and collaborator and spies on her movements.As Crete suffers under the Nazi jackboot, Alenka is drawn into an intense triangle of conflicting emotions with Jack and Teddy. Their friendship suffers under the strain of months of hiding and their rivalry for her love. Together, they join the resistance and fight to free the island, but all three will find themselves tested to their limits. Alenka must choose whom to trust and whom to love and, in the end, whom to save.

About Kate Forsyth

Kate Forsyth is an Australian writer and prizewinning author of more than thirty books, including novels for adults and children. She won five Aurealis Awards in a single year for her Chain of Charms series.

About Zoe Carides

Zoe is an accomplished actor who's been treading the boards - and various other floor coverings - for about thirty years.Her voice is naturally warm, sincere and friendly, but she can also project to the back row of the Opera House or belt out a cry of joy/anguish if needed (just off-mic, of course) - all the while retaining a truth and authenticity which has won her a Helpmann Award, an AFI nomination, and makes her an exceptional voiceover artist.Zoe has voiced countless campaigns including McDonalds, Origin, Elevit, Ancestry.com, and has been the voice of National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild for many years now.She's also recorded several audiobooks, evoking many different characters with ease and depth, whilst narrating each novel with nuanced understanding of its particular content and intention.She can take complex direction and deliver immediate results, making her a favourite with clients and studios alike.When not in voice studios, or acting on stage, film and television, she also enjoys fronting her Nancy Sinatra tribute band!Yep, those boots are made for walking - and this voice is made for talking!(And singing, of course ;))

Reviews

Goodreads review by Karren on June 02, 2022

May 1941. When thousands of German paratroopers start floating down from the sky, the war arrives in Heraklion in Crete and it will last for three long years. Alenka is extremely worried, her younger brother Axel is part German, he’s the only person on the island who’s excited when they launch their......more

Goodreads review by Natasha on March 16, 2022

There’s a reason why Kate Forsyth is one of Australia’s most beloved storytellers – it’s because she writes such enchanting tales. The Crimson Thread and its wonderful main character Alenka will weave their way around your heart and you won’t want to let them go. A gripping story about a fascinating......more

Goodreads review by Janelle on February 23, 2022

Kate Forsyth is a writer that I’m always happy to see has a new book and this one was a great read. An historical novel set on Crete during the Second World War, it documents the bravery of the Cretan people in resisting the nazi occupation and helping the allied forces hiding in the mountains and vi......more

Goodreads review by Jülie ☼♄  on August 09, 2022

OMG I want more!! Love, love, loved this book! Just wonderful. And a most beautiful cover too! Oh my goodness, I’m sad to come to the end of it. What an amazingly talented author is Kate Forsythe, I’m in awe of her skills, to be able to weave and plot and fashion such a complex amount of information into......more

Goodreads review by Christine on February 20, 2022

I love all of Kate Forsyth's books but I think this might be my favourite! A spellbinding tapestry of a novel steeped in the rich, vibrant culture and mythology of Crete, THE CRIMSON THREAD is a story of tragedy and heroism, of the men and women oppressed by Nazi occupation, their amazing courage an......more

Quotes

“Kate Forsyth’s masterful gift for recasting classic fairy tales in fiction is unmatched! In The Crimson Thread she sets the legend of Ariadne and the minotaur in WWII Greece, where a resourceful Cretan beauty is caught dangerously between a brash Australian soldier, his shy poet best friend, and her own Hitler-obsessed younger brother as her village comes under fire in the brutal German invasion of Crete. Love, jealousy, war, espionage, and myth combine in a tale as complex and beguiling as Ariadne’s labyrinth—I couldn’t put it down!”  Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

“No one spins a tale quite like Kate Forsyth with her musical prose and vivid details that twine together into story threads as timeless as a Greek epic. Family, honor, war, love. It’s all there in her latest novel, The Crimson Thread, set on the wild and beautiful island of Crete—and the horror of the Nazi invasion. The Crimson Thread is a compelling and engaging must-read for fans of WWII fiction!” Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of The Next Ship Home

“A spellbinding tale of resistance and love in WWII Crete. Courage, sacrifice, and betrayal form the backdrop for a Homeric love triangle, where a young woman faces impossible choices in a time of struggle and survival. Forsyth never fails to enchant with her masterful loom, weaving myth and history into her unique tapestries.” C. W. Gortner, author of Mademoiselle Chanel

“The Crimson Thread is a lyrical, majestic work of fiction. Kate Forsyth writes beautifully about the mythic and the romantic, about the minotaur hidden in a maze, about ruins of the palace of Knossos on Crete and the brutal, heartbreaking moments that entrap all. I didn’t want the book to end!” Weina Dai Randel, award-winning author of The Last Rose of Shanghai 

“I was surprised and delighted…I heartily enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.” San Francisco Book Review (5 stars)

“Kate Forsyth’s new novel, The Crimson Thread, weaves myth and history in a dazzling tapestry of love, courage, and war. Set on Crete during WWII with the Palace of Knossos at its heart, Forsyth conjures a labyrinthine tale to rival Ariadne’s. Alenka, a young woman in the Cretan resistance, bravely faces not only the occupying forces but a monstrous half brother and two rival lovers. The tale deftly ties real history and cameos from people like Patrick Leigh Fermor seamlessly into the lives of the fictional characters. Lose yourself in this war story where love is the light which guides you home.” Kate Lord Brown, author of The Perfume Garden

“A riveting tale of courage, love, and betrayal in Crete during WWII…Bookstores are awash in novels depicting the depredations of Nazi occupation in various European countries, but Greece’s travails rarely appear in fiction—the Cretan experience, hardly ever. This makes the wide-ranging and suspenseful The Crimson Thread all the more interesting and oddly timely. The way it highlights the courage and determination of Cretans in fighting the enemy brings to mind the stalwart resolve of Ukrainians bravely doing the same today.” Washington Independent Review of Books

“A welcome addition to the WWII genre…This story has all the elements of a spy novel, a frontline war novel, and a wartime romance, all wrapped up in the mythology of the Minotaur, Theseus, and, of course, Ariadne…There are many wonderful WWII novels out there, and I would put The Crimson Thread among them. Highly recommended.” Historical Novels Review

Awards

  • Library Journal Editor’s Pick
  • Washington Post Pick
  • Audible Editors Top Pick
  • Kobo Pick
  • Shelf Awareness Pick
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