Let me say right away that six months ago I could never have imagined the life I’m leading now. There I was, stuck in a life I didn’t particularly want, with a husband I didn’t particularly want either, to be honest, trying to make a nice home for him and all the while sure there was something more than my little corner of London and my dreary world.

Then war was declared. Stan was called up into the army and for the first time I could get a job. I couldn’t wait and found my perfect job in a little tea shop run by an old Russian woman. That was wonderful until the shop was bombed and Madame Olga was killed. But worse was to come: a few days later my house was bombed and I was buried in the rubble, left for dead.

So it seemed like a miracle that I was rescued, not too badly injured compared to some poor folks, and shipped out to the country—starting again with nothing, not one piece of clothing even. Almost like being reborn, you might say. The place I’m living in cannot be described exactly as jolly! Old Miss Harcourt who owns it is as toffy-nosed as they come, doesn’t want an evacuee and looks down her nose at someone like me who ain’t too well educated. Her maid Kathleen doesn’t want me there either, in spite of the fact that I’m already taking over some of the cooking and household chores. When my shoulder heals I’ve promised to do more. You’d think they might be grateful, but they are not.

My new life here isn’t entirely miserable. I’m not a sort of miserable person, for one thing. Always look on the bright side! The women in the village have made me feel welcome and the three little girls who were evacuated with me have landed with a lovely old couple who are also being good to me. I should mention that we’re not exactly in the peaceful countryside around here! Right next to a blooming bomber base! Every night we hear the roar of the planes as they take off for Germany. And every morning we watch them coming back, some badly damaged, some not coming at all. It’s a constant reminder that we’re never far from the war.

Soon after I arrived I met a pilot, a Canadian bloke, who gave me a lift home. He seems very nice and treats me with respect, which is nice. I won’t let anything come of it, of course. I have to remember that I’m married to Stan, wherever he is right now. And when he comes home I’ll have to go back to that narrow life in the city. I’m trying not to think about it.

Oh, and I met another young airman. He was sitting on our front wall, drenched with rain, his bike with a flat tire. Of course I invited him in for a cup of tea, much to Kathleen’s disapproval. He sat in our kitchen, looked around in wonder and said it reminded him of home. That gave me a lovely idea. What if we turned one of the unused rooms of this house into a little tea shop where the men could come for tea and a scone and for a few minute s feel they were safe and at home? I’ll try and convince Miss Harcourt to let me have a go. I don’t suppose she’ll agree but I’ll find a way.

So at the moment my day consists of helping with the shopping and any cooking I can do with one arm in a sling. I’ve also taken over the shopping because Kathleen is too lazy to walk into the village and I enjoy meeting people there, checking on my little girls. Miss Harcourt has found that I like to read so she’s grudgingly letting me use her library and I have time now. Maybe I’ll become an educated woman at last, just as I always dreamed of being. And if I can get that little tea shop going. . . well, would’nt that be something?

Your friend,
Josie Banks.

Where the Sky Begins
Genre: Historical
Release: August 2022
Purchase Link

A woman’s future is determined by fate and choice in a gripping WWII novel about danger, triumph, and second chances by the New York Times bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child.

London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go.

Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Awed as she is by the magnificent landscape, Josie sees opportunity. Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop, seeing it as a chance for everyone to begin again. When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot stationed at a neighboring bomber base, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace she’s never felt before. Then Stan returns from the war.

Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again. Her newfound courage will be put to the test if she is to emerge, like a survivor, triumphant.

About the author
Rhys Bowen is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including The Venice Sketchbook, The Victory Garden, The Tuscan Child, and the World War II-based In Farleigh Field, the winner of the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel and the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. Bowen’s work has won over twenty honors to date, including multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. A transplanted Brit, Bowen divides her time between California and Arizona.

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