Palace of Tears

I very much enjoyed Palace of Tears by Julian Leatherdale which is a family saga set mainly in the Blue Mountains from World War I till 2013.  Adam Fox builds a high class hotel in the Blue Mountains before WWI and he has some German employees (Australian citizens).  Fox is a good-looking charismatic man who has a relationship while married to his chronically ill wife. His son and the daughter of his then mistress become good friends.  A tragedy strikes which changes everything.  Meanwhile in 2013, Fox's granddaughter Lisa is trying to find out more about her family history with the help of a young historian.  Lisa's mother Monika is in a nursing home with Alzheimer's and Lisa realises she doesn't have much time to find out what happened to the family.  This is a story of a family with secrets.  The author has also shone a light on what happened to Germans, or descendants of Germans during and after the Wars.  They were kept in concentration camps and many were deported to Germany following WWI and some family members went with them.  German descendants who had sons fighting with the British were not immune to ostracism or hatred, losing their jobs and their homes. A good story with a historical background. 4/5