From ‘Cowboys and Indians’ and ‘Desperadoes’ back in my early university days, to ‘Star of the sea’ which he still gets letters about every week, to ‘Ghost light’ ‘Redemption falls’ - so many cracking reads over the years.

Based on an extraordinary true story, My Father's House is a powerful literary thriller from a master of historical fiction. As a note, Pope Pius XII seemed to know of O'Flaherty's activities and knew what he did could endanger the Vatican, but allowed him to continue. The story has a good sense of place and emergency but is also interspersed with transcripts of interviews for the other members of O’Flaherty’s ‘Choir,’ which is the cover for his activities. My only previous experience of Joseph O’Connor’s work is his novel Shadowplay, a fictionalized account of the life of Bram Stoker which was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Fiction 2020.This book is based on the true story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty who risked his life to save smuggle thousands of Jews and escaped Allied prisoners out of Italy. It was a dangerous game they played with Hauptmann, one where their own lives would have been extinguished if found they housed and kept Jews safe.

I was held captive with O’Connor’s premise; a choir conductor and choir preparing for a performance! At great risk to themselves and family, some Romans helped escaped Allied prisoners and Jews, providing train tickets in false names, which helped them flee to Switzerland. I’d never heard of ‘the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican’ before and was curious as to how he hid and protected so many from the Nazis. My Father’s House is based on the true story of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who risked his life to smuggle thousands of Jews and escaped Allied prisoners out of Italy under the nose of his Nazi nemesis. I dreaded putting the book down because I knew it meant I had to reread previous sections to familiarize myself with what was happening before I could continue.It was also wonderful to read about a churchman as a hero instead of a villain, as has so happened in recent times. The author slowly deals out information about our cast members, moving back and forth in time through flashbacks to events before Dec. This novel revolves around Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, based in Rome during WWII and the organiser of an escape route for prisoners of war. Driven by a deluded patriotism, he dreams of delivering to Hitler a conquest that will strengthen his career and bring prosperity to his family. He heavily suspects O'Flaherty of being the mastermind, but his efforts to trap him keep falling flat.

Each chapter was read by one of the narrators listed above and we see the setting and atrocities through their eyes.The Vatican City, at one fifth of a square mile the world’s smallest state, a neutral, independent country within Rome, acted as a safe haven for diplomats, refugees, and escaped Allied prisoners. Enormous thanks to Joseph O'Connor, Dreamscape Media (wonderful narrators Barry Barnes; Stephen Hogan; Barnaby Edwards; Laurence Bouvard; Aoife Duffin; Gertrude Toma; David John; Roberto Davide; Thomas Hill) and Netgalley for a copy of this astonishing story due out January 31, 2023. That book utilised a number of structural techniques including diary entries, letters and transcripts of conversations as well as more traditional third person narration, and the same is true of this latest novel. The characterisation is superb, you get a real feel for the distinctiveness of each member of the Choir, and the exceptional character and personality of Hugh himself, a man who knows Rome like the back of his hand, for whom the city is his true home. All the characters are well fleshed out and the author skillfully brings all the threads of the story together weaving a cohesive, intense and suspenseful narrative that is hard to put down.

During the nine-month occupation of Rome, eighteen hundred Roman Jews were deported to the death camps. What an ensemble of narrators: Aoife Duffin; Gertrude Toma; Barry Barnes; Stephen Hogan; Barnaby Edwards; Laurence Bouvard; David John; Roberto Davide; Thomas Hill. However, I would still recommend this book for the way in which O'Connor brings history to life - Monsignor O'Flaherty is one of those rare, real-life heroes whose story deserves to be remembered.This book is inspired by the true story of Monsignor O'Falherty,an Irish priest working in the Vatican who helped smuggle Jews and POW'S out of Italy during WW2. A small band of unlikely friends led by a courageous Irish priest is drawn into deadly danger as they seek to help those seeking refuge. How wrong they were, for the courageous Hugh tries to improve the conditions and raise the morale of the prisoners, many of whom were mere boys, whilst remorselessly castigating those running the nightmare camps. For those Romaphiles among us, we see the sights – to assist us, there is a detailed map inside the front cover (I love maps). At any moment, the Gestapo might uncover the operation performed by a courageous, unassuming cast of remarkable characters who risked their lives for the betterment of others.