M.K. Tod has another winner in TIME AND REGRET

Right up front let me say that I love M. K. Tod's World War I stories for they are a perfect mixture of war, romance, and home front details. They are always well-researched and presented.

From the blurb: "When Grace Hansen finds a box belonging to her beloved grandfather, she has no idea it holds the key to his past—and to long-buried family secrets. In the box are his World War I diaries and a cryptic note addressed to her. Determined to solve her grandfather’s puzzle, Grace follows his diary entries across towns and battle sites in northern France, where she becomes increasingly drawn to a charming French man—and suddenly aware that someone is following her…

Through her grandfather’s vivid writing and Grace’s own travels, a picture emerges of a man very unlike the one who raised her: one who watched countless friends and loved ones die horrifically in battle; one who lived a life of regret. But her grandfather wasn’t the only one harboring secrets, and the more Grace learns about her family, the less she thinks she can trust them."

Grace grew up in the care of her loving Grandfather and her stern Grandmother. Yet, even as we are reading of Grandmother's harsh ways and unsmiling countenance, one feels that there is more to her than the reader knows. It was a pleasure to learn the truth of this woman.

Years before his death, Grace's Grandfather left her a tackle box that she later learned contained a mystery...a mystery that would change her life. This is a premise that has been used many times lately, but few do it better than M.K. Tod. The journey that the clues led Grace to take, is a journey that I would love to take. While searching for answers to Grandfather's mystery, Grace visits the many sites where his regiment fought in WWI. She read her Grandfather's descriptions of a battle as she stood on the present-day site of that battle. Most of the sites are now, of course, cemeteries with towering monuments as the men who fought there are remembered and honored. The juxtaposition of the horror of her Grandfather's words and the serenity of the present scene was heart-wrenching yet beautiful.

Yes, Grace is at a point in her life when she needs to put it back together. Yes, there is a love story. Yes, there is a mystery man stalking her. These points should attract the romance readers, the mystery readers, and the readers who like to see a woman pull herself up and move on. For me, however, the strength of this book is the historical research and the beautiful way it is presented.

One strong theme comes through: the injustice of war. Injustice in the deaths, of course, but also in the changes it makes in the men who are, in her grandfather's words, turned into "weapons of destruction." That though is repeated several times but always in exactly the right way and at the right time.

This is a well-written, well-research historical fiction that should be on the reading list of anyone who is a fan of the genre and time period. I highly recommend it. 

The book will be published on August 16, 2016. It is available for pre-orders at https://www.amazon.com/Time-Regret-M-K-Tod/dp/1503938409

There is also a goodreads giveaway for 100 Kindle copies. Enter at https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_kindle_giveaway/195199-time-and-regret

I was given a gift copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so.