Parade of Shadows by Gloria Whelan

In the year 1907, Julia Hamilton unexpectedly finds herself accompanying her diplomat father on a trip through Turkey. Having only lived the sheltered and carefully controlled life of a well behaved English girl, Julia is thrilled to leave her restrictive life behind. She quickly discovers, however, that all is not as it seems on this trip. Odd things are going on among the members of their traveling party. Everyone is behaving suspiciously, especially her father. Foreign intrigue, hidden motives, forbidden love—this story has all the elements of a good Agatha Christie novel.

Gloria Whelan has written many wonderful historical fiction novels covering many interesting periods of history. This book was no exception. However, I did find myself feeling a little overwhelmed with political information at times. It was difficult to sort out all the different political fractions and why each opposed the other for this or that reason. Despite this small complaint, I found this novel extremely enjoyable and found myself wishing I could hear more of Julia’s story. Here’s hoping for a sequel.

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