War, Spies, and Bobby Sox

Cover Image

WS&B is a finalist for Foreword Magazine’s 2017 INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the War/Military Category!

WS&B won the IPPY Silver Medal in the War/Military Category in 2017. IPPY is the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

WS&B was a finalist for the 2017 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year award (Indie Fiction)

As World War II rages across Europe and the Pacific, its impact ripples through communities in the heartland of America. A farm girl is locked in a dangerous love triangle with two German soldiers held in an Illinois POW camp … Another German, a war refugee, is forced to risk her life spying on the developing Manhattan Project in Chicago … And espionage surrounds the disappearance of an actress from the thriving Jewish community of Chicago’s Lawndale. In this trio of tales, acclaimed thriller author Libby Fischer Hellmann beautifully depicts the tumultuous effect of war on the home front and illustrates how the action, terror, and tragedy of World War II was not confined to the front lines.

Contents:
The Incidental Spy (a novella) was originally published in 2015.
“The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared” (short story) was published in 2005.
P.O.W. (a novella) was published for the first time in 2017.

Reviews

Libby Fischer Hellman powerfully illustrates what individuals could have faced while living in such perilous times. This is an engaging read with much food for thought.”

Judi Gigstad, BookReporter

Fast-reading and well told, the three tales are intriguing, smoothly written and enjoyable. (5 Stars)

Theodore Feit, Vine Voice

Libby Hellman has created the perfect novel traveling back to another time and place.”

Reviews by Teri

An entertaining and a thought-provoking read…The author’s passion for the topic also shines throughout the book.

Brian Johnson, Public Libraries Online

Libby Hellmann’s prose is powerful. Every part of her WW II era yarns are methodically researched, taut, twist-filled and colorful with well developed supporting characters. A gripping performance.’

Charles J. Masters, "Gliderman of Neptune, The American D-Day Glider Attack"

“Well-crafted and interesting…strong emotion and a sense of threat carry the story along.”

Historical Novel Society

“Libby Fischer Hellmann is one of the few authors who can surprise me nearly every time I pick up one of her books. Here, the surprise comes in her clear understanding of the World War II homefront, almost as though she had lived it herself.”

Buried Under Books, Lelia Taylor