Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel

A marvelous tale of adventure, love, and the final portion of WWII. Read it!!! 6 stars if I could give it.
For some (illogical) reason I thought this book wouldn’t be great, since it was priced at $1.99. and I’ve read lots of Nazi/WWII books this year, but the author’s background comments prompted me to download it, and boy am I glad I did. This is a whale of a book, one you will get hooked on and read it well until the night until you’re finished. It is a fantastic book in so many ways. One, you will learn about WWII in Italy, which not many historical novels cover. Second, you will be treated to a magnificent story based on the true life experiences of “Pino” Lella, who until this book was written was an unknown hero, and follow his amazing story throughout the latter part of the war, when Germany “occupied” Italy (the Italy fascist leadership, led by Mussolini, was aligned with Hitler). Pino is a nondescript 17 year old, son of upper middle class parents, whose primary focus in life (as most 17 year old young men) was to have a good time with his friends and begin to enjoy the companionship of young women. As events unfold, Pino is nearing the point when he must take part in the war (enlist or get drafted/conscripted). If he joins the Nazi’s, he will be sent to the Russian front where the survival rate is about 50%, so his parents encourage him to join the “Organization Todt”, where Italian men stayed in Italy supporting the German war effort in building trucks, weapons, ammunition, and other supplies to aid the Nazis. Pino is vehemently opposed to helping the Nazis, whom he despises, but his father convinces him by telling him he can do more good as an “observer” (spy), passing inside information back to the Italian partisans resisting the German army. As it turns out, he has acquired expert driving skills, and through serendipitous events he is assigned as the “driver” for German General Hans Leyer, the #2 Nazi leader in Italy, with close ties to Hitler. Much of the book details his travels and service for General Leyer, and he is able to pass valuable intelligence back to the partisans. General Leyer has lodgings in Milan, and Pino meets and falls in love with the General’s Italian maid, Anna. That story line, their romance, is well written as well. As it begins to become clear that the Allies are making significant progress, General Leyer realizes that Germany will be defeated, and he begins to put in place records that will portray him as an American sympathizer, while still dutifully supplying needed equipment and food to the Nazi war effort. No spoilers here, but the end game in the book is extremely well-written, and through both tragedy and the joy of finally freeing Italy of the Nazis we have an eyewitness account of how the retreating Nazis, their fascist collaborators, and the partisans ultimately play significant roles in the final months and days of the war. The author is a true master (while relatively unknown, he is a frequent collaborator with James Patterson on many of his bestseller books). You will not laugh, but you may smile, and you will certainly be saddened. This is an epic saga that is movie worthy, and I just found out prior to writing this review that the movie has already been cast and will be released (most likely) in 2018. I loved this book. It was educational while also being a moving and compelling story. You will enjoy it on many levels, as I did, and I highly recommend you add it to your reading list. Again, one of the best books I’ve read this year, and in this genre, one of the best books, period.

best book I have read in a long time, could not put it down well worth the read.

A true story!! I was impressed with this 17 year old young man, Pino who rescued many Jewish people during WWII and also acted as a spy. However what is even more remarkable lies in the fact that he got involved in rescuing and spying without deciding to do so in the first place. Chance did! First, he was sent 9 months in the Alps with his brother and children to escape Milan bombing. He lived there with a priest who trained his physical condition in order to be able to cross the Alps. He did not know then that the ultimate aim was to get refugees over to Switzerland! But he did it willingly and for months, winter included, not only did Pino have to overcome the dangers of the Alps themselves, but also the threat of being discovered by the Germans. At 18, called back to Milan by his father, Pino had to enlist and became a General’s driver totally by chance! Pushed by his uncle to spy on the General, he did it as a matter of fact!!! The author met Pino(as well as other witnesses) who told him his story. This makes the events told here very reliable. A great read!

Italy’s wartorn soul could not stand the introspection war trials produced. So the stories of guilt and heroism have laid untold in the annals of history. The author takes up the challenge to expose the atrocities the Germans and Fascists committed in Milan and elsewhere is Northern Italy by describing the amazing life of one Italian teenager that dared to spy on Hilter’s right hand engineer as he ordered the brutal treatment of slaves, stole gold which he secreted to Switzerland, and ripped the last bit of food from starving Italians to keep his army fed.Written from Pino Lella’s perspective, the Italian’s culture of wonderful food, strong Catholic faith, and long centuries of history becomes a great backdrop to WWII. This story will make your soul soar and your eyes tear up as victory is followed by death and destruction.