The Sound of Light

Sundin (Until Leaves Fall in Paris) delivers a WWII romance about ordinary people who summon extraordinary courage in times of crisis. In 1940 Copenhagen, former Olympic rower Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt is at loose ends: nearly 30 and still a bachelor, he’s a disappointment to his aristocrat father and dissatisfied with himself. When the Nazis invade, Henrik, eager to “help someone other than himself for a change,” volunteers to row vital intel across the Sound to Allied forces in Sweden. The narrative flips ahead to a 1943 Copenhagen boardinghouse, where Henrik, under an alias, rooms with ambitious physicist Elsebeth and Jewish mathematician Laila. Else and Laila help publish a resistance paper, while Henrik works in the shipyard, and neither woman know his true identity. Henrik and Else become close, and after the Nazis institute martial law, the three friends attempt to help Danish Jews flee—but it’s unclear whether Else and Henrik will escape before the Gestapo find them. Sundin grounds this suspenseful tale in rich historical detail, weaving throughout probing questions of faith as characters struggle to behave in moral, godly ways, especially when it entails risking one’s life for a stranger. The author’s fans will find all the intrigue and depth they expect. (Feb.)