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Susan Finlay
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Breadcrumbs and Bombs (Tangled Roots Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Susan Finlay (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 539 ratings
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In this riveting genealogy mystery and world war 2 historical novel, a young American, Lucas Landry, traces his ancestry, using breadcrumbs found in old WW2 diaries of two German girls in Germany and the Sudetenland.

Twenty-eight year old Lucas Landry, a Sacramento, California native, is a counseling psychologist specializing in drug abuse treatment, yet he couldn’t save his opioid-addicted father. His feelings about his father and his death get complicated when Lucas discovers his father hid secrets about their ancestry from Lucas and his brother. Lucas embarks on a journey to find answers: What other secrets were hidden, who are the Landrys, and where did they come from? Are Lucas and his estranged brother destined to repeat their ancestors’ mistakes?

A hidden attic in Lucas’s father’s old Victorian house is a goldmine of memorabilia and clues from the past, clues which seem to lead to Nazi Germany and the former Sudetenland, breadcrumbs to other lives. Ten year old Christa Nagel is an ethnic German living in the Sudetenland near the Polish border in 1943 with her parents and five younger siblings. When her father is conscripted into the Wehrmacht, leaving Christa and family alone to fend for themselves, she is horrified and worried for him. After a while, though, she’s not sure which is worse, fighting in the war or trying to keep their family together and safe. When the war ends, she and her family, as well as millions of other ethnic Germans, face expulsion from their home and are marched away into the unknown.

Fifteen year old Ilse Seidel, a German girl living in a small Bavarian city, knows more about danger than anyone her age should know. She’s survived bombings, lost loved ones, and witnessed Jewish friends being carted away from their homes. She wants nothing to do with the war or with soldiers. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she finds a wounded American soldier in need of help.

Lucas is determined to assemble these breadcrumbs, find out how their stories intertwine, and reveal his ancestry. Will what he learns make him feel better about himself and his family, or worse? Breadcrumbs and Bombs is about war, secrets, lies, prejudice, betrayal, guilt, love, genealogy, and what it means to be a family.

Praise for Breadcrumbs and Bombs: Another great book from Susan Finlay. It was particularly interesting to hear some of the untold perspectives from such an important and controversial time in history. Really interesting to hear how normal civilians in different parts of Europe were affected. The book also touches on some really hot topics like race, tolerance, identity, and the effect of stress on the human psyche. 5 Star Review
Breadcrumbs and Bombs is a compelling story about a subject lesser known to many Americans. It is well done by Susan as she takes a family from California to the Sudetenland and finally to Germany. Tracing family roots opens ones eyes to the possibilities of their own family. This is one of thousands of stories following WWII that could have happened as written. Especially pertinent for history buffs and for those curious about the unsettling situation in Europe at war's end. Complex and interesting throughout with side stories highlighting racial, ethnic, and religious problems that still exist today, Highly recommended. 5 Star Review
I love family history and this is excellently written. The story fascinating as I had little knowledge of this part of the war. I felt I knew the characters and suffered their pain with them. What a lovely end to the story. 5 Star Review
I will carry the memory of this book for a long time to come! 5 Star Review
Fabulous story about WWII, family, and the terrors of Sudetenland, and not knowing exactly where one fit in. The author weaves a tale of family both in modern America with flashbacks to WWII and the horrors that were experienced. 5 Star Review
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    Tangled Roots
  2. Print length
    336 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    January 7, 2018
  6. File size
    2684 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078W9KRC5
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (January 7, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 7, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2684 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 539 ratings

About the author

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Susan Finlay

Susan Finlay

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German-born Susan Finlay lives in the U.S. Southwest. She's an avid writer, genealogist, photographer, reader, researcher, and traveler.

She is excited to announce her newest book is now available! "Bohemia and Broken Hearts" was released on the 25th of April, 2023. It's another sequel to her bestselling book, "Breadcrumbs and Bombs: A Tangled Roots Historical Mystery". Each book in her Tangled Roots series and its spinoff series Tangled Roots II, is a dual-timeline story, meaning it has two settings/time periods, one in modern times and one in the past, most of them during WWII.

Susan has authored seventeen novels, all of them containing mystery, suspense, and/or time travel. Her books cover various time periods, such as WWII, the American Old West, 18th-Century Germany, 19-Century France, and modern-day U.S., France, and Germany.

You can find Susan's website and blog at: https://www.susanfinlay.com/. You can contact her via the contact form on her website. You can also find her on Facebook and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/susansbooks37/.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
539 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

LFurman
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent WWII Historical Novel From the Perspective of Ethnic German Civilians
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2022
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Our US history books and classes teach the horrors of the Holocaust, but we are really never exposed to what the ethnic German civilians endured during WWII. Susan Finlay not only weaves a thoroughly intriguing story, she also must have done an incredible amount of research for her Tangled Roots series! She takes the reader through the day-to-day survival experiences during the war years that the women and children had to endure, as well as terrifying and horrific ravages that the war forced upon them. The reader feels for these innocent people. I grew up hearing about WWII from my fighter-pilot father, who fought in Europe. One character, Ron, a US Army Air Corps pilot, shot down behind enemy lines, could have been my dad (although Dad returned home safely, never having been shot down). Ron was born the same year as my father and flew over the same territory that he did. Both my dad and Ron are also Jewish. This made Susan's story even more personal to me. In addition, the war years and characters are intertwined with modern-day descendants, searching for their ancestry. There is much to unpack in this first novel in the series. I am looking forward to reading the next books. Brava, Susan!
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Katie
4.0 out of 5 stars Good characters & interesting view of history
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2023
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This was a new angle of W WII for me. I was not familiar with the Ethnic Germans living in Chechen land. It was sad but heartwarming as well
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Agnes Bullock
3.0 out of 5 stars What is it with spelling and grammar?
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2019
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Story way too convoluted and mistakes hard-working a Catholic family is raising an illegitimate child Jewish and protestant? The Jewish made sense but not the protestant. Wish editors did their jobs via a bus spelling grammar and story line
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5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent family story
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2023
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This story was well written and not overly endowed with genealogical mumbo jumbo. I'm a family genealogist for 62 years and I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of multiple families in a time of turmoil and discention. Strongly recommend it to all readers.
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Larry Murley, Author of Loss of Innocence, A Viet Nam War Story & After Bloody Shiloh
4.0 out of 5 stars Your Genealogy is the foundation of your own life, study it well.
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2022
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I was quite taken with Susan's Story of Lucas Landry's family, I am sure is was not far different than that of many people especially those trapped within the boundaries of the War in Germany during WWII. It was an intriguing story though, I found it inspiring to watch those families trying to survive. It was survival at it's most difficult level. I have been a genealogist for 54 years. So I understand how Lucas and Tawny could get sucked into this mystery, the diaries and records being recorded in languages that not fully in their grasp, German, Czechoslovakian. They did not know these people, or even how they related to each other. It is a story of people uniting through hardship, finding love in a world gone mad, and coming to grips with their own feelings and prejudices. It is a good read, I recommend it. Good job Susan.
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Jim Brumm
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting peek into a part of World War ll I didn't know about
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2021
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Breadcrumbs and bombs is one of the few books about World War ll that introduced me to Germans who were sympathetic characters, rather than just monsters. This is a story that takes the reader from the present, where the main character discovers a treasure trove of family photos, writings and memorabilia in a hidden attic, and attempts to trace the history of his own family, to Germans living in the Sudetenland during the war, peaceful victims who are themselves victims of Hitler, trapped in the middle of a conflict they did not choose. There is war, family drama, angst, heroism, and plenty of surprises to be found within these pages. As a lifelong fan of World War ll fiction, this book was an exciting pleasure to read and offered a unique take on a part of the war I had not yet been exposed to.
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Gary Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Historically significant
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2018
Verified Purchase
"Breadcrumbs and Bombs" is a compelling story about a subject lesser known to many Americans. It is well done by Susan as she takes a family from California to the Sudetenland and finally to Germany. Tracing family roots opens ones eyes to the possibilities of their own family. This is one of thousands of stories following WWII that could have happened as written. Especially pertinent for history buffs and for those curious about the unsettling situation in Europe at war's end. Complex and interesting throughout with side stories highlighting racial, ethnic, and religious problems that still exist today, Highly recommended.
3 people found this helpful
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ursula borck
4.0 out of 5 stars Breadcrumbs and Bombs
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2019
This is an interesting book with fictional characters set into different historic eras before, and during WWII as well as our modern time and gives an important informational insight into the historical happenings.

Ms. Finlay has woven all of this very cleverly together to show the reader under what conditions people had to live to survive - hopefully. Also it is an example of how families spread out over different continents not even aware anymore of family ties in other countries, partially also due to secrets within part of the family.

The book is truly a representative story of the 20th century and our times. I have enjoyed reading it.

Ursula Borck
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Top reviews from other countries

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Valerie Tate
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a compelling book, at times heartwarming and ...
Reviewed in Canada on January 9, 2018
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This is a compelling book, at times heartwarming and other times heartbreaking. It follows the lives of several families under Nazi occupation in the Sudetenland in the final year of WWII and Lucas Landry who is trying to find his own family's roots in the aftermath of his father's death. Susan Finlay skillfully weaves the various story lines together and keeps you reading on.
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Leseratte
5.0 out of 5 stars Spurensuche
Reviewed in Germany on January 20, 2018
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Der 28 Jahre alte Lucas Landry, gebürtig aus Sacramento, California, Psychologe, spezialisiert in der Behandlung von Drogenabhängigen, konnte seinen eigenen opioidabhängigen Vater nicht retten. Seine Gefühle gegenüber seinem Vater und dessen Tod werden kompliziert, als er entdeckt. dass sein Vater viele Geheimnisse ihrer Vorfahren vor ihm und seinem Bruder verheimlicht hat. Lukas begibt sich auf eine Reise, um Antworten zu finden: Welche Geheimnisse hat sein Vater verheimlicht, wer sind die Landrys, und woher kamen sie? Sind Lucas und sein mit ihm zerstrittener Bruder dazu bestimmt, die Fehler der Vorfahren zu wiederholen? Ein versteckter Dachboden in dem alten viktorianischen Haus von Lucas' Vater ist eine Goldmine an Erinnerungen und Hinweisen aus der Vergangenheit. Hinweise, die nach Nazi Deutschland und das frühere Sudetenland zu führen scheinen. Krümel zu anderer Leben.
Die 10 Jahre alte Christa Nagel ist eine völkische Deutsche, die 1943 mit ihren Eltern und Geschwistern im Sudetenland in der Nähe der polnischen Grenze lebt. Als ihr Vater zur Wehrmacht eingezogen wird und ihre Familie sich nun selbst überlassen bleibt, ist sie entsetzt und besorgt um ihn. Nach einiger Zeit ist sie nicht mehr sicher, was schlimmer ist, im Krieg zu kämpfen oder der Versuch, die Familie zusammenzuhalten und in Sicherheit zu wissen. Nach Ende des Krieges sind sie und ihre Familie genau so wie Millionen andere völkische Deutsche mit der Vertreibung konfrontiert, auf einem Weg in eine ungewisse Zukunft.
Die 15 Jahre alte Ilse Seidel, ein deutsches Mädchen, lebt in einer kleinen bayerischen Stadt und weiß mehr über Gefahr als jemand in ihrem Alter wissen sollte.Sie überlebt Bombardierungen, verliert Menschen, die ihr lieb sind, und erlebt, wie jüdische Freunde aus ihren Wohnungen weggekarrt werden. Sie will nichts mit Krieg und Soldaten zu tun haben. Ihr Leben nimmt eine dramatische Wende, als sie einen verwundeten Soldaten findet, der Hilfe braucht.
Lucas ist entschlossen, diese Krümel zusammenzufügen, herauszufinden, wie die Geschichten zusammenhängen und seine Vorfahren zu entdecken. Wird das, was er entdeckt, ihn besser oder schlechter über seine Familie denken lassen? Breadcrumbs and Bombs ist eine Geschichte über Geheimnisse, Lügen, Vorurteile, Verrat, Schuld, Liebe, Ahnenforschung, und was es bedeutet, Familie zu sein.

Soweit eine Übersetzung der auf Amazon verfügbaren englischen Information über das Buch.

Das Buch ist sehr gut recherchiert und spannend und kurzweilig geschrieben. Da ich selbst Vorfahren aus Schlesien habe, sind mir viele der beschriebenen Situationen vertraut. Besonders spannend fand ich die Frage, was ist Familie und wie wichtig ist es, eine zu haben. Das andere große Thema Ahnenforschung hat gezeigt, dass man nie früh genug damit anfangen kann, nach seinen Vorfahren zu fragen, denn meistens findet man, wie auch in diesem Buch, erst Informationen, wenn die betreffende Person schon verstorben ist. Für jeden, der sich mit Ahnenforschung beschäftigt, eine interessante Geschichte.
Für mich ein absolut lesenswertes Buch. Ich konnte es nicht aus der Hand legen. Die Kriegserlebnisse der beteiligten Familien sind manchmal etwas erschreckend, verdeutlichen aber die gegen Kriegsende herrschenden Verhältnisse.
Am Ende, ...... das verrate ich nicht.
Schön wäre eine deutsche Übersetzung.
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Melanie SJ Dent
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling celebration of human resilience
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2018
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This is a story celebrating the incredible resilience and determination of the human spirit and its indestructible nature as well as the survival against all odds.

A tale of people struggling through the Second World War in the Sudetenland interspersed with the modern day tale of a young man discovering family secrets after inheriting his childhood home following the death of his father.

I love the way that Susan Finlay seamlessly blends past with present to weave this compelling tale. I have enjoyed her previous books but this is her absolute best.

Highly recommended
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Mrs. Gabrielle Hall
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting historical content
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2020
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It is the first time I have read about these historical events and it has whet my appetite which is always a bonus. The writing however deteriorates, it started well but may have been rushed and poor editing did not help. It really did not live up to a promising opening. I did finish the book and unraveled the complex family history but feel that a simpler construction with more attention to writing skills rather than over plotting may have produced a better read.
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pamneil
5.0 out of 5 stars Family history re-told
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2019
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I liked the various characters from all nations, finding out about the expulsions was new for me. I understand a little more about the aftermath of WW11 now. This book helped me recognise that there are good and bad people on all sides of any conflict. as a family historian myself the linked stories were fascinating. Well told story.
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