"'Well, Tim, you must understand that when people lose a war things are difficult. For us to be here with Dad we need a house.'"
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Flames in the Ruins by Gerald Holt Trafford Publishing
book review by Michael Radon
Following the devastation that spread through Europe in the wake of World War II, young Tim Athelstan is relocated from England to Germany after being mistreated at a boarding school. His father, an escaped prisoner of war, is living with the rest of Tim's immediate family in Germany helping with the aftermath and waiting to testify against his torturer in a war crimes trial. When a neighborhood sewer suspected of carrying black market traffic explodes, Tim is injured and is taken out of school while he recovers. In the meantime, he develops an even fiercer rivalry with a classmate and discovers a strange boy who appears to live in the town's ruins. Boyhood curiosity wraps Tim up into black market dealings and makes him a potential fraternizer; two secrets he must try to keep from everyone else.
Drawn from the author's own experiences in the bombing of London and subsequent relocation to Germany, many details of the descriptions used in the surroundings and customs of the time are quite vivid and notable. The book is not excessively graphic in its depictions, and the young protagonist make this book very appealing to younger readers hungry for adventure and mystery. While many of the motives of each character outside of the Athelstan family are kept hidden for quite some time, the book's pacing allows things to build up to a thrilling conclusion where all the reader's questions are answered. An understanding of the history behind World War II is not necessary to enjoy this book, and a glossary that translates the book's more crucial German phrases is included at the end.