Elaine Stock has completed her Resilient Women of WWII with another strong book about two women who become friends and work together to fight against the Nazi hatred that had taken over Germany.

Edith lives with her sister and her mother in Amsterdam. Their father has been arrested and they are in fear of being arrested even though they have forged papers and live their lives as Christians. Their mother, Herta, decides to send both girls into hiding for their safety knowing that she may never see them again. Edith changes her name to Elsa and goes into hiding at a farm where several young people are staying. The farmer is only keeping them for the money that he gets from the resistance and he has raped Edith and several of the other girls living there. When she escapes, she flees to the nearest big city. She falls and hurts her ankle and is not able to continue her escape. She's befriended by Erich, a young man she knows nothing about and he takes her to his palatial home in Germany to recover. Once there, she feels that she has jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Erich's parents are staunch Nazis and she has no idea if Erich is a Nazi and if her life is in danger. After her recovery from her broken ankle, she's asked to be the teacher for two younger twins and is sent to room with Adela in a basement room. There the two women from totally different backgrounds become friends.

Vonni lived with her family in Czechoslovakia and left the family compound to try to find her father. As a member of the Roma group, she knows that her life is in danger because the Nazis are always on the lookout for the people they refer to as gypsies to send them to the camps. Her search for her father takes her to Vienna. When she gets sick, she is befriended by a young Jewish couple with two small children and takes the name Adela. When the Nazis start rounding up Jewish people in Vienna, the young couple disappear and Vonni is left alone. She's befriended by a young German man who takes her to his family home to recover and they hire her as a maid.

So now we have Elsa and Adela living in a palatial estate in the heart of Germany, both in fear of being found out that they are not the people they profess to be. What's worse is that the owner of the estate and his wife are strong and loyal members of the Nazi party. Are the two sons also Nazis who will turn in the two young girls or are they part of the resistance who will help them escape? When they flee to Vienna, they are scared that they will be discovered by the Nazis at the check points along the trip. Their trip to Vienna is a real nail biter and kept me turning the pages in hopes that they would remain safe.

This third book in the trilogy features two women who become friends and become stronger and more resilient as they work together to find a safe place. The author has done extensive research and its apparent on every page. This book could be read as a standalone with minimal confusion but there is a relationship between one of the women and her parents from book 2 that may caused some questions. My recommendation is to read all three of the books in the series in order for maximum enjoyment.

I read a lot of World War II fiction and this is one of the best series that I've read. All three books feature strong women from very different backgrounds who became friends and work to help each other stay safe. ( )