The novel ‘Foula and Beyond’ is now out and it is the final chapter in the ‘Estonia’ series, after ‘Finnish Boys’ and ‘Forest Brothers’.
**Spoiler Alert**
The story continues from the end of Forest Brothers. Huw, Maarja and Juhan, having escaped to the UK, have settled in a small fishing village in Shetland – the base of the Norwegian Resistance Bus. Known as the ‘Shetland Bus’, the trio settle into life there quickly.
However, news comes, that the traitor, Godfrey, has escaped. Juhan is recruited to assist in the manhunt. He is teamed up with the SOE operative, Jenny, to try and stop Godfrey escaping. Despite her early condescension, she grows to acknowledge his input. In the meantime Huw and Maarja try to work out how to help, with the assistance of the Norwegians.
The tale is completed following a series of intrigues from the east coast of Scotland to Orkney and Shetland. Once again, the back story includes many acknowledgments to perhaps lesser known places and pieces of history for that time. It was a pleasure to get the opportunity to highlight them, as a small tribute to the people who lived through the events.
One key thing for me was a peerie recognition of the Shetland dialect. The protagonists had settled in to the islands and the dialect is a very strong, broad-accented variant, that is proudly spoken by the islanders. I did manage to get an islander to check out the syntax, as I wanted as accurate examples as possible. For background to other venues and events mentioned, I will be posting further in the next few weeks!
The book is available via this website and Amazon.
