We meet three wonderful characters in 1944 London.

Charlie Matters who wears tattered clothes, too-small shoes, who lies to his grandmother, who quit school, and steals things.

Molly Wakefield who just returned home to her well-to-do neighborhood after being with a family in the country to avoid the London bombings.

Ignatius Oliver who befriends both Charlie and Molly, who owns a bookstore, and who Charlie stole from.

How do they become friends? What brings them together?

These three unlikely characters were brought together because they all needed someone.

The book focused on friendship and people taking care of each other.

The storyline was quite engaging, and I loved Charlie Matters for his scrabbly, trying-to-stay alive-and-out-of-the-workhouse personality and also for some of his honest deeds.

Charlie’s Grandma was wonderful as well - I think she knew all the things Charlie was up to.

Molly and Oliver were just lonely, wonderful people.

If you need a heartwarming, but heartbreaking read at times, this is it.

There is even a bit of a mystery along with short, pull-you-in chapters. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Strangers in Time, David Baldacci, author; narrated by David Baldacci, Stewart Crank, Alexandra Boulton, John Lee, Nicola F. Delgado, Matthew Lloyd Davies, Joe Pitts.
In 1939, Molly Wakefield lived in a beautiful home with her parents, in the lap of luxury. Her father worked with the government. When war broke out, the decision was made to send her away from London and into the country to keep her safe and away from Hitler’s bombs. Five years had passed and at nearly sixteen, she decided that having heard little from her family, it was time to return home. She had not experienced many of the effects of the war where she had been sent to live, and upon returning home, in 1944, she realized her home had escaped the destruction, as well. She seemed a bit naïve about the situation, unaware of the terrible destruction and death, though very much aware of the injuries because she had helped out with the wounded at her local hospital in the country. She realized that although her home looked a bit tired, it was basically the same as it always had been. Inside, though, most of the servants and her parents were nowhere to be found. No one had come to meet her, although she had posted a letter to them. Only Mrs. Pride, her former nanny, answered the door. Mrs. Pride seemed unable or unwilling to provide much information to Molly as to the whereabouts of her mother and father.
Eloise Wakefield had been brutally attacked in a shelter and the police refused to investigate it thoroughly. Instead, they simply said it was wartime and her mother would recover. She grew worse. Mr. Wakefield blamed himself for what had happened to her. He had lost sight of her and was unable to protect her in the mayhem of the air raid. When Molly learned why her father had disappeared and what had happened to her mother, she wanted even more information. She also learned that their bank accounts had been closed, and she would have to discover why. She believed she could manage and resolve the problems. The war had matured this very young girl into a capable young woman.
On Molly’s first day back at home, she noticed a young boy looking at her house. It was the Honorable Charles Elias Matters, who was almost fourteen! She had no way of knowing that he was scoping out her home with the intent of eventually robbing it, but she also noticed, something else that was strange. The house was being watched by someone else, a man. It was very curious. Why would someone be watching her or her house?
When circumstances threw Molly and Charlie together, a great friendship bloomed between them. They both also became great friends with the bookseller, Ignatius Oliver, a widower. His wife Imogen had died. She had been the original proprietor of the Book Keep. When, after a dreadful air raid, both children were now penniless and homeless, with no guardian to speak of, Oliver stepped in to care for and protect them although the three came from different worlds. Charlie comes from abject poverty, Ignatius barely ekes out a living from his bookstore, and Molly was once an heir to a fortune.
Ignatius lived alone since his wife had died. He missed her terribly. Charlie lived in abject poverty with his grandmother, but then she died. He had slept in a box barely big enough for him, in a space that was hardly bigger than a closet. He was a thief, but only to put bread on the table for them. He had quit school, but kept it from his grandmother. She insisted he go to school. Molly lived in grand style in a room in the house that had not changed in the five years she had been gone. There was an automobile in the garage, but no driver to drive it. Charlie’s parents were dead, Molly’s were missing. How had Imogen died? War had made strange bedfellows.
Charlie was a principled thief who stole only from those who had more than enough, not those like him. He was ashamed of his stealing, but felt he had no other choice. He had actually recently robbed the bookstore of the very Ignatius Oliver, which is what had led to their friendship. When he realized Oliver was poor too, he had pangs of conscience and guilt. He went back to the store and returned to Mr. Oliver, what he had taken. He had a problem, though, when he returned, he had also witnessed the bookseller making an odd late-night trip to pick up some papers. That made him suspicious about what he could possibly be doing so late at night, especially on nights with bombs possibly falling at any time. The bookseller was also an air raid warden. This circle did not square. Both Charlie and Molly hoped he was not doing anything nefarious, because then they would have to go to the police. This man who had saved them could not possibly be in trouble, could he?
Meanwhile, in Charlie’s poor, bombed-out neighborhood, there were two bullies that he had run with at one time, Eddie Gray and Lonzo Rossi. They were orphans who had escaped from the orphanage and stole also, in order to survive, but they had little in the way of a conscience and were polar opposites of Charlie. They would rob and threaten to hurt anyone that crossed them. They were sad and lonely, angry and dangerous. Still, what they were was this: young boys alone in a world of war that they had no control over. They had no mentor or guide. At least Charlie had his gran to help to keep him on the straight and narrow. Charlie had told them some things about what he had seen and done at the booksellers. Also, they had watched and sometimes followed Charlie. One day, they pulled out a knife and threatened Charlie and his grandmother. They wanted Charlie to help them rob Molly and/or the bookstore owner. Finally, after terrifying him, in order to save his grandmother’s life, he agreed to rob the bookstore again. Tragically, the robbery went terribly wrong, and in the end, Eddie was killed, run over by a lorry, along with the Constable who was chasing the three boys. Soon the police would be after Lonzo and Charlie for the murder of the Constable and Eddie. They both feared they would be hung.
When Lonzo tried to enlist in the military to escape and find a new life, he was recognized and arrested. Abused by the police, he gave up information on Charlie’s whereabouts. Molly and Ignatius knew that Charlie was certainly not guilty of murder, but Charlie was terrified, and he ran away. Molly had medical training because of the war, caring for the wounded. She had secured a job helping to care for and comfort the wounded soldiers. When Lonzo turned up in her care, it was obvious that he had been beaten. She told Ignatius, who told his friend Major Bryant, who brought justice down for Lonzo and also Charlie. What did Lonzo’s injuries expose?
Most everyone was trying to help each other, in these terrible times of war, but secrets and bodies kept cropping up. The description of the shortages, the air raids, the shelters, the ration books, the espionage and the waiting lines, the abusive soldiers and corrupt law enforcement were all compelling. I was able to paint horrific pictures in my mind of scenes of destruction that were coupled with moments of extraordinary courage. The descriptions of the wartime bombings and the lack of proper medical treatments were in stark contrast to the technology of today. There were deep insights revealed about behavior that results from traumatic experiences. The actions of Molly’s parents, people like Desdemona Macklin and Cedric, Mr. Willoughby, the soldiers and Constables, Lonzo and Eddie, Imogen and Ignatius, shone a light on the terrible choices and the reasons that they are made, sometimes even for the selfish and obsessive need for revenge, especially during wartime. Betting on the wrong horse can be catastrophic for the innocent victims as well as the villains.
What drove Molly’s mother Eloise mad? Why did her father disappear? Why did her relatives, the Tinsdales, take in both Molly and Charlie? How did the rest of their lives work out? Why were the British soldiers murdered? Are lobotomies still used for mental illness? This was an intriguing tale of war and its consequences, but in some ways, it felt like it was meant for the young adult, rather than adults. However, that could be because two of the three most memorable characters were young teenagers.