This book is an unexpected treat. Yulsman, a photojournalist by profession, wrote only two novels. This is a shame; he should have written more. For a book that begins with an assassination, that of young Adolph Hitler in 1913, I find myself surprised to describe this book as charming. The novel has an intriguing narrative structure, the pleasure of puzzles to be solved, but its charm in no small part comes from the two captivating and enigmatic protagonists: the eponymous Elleander Morning, the assassin herself, and her granddaughter to whom she bears a striking resemblance. The author served in Europe and North Africa during WWII, and here he devotes himself once again to defeating the Nazis. This counterfactual world, one in which that war never occurred, is a satisfying place to spend some time.

A fantastic alternate history book that explores a possible future where WWII never happened. In the opening chapters, Elleander Morning, a London madam of ill repute, travels across the English Channel to Vienna. Upon arrival she tracks down and shoots to death an angry young Austrian artist. With the death of Adolf Hitler, WWII is averted. Or is it?

Yulsman writes a tightly plotted tale that includes the beautiful and resourceful title character and her grand-daughter Lesley who, in an alternate 1983, begins to piece together what really happened to her grandmother in the early years of the 20th century. The truth she uncovers is more fantastic than she could have ever imagined.

Highly recommended. ( )

fun read, unigue, held my attention all the way through ( )