What readers think of Two Storm Wood, plus links to write your own review.

This was exceptional writing of a very difficult and horrific time in our history - World War I at its very worst - the aftermath which left all of its horrors, betrayals, and rawness out in the open for those soldiers who literally were left to pick up the pieces and find some closure to it all. In the midst of it all comes a young proper English woman trying to find her missing fiancee. What she ends up face to face with is beyond comprehension. This novel is so intricately woven and, interspersed in the midst of it all are such detailed characters - totally bonded into the story. The author's descriptions of the characters and the atmosphere was so vivid - I totally felt a part of the story. I felt I was witnessing all that the characters were involved in - all the horrors left by this war and it's participants.
This is a part of history that should not be forgotten and with authors like Philip Gray - the history will live on and all that gave their lives or those who suffered so greatly in the aftermath will not be forgotten.

I did, however feel that as powerful as this novel was, the ending left confusion and felt a bit deflated. We shall see if that changes in the final version..

I was attracted to this novel because it was WWI story; there are so many WWII novels so I was happy to find something on WWI...But beware, the descriptions of war, death and mutilation are quite shocking and disturbing...I almost put the book aside, but what compelled me to stay with it was the intriguing mystery which drew me in.

Amy is in search of her fiancé, listed as "missing" on the battlefields of France. She made a promise to him and she is a determined woman who doesn't give up easily, in spite of British soldiers and brass who try to thwart her at every turn.

This is a book that some will find too gruesome to read but I stuck with it and I'm glad. I so admire the heroine's determination to head to "ground zero" and not budge until she got answers. What she discovers and how it all unravels is a very well structured mystery that pulls together nicely at the end.

This book brought to mind a "A Very Long Engagement";(1993) another WW! novel (and movie) with a missing fiancé. They both are good reads for those who like historical fiction interwoven with a love story that sheds much light on those "missing in action."

Because I love historical fiction this book was a treasure of WWI horrors. At times, I felt the detail went over the top and the scenes with rats almost impossible to read, but there are those who would find these appealing. I like the multiple interwoven tales of people whose lives were disrupted and broken by a war that really had no winner because it wiped put a whole generation. However, the switching from time to time was jarring, and I kept looking back to see where/when I had been and get a sense of how this fit in to where I was headed. The story is moving and worth the time needed to decipher the mysteries, but it is not light reading, not the usual mystery, and sometimes full of too much detail. Nevertheless, from a historical perspective, it is worth the effort.

Londoner Philip Gray is the new necromancer of war. Gray has conjured a female protagonist on the European Front, searching for her fiancée circa 1918. Standing in the aftermath of WWI, "Two Storm Wood" is a gothic romance with a psychological punch. The sordid aspects of war are horrendous as in the Kevin Powers, Iraq war novel "The Yellow Birds" and as in the Karl Marlantes, Vietnam Nam sorties in his novel , "Matterhorn"; but here, we are not in battle--but picking up the pieces. There are 5,000 unburied bodies for every mile walked. identification of the dead plays the most prominently, disfigurement second, and madness third.

Character driven and thematically focused, "Two Storm Wood" pits practical and idealistic souls in war's moral morass. Great foreshadowing in this heavily plotted tale keeps mystery alive. Underground chambers, colonies of rats, shell holes and trenches cut through burial sites mixed with tagged bodies and demented deserters. Dread builds; drugs, atrocities accumulate; racism and privilege raise their heads. War is seen as a contest of violence not of virtue. Amy, our protagonist, is in the vortex like no other heroine I can recall since Jane Eyre. Masterfully done.

A very compelling story of WWI. I have read quite a few historical fictions of this time period, but this one stands out. A very heart-wrenching story of love and loss. The author told the story in a way that the characters and the landscape descriptions came alive in your mind. Never knew too much about trench warfare and the aftermath of war and trying to identify those lost.

I'm always impressed with a book that keeps me reading while imparting knowledge about a totally new topic (to me). A particular battle during WWI, Two Storm Wood, in this case, is highlighted.
While trying to find her fiancee, (reported as missing in action) and bring his body home, a woman discovers stonewalling, subterfuge and possible evidence of a war crime.
The characters are defined enough that the reader can feel some connection and care about them.
When I read a historical novel I'm always to eager to delve deeper into it's accuracy. Many authors will address this at the end of the book but not this one. I repeatedly googled Two Storm Wood and was always given this book. Now, since this is an ARC, I suppose it could be added before publication. For people like me I think it would be very helpful.
I also couldn't find anything (in my rudimentary research) about any Chinese workers during WWI. It's interesting to note that even during wartime, when it is obvious that everyone's blood is red, racism seems to be always lurking, waiting for a chance to emerge.

Philip Gray's novel Two Storm Wood provides all the misdirection and moral ambiguity that you could want in a mystery.

Immediately after the World War I armistice, Amy Vanneck travels from England to France to get answers about the fate of her fiancé in the last months of the war. What does "missing in action" mean—is he really one of the unidentified bodies left on the battlefield or is he actually missing? Amy (and the reader) learns more than she may have expected about the conditions in France during and after the war. Many gruesome details are uncovered, including the activities of Chinese laborers brought to France to do jobs Allied soldiers can't or won't do. All this is background to the strange tale of what happened to her fiancé Edward Haslam in the site known as Two Storm Wood.

Spoiler alert: readers may need a strong stomach as details are revealed about a war than was even worse than you knew.

I found this book to be a very compelling read. Having read many novels based on WWI, I had never read any dealing with the subjects raised in this title. I won't mention those that are spoilers, but I honestly had never thought about who was responsible for retrieving the thousands of soldiers lost in the war. Gray's descriptions of Mackenzie and his men and their heartbreaking job of finding bodies after the war was well written and added much to the atmosphere of the story.
The story itself was quite good, although I was surprised at the amount of freedom Amy managed to have considering the times. I found it hard to believe that she was able to travel to the places she did, alone, in 1919.

Fortunately, Gray's style and story was good enough I could overlook that and read, almost without stopping, to the climactic ending!

I think the moving back and forth between years and characters was handled very well and added suspense to the mysteries of Edward's disappearance and the discovery at Two Storm Wood.

All in all, a great read.