My Name is Eva by Suzanne Golding is an engrossing World War II historical fiction that takes place from modern-day England and back to Germany during the war years.

The year is 2016 and Evelyn Taylor-Clark, in her nineties, is in an English elder care facility. Although she is still quite alert, she pretends that she suffers from dementia. When her niece and an Inspector visit her, they ask questions about what the niece has found in the house on Evelyn’s large English manor. The Inspector particularly wants to learn what she knows about a Colonel Robinson.

The story reverts to 1939 when Evelyn writes to her husband who is serving in the British Armed Forces. She’s worried that she hasn’t heard from him, then learns that he has been killed on a mission. She’s distraught, but even more so when she learns that his superior officer, Colonel Robinson, sent the men on a mission bound to fail. Evelyn vows revenge.

It’s 1945 and Evelyn has joined the military service as an interpreter for the interrogation of prisoners of war. As she had learned beforehand, the leader of the camp is the same Colonel Robinson, and she finds him ruthless and cruel. She’s appalled at his inhumanity to the prisoners, so much so that she finds a way to leave that position and work at another military establishment.

Back in London, 1985, Evelyn still harbors the desire to avenge her husband’s needless death. She happens to see the Colonel at a concert and finds a way to “introduce” herself to him. She invites him to her English manor and he’s impressed as she shows him her bountiful countryside estate.

As the book toggles over a 70-year span, we learn much about the war and the grim after-effects as thousands of people try to put their lives back together. We see how one man’s inhumanity can dictate the outcome of so many lives. In contrast, we visit the English countryside with its lovely gardens and genteel life.

I enjoyed My Name is Eva. The author’s research is impressive; her wit and cunning shine as she takes us through history and one woman’s eventful life.