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The Bird of Endurance

by Bill Cooke

343 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #07-1081; ISBN 1-4251-3007-0; US$24.00, C$27.60, EUR18.71, £12.40

There is a "dark place" in each of their souls, where only guilt and fear seems to feed. Anne La Fleur and her son, Matthew, must open to light or die.

About the Book

After a life filled with destruction and loss during WWII in France, Anne La Fleur and son Matthew go the America. In northern Michigan, Anne endures the pain brought on by the cruelty of her second husband, And Matthew deals with his emotional problems before going on to become a classical musician.

In BOOK ONE, Matthew has a difficult time adjusting. He hates his mother's husband and feels lost. However, he manages to graduate from college with honors and fall in love with another talented musician. Unfortunately, the young woman dies, and once again he's left feeling alone and lost. He goes to Salzburg and studies at the Mozarteum. During this time he falls in love with the daughter of the man who killed his father during the war.

In BOOK TWO, Anne talks about her first husband, who was killed fighting with the French Resistance. After his death, Anne, in an effort to survive and care for her son, takes a thief for a lover. Then, after meeting an American arm major, she sees a way out of her sorry relationship with the French thief. After lying that he is a wealthy man, the major asks her to marry him. For her son's future, she agrees to marry. After pressure from the major, who is with Criminal Investigation, she tells him that the thief's ill-begotten money is hidden in her house. Jealous and drunk, the thief threatens her with a knife, but the major comes in and kills the thief - and then tells the authorities that Anne killed him in self-defense. Taking the money and marrying Anne, the major takes her and Matthew to northern Michigan, where he invests the stolen money, becomes a millionaire, the mayor of Point Stevens, and a womanizer. After he dies of a heart attack, Anne moves to Paris, where she gets involved in saving her niece's life, with the help of a friend who is a CIA agent. After saving the kidnapped young woman, she goes on to save other young women, having decided by now to devote her life to the prevention of international kidnappings.

About the Author

Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., he left to go to St. Michael's College at Toronto University. After two years, he went into the U.S. Army and served with the Adjutant General Corps in Europe. Once a civilian again, he graduated from University of Detroit in Liberal Arts, did some graduate work in political science and read some law. Bill then worked for Chrysler Corp. and General Motors in personnel and sales promotion. Leaving the corporate world after six years, he taught school for several years before going to Europe to write and do oil paintings. Counted with his many jobs, he has been a radio announcer for AFN and a newspaper reporter. The Bird of Endurance is his first novel.

Excerpts