First the German born individuals come under scrutiny, with some being sent to internment camps, as happens with main character Petra's mother. The author situates this book very early into the Second World War, and nicely describes the corrosive effects of fear and mistrust on relationships. I fell in love with Lucy Strange's first book, The Secret of Nightingale Wood, so I knew I had to check this book out. Having enjoyed this author's first book 'The Secret of Nightingale Wood' so much we were really pleased that this one felt even better.There were some sad parts to this book as you might expect from the subject matter but it was resolved in a way that was realistic and gave you hope for the characters. I was left wondering if I had missed something! I thought something was going to happen to one of them, when it didn't I thought the illustrator had made a mistake but in the acknowledgements the author thanks the illustrator for doing such a good job with the cover. I don't understand why the cover shows 3 standing stones, it clearly states there are 4 in a line, they are a big part of the story. It was good to see that the well respected headmistress and magistrate was the guilty person and not one of the families from another country although this plot line culminated in such dramatic events they were perhaps a little far fetched, it did make for a riveting story line that was indeed a page turner towards the end. The plot and the characters in this book were well thought out and interesting. Life becomes hard and Petra who already suffers from anxiety struggles to get through these unhappy times. When war comes attitudes change towards their mother who is German and their Italian friend who runs the bakery.

They enjoy their lives by the sea and help their father with his lighthouse duties. Since they were small they have known about the legend of the standing stones that guard the lighthouse and enjoy their father's stories about them. The story starts in happier times when Mutti, Pa and their daughters Magda and Petra live in a lighthouse called the castle.

This was a very enjoyable and interesting story set in Kent, England during WWII.

Our castle by the sea