Once Night Falls by Roland Merullo once again demonstrates the skill of a talented writer to create a highly engaging fictional story to surround some actual non-fiction. In several of his books, the non-fiction has concerned spirituality, but in this book a wonderful suspense story surrounded the actual events of the last days of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Author Merullo speculates what it would have been like to be a freedom fighter working to end Mussolini’s rule and to throw off the brutality of the Nazis who were his allies.
It is a wonderful, tense, highly suspenseful and very realistic feeling read. The constant fear the inhabitants of Italy (and any other country controlled by totalitarian dictators) leaps from the pages and engages readers emotionally in their plight. The horror of not knowing who to trust, of not knowing if your oldest and dearest friends and even relatives might betray you creates a sense of hopeless isolation that contributes to the terror of living in such circumstances, and serves as a warning to
Those who might choose to put despots into power for short term advantages, exchanging freedom for comfort and discovering it is a Faustian bargain.
I am always reading four books at once, some are ones that I am studying to learn from while others are things that have simply caught my interest. When I started reading Once Night Falls, I pretty much stopped reading anything else I was working on because Once Night Falls completely captivated me, making me glad I had a long airline trip ahead of me to give me time to immerse myself in the book.
This was a great book and I enjoyed all of it. ( )

Once Night Falls by Roland Merullo once again demonstrates the skill of a talented writer to create a highly engaging fictional story to surround some actual non-fiction. In several of his books, the non-fiction has concerned spirituality, but in this book a wonderful suspense story surrounded the actual events of the last days of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Author Merullo speculates what it would have been like to be a freedom fighter working to end Mussolini’s rule and to throw off the brutality of the Nazis who were his allies.
It is a wonderful, tense, highly suspenseful and very realistic feeling read. The constant fear the inhabitants of Italy (and any other country controlled by totalitarian dictators) leaps from the pages and engages readers emotionally in their plight. The horror of not knowing who to trust, of not knowing if your oldest and dearest friends and even relatives might betray you creates a sense of hopeless isolation that contributes to the terror of living in such circumstances, and serves as a warning to
Those who might choose to put despots into power for short term advantages, exchanging freedom for comfort and discovering it is a Faustian bargain.
I am always reading four books at once, some are ones that I am studying to learn from while others are things that have simply caught my interest. When I started reading Once Night Falls, I pretty much stopped reading anything else I was working on because Once Night Falls completely captivated me, making me glad I had a long airline trip ahead of me to give me time to immerse myself in the book.
This was a great book and I enjoyed all of it. ( )

Once Night Falls by Roland Merullo once again demonstrates the skill of a talented writer to create a highly engaging fictional story to surround some actual non-fiction. In several of his books, the non-fiction has concerned spirituality, but in this book a wonderful suspense story surrounded the actual events of the last days of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Author Merullo speculates what it would have been like to be a freedom fighter working to end Mussolini’s rule and to throw off the brutality of the Nazis who were his allies.
It is a wonderful, tense, highly suspenseful and very realistic feeling read. The constant fear the inhabitants of Italy (and any other country controlled by totalitarian dictators) leaps from the pages and engages readers emotionally in their plight. The horror of not knowing who to trust, of not knowing if your oldest and dearest friends and even relatives might betray you creates a sense of hopeless isolation that contributes to the terror of living in such circumstances, and serves as a warning to
Those who might choose to put despots into power for short term advantages, exchanging freedom for comfort and discovering it is a Faustian bargain.
I am always reading four books at once, some are ones that I am studying to learn from while others are things that have simply caught my interest. When I started reading Once Night Falls, I pretty much stopped reading anything else I was working on because Once Night Falls completely captivated me, making me glad I had a long airline trip ahead of me to give me time to immerse myself in the book.
This was a great book and I enjoyed all of it. ( )

Brilliantly written

I have always been confused by Italy’s role in WWII, but I now feel I have a better sense of the political struggle.

I love learning how a story came to be almost as much as the story itself. And this is no different. What we thought we knew and what really happened are not always the same. This author took that inaccuracy and, through immense research, brought to life a story few understood.

I’ve found I love how this author’s writing style and dedication to facts, mixed with a bit of fiction, bring a story to life. I will definitely been on the hunt for more of his treasures. ( )