Fraser's Line
by
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Prologue: He ran from alleyway to alleyway, ducking and weaving to escape the artillery fire. It was more than two weeks since the uprising had begun and somehow he had managed to stay alive. On the first day of the resistance two boys had succeeded in climbing onto the roof of the headquarters in Muranowski Square and raising both the red and white Polish flag and the blue and white flag of the Jewish fighting organisation. These flags had fluttered in the breeze for four days, an act of defiance which had brought a brief glimmer of hope to the suffering prisoners before the Germans were able to remove them. In a desperate attempt to resist deportation and certain death he and his fellow prisoners had tried to breach the ghetto walls but against such military might they had failed. Armed with only a few pistols and some homemade explosive devices the brave attempts of the insurgents were doomed to failure and thousands had already died.
Now he knew he had little hope. It was said that there was an escape route through the sewers and he had decided to make an attempt to reach them. Every renewed effort to run cost his weak, malnourished body unbearable pain. Sheltering briefly in a doorway, he undid his breast pocket and took out, for the hundredth time, a photograph of a beautiful woman and two tiny children. He gazed at it once more, his heart aching with longing. Then he returned it to his pocket and gathered his strength to drive himslf on once more, but this time his moving figure was seen. From his vantage point on a rooftop just outside the wall SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Karl Baecker unleashed a shower of bullets which abruptly ended the fugitive's progress. His shattered body lying in the dust, Ahron Cukierman, unsung hero of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, could fight no more.
Chapter 1: Spluttering angrily in the frying pan, the charred sausages split open with sudden force, disgorging their pink contents before Fraser's bemused glare. Why on earth did they do that? Whenever Edie had put a plate of his favourite dish in front of him the sausages were succulent, cylindrical, golden brown delights - moist and tender inside, with a heavenly aroma that set his mouth watering. Crowning this feast would be a mountain of soft, fluffy mashed potato, topped by a glistening knob of butter caught in the act of melting, little golden rivulets starting to run down, destined to join the surrounding pool of rich, onion gravy below.
How well two such different items blended, forming a perfect union! The nebulous, white cloud danced gaily in the air above, almost mocking the earthy objects below, and yet needing them as a solid foundation. A marriage made in heaven, you might say. But now one half of the dish was missing, and what remained lacked life. Fraser had little appetite for what he saw on his plate.
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About the Book
Devastated by the loss of his adored wife Edie after 31 years of marriage Fraser Coleman now learns the painful truth that she was not as perfect as he believed her to be. You will be swept along by this compelling account of the revelations he faces involving not only his wife and the lives of his two daughters, but also the surprising identity of the father he lost when he was only five.
His beloved mother Marjorie, now 85, frail, and battling to continue living independently, kept from Fraser and his sister Margaret the truth concerning their father's background, and how he died. In so doing she believed she was acting in her children's best interests, but now she regrets it, and wants to share all the details with them before it is too late.
Fraser's older daughter, Sarah, who lives with her husband Michael, and their six-year-old twins, Kate and George, juggles the demands of her business and domestic life, trying to deal with the many pressures, which are often of her own making. His younger daughter, Joanna, a drop-out from university, and still undecided about about a career, has uncovered for herself unpalatable facts about her mother which have induced in her a cynical approach to life.
Fraser, who has always taken the 'line of least resistance' is shocked by the new insights he gains into the complexity of human nature, but finds support and inspiration from his new friend Angela.
As the twists and turns of the story unfold, and young George's life hangs in the balance, the reader will not be able to put the book down until all the skeletons have come out of the cupboard, the branches of the family tree have been strengthened, and the satisfying conclusion has been reached.
About the Author
Monica Carly graduated from Bristol University with an Honours degree in English, French and Latin, and a teaching qualification. After five years as an English teacher and a spell of time off raising a family - during which time she took a creative writing course and produced several short stories - she ran courses in effective reading and studying, taught English as a foreign language, and also evening classes in Graphology. From there she branched out into the field of public service, first as an emergency control room operator rescuing stranded motorists, and later, having qualified in consumer law, worked in trading standards, advising distressed customers. After her official 'retirement' she went on to qualify as a proofreader. Still not ready to sit back and put her feet up, she has recently completed her first novel.