Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
Kindle Price: $4.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $13.08

Save: $5.59 (43%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Uvi Poznansky
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Marriage before Death: WWII Spy Thriller (Still Life with Memories Book 5) Kindle Edition

by Uvi Poznansky (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 218
See all formats and editions
From USA Today Bestselling Author, Uvi Poznansky, comes a captivating WWII Spy Thriller:

After D-Day, her photograph appears on the most-wanted Nazi propaganda posters. Who is the girl with the red beret? She reminds him of Natasha, but no, that cannot be. Why does Rochelle step into his life when he is led by SS soldiers to the gallows? At the risk of being found out as a French Resistance fighter, what makes her propose marriage to a condemned man?

★★★★★ ”The story of how they survived such horrors is extraordinary. Also extraordinary is the author's deep and gorgeous writing.”

Scroll up and grab Marriage before Death today!
Previous page
  1. Book 5 of 5
    Still Life with Memories
  2. Print length
    188 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    August 18, 2017
  6. File size
    7987 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
All 5 for you in this series See full series
See included books
Total Price: $24.95
By clicking on above button, you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use
More like Marriage before Death: WWII Spy Thriller (Still Life with Memories Book 5)
Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  16. Fatal Limit
    Kindle Edition
    $3.99
  18. The Partisan's Daughter: A Novel
    Kindle Edition
    $3.99
  22. Maximum Impact
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  28. Pam of Babylon
    Kindle Edition
    $0.00
Next page
Loading...

From the Publisher

WWII love story
Get it all: Apart from Love, Apart from War
My Own Voice The White Piano The Music of Us Dancing with Air Marriage before Death
My Own Voice The White Piano The Music of Us Dancing with Air Marriage before Death
See Details
See Details
See Details
See Details
See Details
Customer Reviews
3.7 out of 5 stars
85
3.7 out of 5 stars
44
3.8 out of 5 stars
310
4.0 out of 5 stars
233
3.9 out of 5 stars
218
Price $4.99 $4.99 $4.99 $4.99 $4.99
Story Falling in love with Lenny should have been the end to all of Anita's troubles. For her, it's only the beginning, when family secrets start unravelling. His ex-wife, Natasha, is succumbing to a mysterious disease. Can Anita compete with her shadow? Coming back to his childhood home, Ben is unprepared for the secret: his mother, Natasha, who used to be a brilliant pianist, is losing herself to mysterious disease. His father’s new wife, Anita, reminds him of the way she used to look. Lenny goes as far back as the moment he met Natasha during WWII, when he was a wounded warrior and she—a star, brilliant yet illusive. Natasha was a riddle to him then, and to this day, with all the changes she has gone through, she still is. Fooling German espionage may cost Lenny the trust of the girl who captured his heart. Will Natasha discover his secret D-Day reports, disguised as love letters to another woman? After D-Day, her photograph appears on the most-wanted German propaganda posters. Who is the girl with the red beret? Why does she step into his life when he is led by SS soldiers to the gallows? What makes her propose marriage to a condemned man?

Editorial Reviews

Review

  • "Ms. Poznansky has done it again, but this time--and I don't say this lightly--she has written my favorite book to date in her stable of literary gems... The tension was riveting." - Aaron Paul Lazar, Author
  • "Uvi Poznansky wears a coat of many colors. Originally from Israel where she studied Architecture and Town Planning then moving to the US where she studied Computer Science and became an expert in Software Engineering, Poznansky managed to combine the design elements of two studies into unique formats. And she has accomplished the same with the other side of her brain - making visual her ideas (she is an accomplished painter, drawer, and sculptor who has enjoyed exhibitions both in Israel and in California, her present base)." - Grady Harp, HALL OF FAME, TOP 100 REVIEWER
  • "The author is able to weave love and war into a captivating story which held me riveted to my seat for the duration." - Serenity, HALL OF FAME, TOP 10 REVIEWER
  • "Uvi Poznansky raises the stakes in a high stakes story, filled with uncertainty, drama and suspense... This book is a nail biter and one I found hard to put down. For me, this is Uvi Poznansky's best novel to date." - Richard Weatherly, Author
  • "Uvi Poznansky's lyrical prose shines through and gives this story a haunting, unforgettable quality. In addition, her sensitive handling of a much-changed Rochelle is touching and oh-so-real. Now off to acquire the others in the series." - Catherine Cavendish, Author
  • "Uvi Poznansky, a master story-teller, captures the sights, sounds and smells of World War II France, bringing them to life with an imaginative plot, excellent writing, a mastery of fine detail and the creation of imagery in her scenes. She draws you into the story as though you were there, experiencing what Lenny and Natasha experience." - Bill Cronin, Author
  • "The story of how they survived such horrors is extraordinary. Also extraordinary is the author's deep and gorgeous writing, interweaving desperation with descriptions of 'beautiful light streaming from high-arched, stained glass windows, rattling in the duel between the German artillery and ours.'" - J.A. Schneider, author of suspense and psychological thrillers
  • "What the reader sees is how their relationship survives the horrors of war making their love for one another all the stronger. Through their eyes we see the terrible sights, sounds and smells of war, something no one ever forgets... This is Uvi Poznansky at her masterful best." - Jess Steven Hughes, Author
  • "Uvi is a masterful storyteller that will draw you in to her stories and leave you needing to go back and read all the rest of these books in her series." - Angela Kate, Author
  • "Ms Poznansky displays a firm knowledge of time and place and has the ability to take the reader with her on her story. You feel you are there and witnessing the events first hand." - John Holland, Author

From the Author

The series Still Life with Memories includes the following volumes:
  • I: My Own Voice
  • II: The White Piano
  • III: The Music of Us
  • IV: Dancing with Air
  • V: Marriage before Death
To read excerpts from this series check out this free book:
  • Book Bites: The Wrong Girl

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0746NW5CD
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Uviart (August 18, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 18, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7987 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 188 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 218

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Uvi Poznansky

Uvi Poznansky

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Uvi Poznansky is a USA TODAY bestselling, award-winning author, poet and artist. “I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.” Her romantic suspense box set, Love Under Fire, made the USA TODAY bestselling list, as did her medical thriller box set, Do No Harm; and her romance box set, A Touch of Passion, was the 2016 WINNER of The Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Awards.

Education and work:

Uvi earned her B. A. in Architecture and Town Planning from the Technion in Haifa, Israel and practiced with an innovative Architectural firm, taking a major part in the large-scale project, called Home for the Soldier.

Having moved to Troy, N.Y. with her husband and two children, Uvi received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. There, she guided teams in a variety of design projects and earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

She worked first as an architect, and later as a software engineer, software team leader, software manager and a software consultant (with an emphasis on user interface for medical instruments devices.) All the while, she wrote and painted constantly, and exhibited in Israel and California. In addition, she taught art appreciation classes. Her versatile body of work includes bronze and ceramic sculptures, oil and watercolor paintings, charcoal, pen and pencil drawings, and mixed media.

Books and Genres:

Ash Suspense Thrillers with a Dash of Romance is a suspense series. It includes Coma Confidential, Virtually Lace, and Overdose.

Still Life with Memories is a family saga series with touches of romance. The series includes My Own Voice, The White Piano, The Music of Us, Dancing with Air, and Marriage before Death.

Still Life with Memories Bundle series includes volume I, Apart from Love (My Own Voice+The White Piano); and volume II: Apart from War (The Music of Us+Dancing with Air+Marriage before Death.)

The David Chronicles is a historical fiction series with a modern twist. It includes three novels--Rise to Power, A Peek at Bathsheba, and The Edge of Revolt--and six art through the ages collections, describing each moment of the story.

Her poetry book, Home, is in tribute to her father. Her collection of dark tales, Twisted, and her Historical Fiction book, A Favorite Son, are both new age, biblically inspired books. In addition, Uvi wrote and illustrated two children books, Jess and Wiggle and Now I Am Paper. For each one of these books, she created an animation video (find them on YouTube and on her Goodreads page.)

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
218 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bill Cronin
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
Marriage before Death, is the fifth novel in the Still Life with Memories Series, so I have come to know Lenny and Natasha Kaminsky well. In the present time, Lenny attends to his beloved wife suffering from Alzheimer’s. Her memory of their unusual courtship is fading, and only rarely are they able to reminisce together about their time in France, in 1944 in the days and weeks leading to D-day, and the invasion of France by the Allied Supreme Command.

In this latest installment, Lenny – an American soldier separated from his unit – has been captured on French soil, out of uniform, by the Germans and faces a hangman’s noose as a spy. His finance, Natasha, unbeknownst to Lenny, has volunteered to work with the French Resistance and faces the same fate for providing arms and aid on behalf of the Allies to the Resistance.

To say more about how their relationship survives in the horrors of war, would spoil an incredible story. Lenny, in the present, is hoping that Natasha will remember, that a window in her memory would open and they could once again relive a time that had unified them for a lifetime.

Uvi Poznansky, a master story-teller, captures the sights, sounds and smells of World War II France, bringing them to life with an imaginative plot, excellent writing, a mastery of fine detail and the creation of imagery in her scenes. She draws you into the story as though you were there, experiencing what Lenny and Natasha experience. She has created characters that you care about and want to invest time in. And you, do, care about what happens to them.

I love this author’s writing, command of language and ability to construct fiction you can relate to. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Sheila Deeth
4.0 out of 5 stars Music and war, love and memory, and more
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
Fifth in the Still Life with Memories series, Marriage before Death takes readers to the dangerous small towns of France just after D-Day. The German occupation is failing, and those in the resistance find their lives increasingly in peril. But what of resisters who aren’t even French, who might be labeled spies and be betrayed for the price of a life or a hat? And what of those who meet in surprise, neither knowing the other would be there?

Knowing the future adds an interesting poignancy to stories from the past. Readers know from the start that Natasha’s memories are fading. But Lenny’s memories are clouded only by love and uncertainty. As the characters play their different roles, the question of who is real, what memories are true, and what constitutes personality lie in the background, enriching every step of the path.

The writing is musical, as befits a tale with a musical protagonist. The story is intriguing with some sweetly touching scenes. While the reader will guess before the characters what’s going to happen, there’s always that interesting question of memory and reality. A cool addition to the series, and an enjoyable glimpse of different times and lives, I enjoyed Marriage before Death and I’m eager for more.

Disclosure: I already love the series and I got this one on a deal.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dee Arr
3.0 out of 5 stars Lukewarm Offering from Talented Author Misses the Mark
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
Though it was not a genre I normally read, I enjoyed Uvi Poznansky’s “The Music of Us,” and anticipated that “Marriage Before Death” would be on the same high level. Unfortunately, by the end of the book I felt let down and disappointed. Here’s why:

“Marriage Before Death” is the story of Lenny and Natasha during WWII. While the Prologue is reminiscent of the style in “The Music of Us,” that descriptive strength faded as the story moved into the past. Perhaps it was my disenchantment with the incredible coincidences of people meeting others they know in the middle of a war-torn country in order to aid the plot and keep the story moving. When this happened the first time, I could overlook it, but repeated occurrences only served to paint the story line as weak.

Even weaker were the conversations, which sounded unrealistic. Perhaps Ms. Poznansky has moved into a genre where she is not as comfortable, for the words did not flow as well as they did in “Music,” and at times I would have been easily convinced that this was an entirely different author. The flow returned in the Epilogue, though by that time it was too little, too late. Describing a love that grows or falls apart through no fault of either party is the author’s forte. Delving into an unrealistic storyline, especially one that Amazon categorizes as a thriller, dilutes her strengths.

If you haven’t read any of the other four books in the series, it would be hard to treat “Marriage Before Death” as a standalone. I have only read book three, though that was the tale of the pair falling in love, and it was enough for me to understand the present-day issues in the Prologue and Epilogue. If you are interested in this series, I would go back at least to “The Music of Us,” or even to the first book.

On a positive note, there is no in-your-face sex or objectionable language in either of the books I have mentioned. Ms. Poznansky is a very talented writer who can easily weave a reader into a story. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for me with this tale. Three stars.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Paul Douglas Lovell
5.0 out of 5 stars It is easy to award it Five Stars.
Reviewed in Germany on June 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
This series just gets better and better. The more episodes you read the more of the character's lives are revealed. They start off (almost) ordinary and develop into very charismatic and interesting people the more their past is unmasked. When you invest in the characters either as a writer or a reader you easily fall in to the emotions and poignancy of the stories... I can really see 'Still Life With Memories' the series, translating to the small screen.

I was given this as an advanced copy for a honest review. It is easy to award it Five Stars.
Report
Wilma Lettings
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent WW2 fiction with depth
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
Like the rest of the series, this novel deals with the nasty disease that is Alzheimers’, a topic close to my heart and subject of some of my own writing. As with her other work, Uvi deals with the subject with grace, precision and depth. The result is one moving and evocative novel.
Natasha and Lenny meet us at the beginning of this novel in modern day US. Natasha, a pianist, suffers from Alzheimers and Lenny, her husband, regrets the gaps in his knowledge about her that he now no longe rcan fill.
Flashbacks tell the story of Lenny and Natasha during WW2. She said she was leeaving for New York, but then they find themselves both in occupied France. She as spy and he as soldier.
It is an intriguing story with an excellent authentic WW2 feel. The writing is amazing and the story shines with emotional depth. It is a moving and touching story, especially with the tragedy of loss in its many incarnations; the narrative is eloquent, the prose is stylish, the story perfectly paced and historically accurate. The book adds a great deal of information about the time and place, bringing much more to the table than a tragic love story. Uvi balances the tight line between sentimental and romance wonderfully. Beautiful, bittersweet, romantic and tragic - an excellent series. As one reviewer called it: This is “Literary writing at its best.”
2 people found this helpful
 Report
John Holland
5.0 out of 5 stars Love and War
Reviewed in Australia on August 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is another satisfying story from the gifted pen of Uvi Poznansky. This is essentially a WW11 spy thriller, but also a love story.
The love between Lenny and Natasha takes place amidst the chaotic violence of war and intrigue.
Written with maturity and clarity and coloured with deft imagery, this story takes us deep into a place where love struggles to survive the circumstances around it.
Ms Poznansky displays a firm knowledge of time and place and has the ability to take the reader with her on her story. You feel you are there and witnessing the events first hand.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a well written and authentic feeling story. I would not tie it to one particular genre. It is at once a WW11 spy thriller and a love story. There is an underlying psychological element as well.
It is a pleasure to read.
Report
Scott Bury
4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite perfect, but then, neither are we
Reviewed in Canada on May 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
I have recently discovered the books of Uvi Poznansky, and she has written a remarkable series of books. Together, they tell one unified story, but from multiple points of view. The author does a remarkable job of capturing each individual voice

Still Life with Memories is about Lenny and Natasha Kaminsky, and about the way Natasha’s illness affects the whole family over a long time.

Natasha is a concert pianist and composer, hailed as a genius, and Lenny a soldier and intelligence operative.

They meet and fall in love, and Lenny says he cannot believe his luck when Natasha accepts his proposal of marriage. After the war, they return to the States and settle in Santa Monica, California. Natasha tries to re-start her music career, but shelves it when she becomes pregnant.

She becomes a piano teacher while Lenny pursues his own career, and Natasha’s enormous white piano fills up most of the living room in their small apartment.

But before many years pass, Lenny starts to notice something is wrong with Natasha. She has increasing memory lapses, which also affect her playing. Gradually, she loses the ability to play the piano. Lenny becomes despondent over the gaps Natasha’s memory and the damage it inflicts on their relationship. Lenny begins recording interviews with Natasha, then transcribing them in an effort to write a book about their life together.

Then he meets Anita, a teenaged girl who looks astonishingly like a young Natasha. Anita sets her sights on him as her best chance for a better life than her mother could give, and Lenny falls for her. Natasha, as fragile as she is, leaves Lenny, but seems to come back more than once.

But when Lenny makes Anita pregnant, the marriage is over. Not only does Natasha leave Lenny for good, so does their son, Ben, who is one year older than Anita.

The most remarkable thing about Poznansky’s series is that she tells it from different points of view.

Anita, who first appears in Lenny’s life as a teacher, is the narrator of book 1, My Own Voice. In Book 2, The White Piano, Ben, Lenny’s son is the PoV character. Lenny then takes over the narrating for the rest of the series, and we get to put the pieces together of Natasha’s real story.

Natasha is the most interesting character in the series. She’s a highly talented artist and, it turns out, was resourceful and effective during the war. The way that the author slowly reveals her story is sometimes anguishing, sometimes teasing, but always fascinating.

And the author perfectly captures each PoV character’s voice as she does this: the calculating other woman, the angry son, the guilt-ridden husband.

Still Life with Memories also reveals the ephemera quality of memory, through the differences in details that each character remembers about their interactions.

Battered by fate
Poznansky shows how each of us tries to be master of our own fate, but we are at the same time victims of an often cruel universe, dealing with things that we could never have seen coming. In book 4, Marriage Before Death, Lenny wonders how it is that some of the soldiers on the battlefield die, while other survive, and whether his time is up. And in other volumes, he tries to make a new life for himself and his family, but suffers setback after setback. When Anita finds him, he seems powerless to turn her away, even though he tries.

Anita is more skilled or talented at surfing the maelstrom of life. She rises from an impoverished single-parent household, without much education, and catches a successful man—one who can give her things she could only dream of as a girl.

Ben recoils when he learns of his father’s affair with a girl younger than himself, drops out of school and leaves for Rome. When he returns, he also finds attracted drawn against his will to Anita, the woman who replaced his mother in many ways.

A couple of flaws
I find myself equally unable to resist Poznansky’s storytelling style. While she perfectly captures each character’s individuality, at the same time she writes in a style that seems at once fresh and old-fashioned. She has, I think, also captured a prewar literary voice that is refreshingly distinct from the mass-produced style you can find in today’s commercial bestsellers.

But the books are not quite perfect. There are a couple of flaws.

First, Lenny seems to be an incompetent intelligence operative. In Marriage Before Death, he wanders behind enemy lines with ease with little purpose or mission, and gets caught almost immediately.

Also, the timing seems a little off. If Lenny is in his 20s during the war—and it seems he is—then I’m having trouble working out the timing for when he meets Anita in Santa Monica. She describes Lenny as being in his 40s, so that would take us to the mid-sixties or at best early 70s. However, Anita plays a song from “the sixties” as if it were really old. Somehow, the timing just seems a little off there.

Overall
This is a wonderful series, a richly colourful portrait of the intersecting, overlapping and mutually supportive and destructive lives. It portrays the intricate relationships of family, of the ways we intentionally and unintentionally hurt the people we love, and how what we do to each other ultimately creates the people they, and we are. It’s not quite perfect, but then neither are we.

Well done, Ms. Poznansky
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report