The Ghosts of Rome

by Joseph O’Connor Book 2 in the Rome Escape Line series.

First published 2025

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4.1(5,033)

Rome, February 1944. Six months into the German occupation, Contessa Giovanna Landini works with the Choir to shelter fugitives and move escaped Allied soldiers through the Vatican escape line. An air raid brings a mysterious parachutist into the city, and uncertainty over his identity threatens a network that depends upon secrecy, discipline and the willingness of ordinary people to accept extraordinary risks.

Gestapo chief Paul Hauptmann has taken over the Contessa’s palazzo and becomes increasingly interested in her, forcing Giovanna into a dangerous performance at close quarters. While the Choir tries to discover whether the newcomer is an ally, an infiltrator or something less predictable, the novel broadens the series beyond its founder to show resistance as a web of relationships. Suspense grows from divided loyalties, imperfect information and the constant possibility that one frightened person could expose everyone.