Reschen Valley Series

Pride goes before the fall.   1900s Austrian Tyrol. Fritz Hanny, confident, optimistic, and vain, enjoys the prestige of belonging to one of the most respected families in the Reschen Valley. When he falls in love with Cecilia, a young girl in a neighboring village, he pursues her like everything else he wants: by breaking the rules if he must. But when the First World War breaks, one external force after another cuts Fritz down. Suffering disappointment, violence, and conflict, Fritz becomes a desperate man. When the Great War ends, Fritz is trapped between two borders: on one side, the family he has. On the other, the family he wants.   This dark and gritty stand-alone novella is a prequel to NO MAN'S LAND, the first book in the Reschen Valley series.   "Lucyk-Berger has explored the darker side of human nature in this tale, and she has done so with great skill and splendour. This story appalled, impressed, and fascinated in equal measures. It is wonderfully told and impossible to put down." - Mary Anne Yarde

A plan to flood her valley. A means to destroy her culture.   1920, former Austrian Tyrol. Katharina Thaler prepares to be the first woman to ever own a farm in the Reschen Valley. The Great War has taken more than her beloved family, it has robbed the province of its autonomy and severed it in half. As her countrymen fight to prevent the annexation to Italy, Katharina finds a wounded Italian engineer on her mountain. Her decision to save Angelo Grimani's life, however, thrusts both of them into the middle of a new world order—a labyrinth of corruption, prejudice, and greed.   Trapped between a growing fascist regime and a man who threatens to tear her home away, Katharina must decide what to protect: love or country?   This gripping, historical saga reveals one of the least known political crises in Europe: the South Tyrolean and Italian conflict, which spanned nearly a century. The Reschen Valley series is based on the flooding of the valley that is now the Reschen Lake dam and reservoir, where a centuries-old church tower still stands straight out of the water.   NO MAN'S LAND is the first book in the Reschen Valley historical fiction series. If you enjoy gripping, meticulously researched historical fiction, with characters that stay long after you've read the last chapter, you will love Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger's vivid saga.   "An authentic, rich story." Laurel Busch, historical fiction editor and author   "Well-executed…powerful…moved me to my core." Ann Howard Creel, The Whiskey Sea   "...vivid and intriguing...will have you mesmerized from page one." Kristi Saare Duarte, The Transmigrant

Burying the past comes at a high price…   1922, South Tyrol. A year after the Italian Fascists marched on Bozen. nationalism in the Tyrolean Reschen Valley creates enemies out of old friends. Trusting no one, Katharina Steinhauser fiercely protects the identity of her daughter's father from both her family and her community. Meanwhile, Mussolini has wrested control from the monarchy, and momentum behind the plans for the Reschen Lake reservoir increases—a project that could wipe out Katharina's valley. Katharina begs the man in charge, Angelo Grimani, to stop the plans at the risk of bringing him into her life again. But Angelo is hemmed in by a force that is tearing his family apart, steering him far from the Reschen Valley and that which binds him to Katharina. It's exactly the opportunity the Fascists have been waiting for.   Following No Man's Land, The Breach is the second novel in the Reschen Valley series. If you enjoy gripping historical fiction that won't let you go, you will love Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger's vivid, politically-charged saga.   "An authentic, rich story." —Laurel Busch, historical fiction editor and author   "Well-executed…powerful…moved me to my core." —Ann Howard Creel, The Uncertain Season   "…transports you to another time and place." —Kristi Saare Duarte, The Transmigrant   "It was so tense, I was holding my breath. …even better than the first one!" —Dori Harrell, A Christmas Hallelujah

In the process of understanding who she was, she discovered who she was not.   1937. Northern Italy. New political conflicts loom on the horizon, and Italy must feed its war machine. Angelo Grimani has a plan to keep the Reschen Valley reservoir out of his father's hands but he needs a local front to succeed. He faces his past and seeks Katharina Steinhauser out. But when he sees Annamarie, Katharina's daughter, for the first time, Angelo realizes he faces an altogether different conflict.   Unaware of the history between Angelo and Katharina, Annamarie is convinced her future lies beyond the confines of the valley. When an Italian delegation arrives to assess the reservoir, Annamarie believes she has found her ticket out…in the form of Angelo's son and a Fascist uniform. When you cannot hide from the truth, where do you run?   Love, betrayal, and deception explode in this next book in the Reschen Valley saga. This is the third book in the series and can be picked up as a stand-alone.

It's a dangerous time to be a dissident…   1938. Northern Italy. Since saving Angelo Grimani's life 18 years earlier, Katharina is grappling with how their lives have since been entwined. As construction on the Reschen lake reservoir begins, the Reschen Valley community is torn apart into two fronts - those who want to stay no matter what comes, and those who hold out hope that Hitler will bring Tyrol back into the fold. Back in Bolzano, Angelo finds one fascist politician who may have the power to help Katharina and her community, but there is a group of corrupt players eager to have a piece of him. When they realise that Angelo and Katharina are joining forces, they turn to a strategy of dividing and conquering the weakened community, and hampering Angelo's efforts.   Meanwhile, the daughter Angelo shares with Katharina - Annamarie - has fled to Austria to pursue her acting career but the past she is running away from lands her directly into the arms of a new adversary: the Nazis. She goes as far as Berlin, and as far as Goebbels, to pursue her dreams, only to realise that Germany is darker than any place she's been before. Angelo puts aside his prejudices and seeks alliances with old enemies; Katharina finds ingenious ways to preserve what is left of the Reschen Valley community, and Annamarie wrests herself from the black forces of Nazism with plans to return home. But when Hitler and Mussolini present the Tyroleans with "the Option", the residents are forced to choose between Italian and German nationhood with no guarantee that they will be able to stay in Tyrol at all! Angelo, Katharina and Annamarie are forced to take a stand, but their enemies lurk where they thought was safest. Out of the ruins of war, will they be able to find their way back to one another and pick up the pieces? "A blockbuster ending to an extraordinary, politically-charged saga that echoes with today's events!"   This blockbuster finale will keep readers glued to the pages. Readers are calling it, "...engrossing", "...enlightening" and "...both a heartbreaking and uplifting end to this incredible series!" "Lucyk-Berger is a born storyteller." –Mary Anne Yarde, Coffee Pot Book Club blogger "Absolutely gripping storytelling. These characters jump off the page and take you to a place too few of us have heard about; a tragic conflict overshadowed by the many atrocities committed during WW2. The Tyroleans were victims of calculated corruption enacted by the two fascist leaders, and Lucyk-Berger has whisked off the dust cover of a popular tourist spot to reveal a dark history and a highly controversial story beneath the Reschen Lake reservoir."