Publication Date: September 25, 2025
The grand painted arches and turquoise tiles in front of me exactly match those in the photograph in my hand. I’ve found my beloved aunt’s villa. The place she loved – and feared. And the place she tried so hard to keep secret…
Egypt, 1942. After her husband and baby son are killed, Nadia flees to Villa Eden in Cairo. The gorgeous scents of the blooms and calming water garden soothe her aching heart… and give her the strength to keep fighting.
With a group of other young Europeans at the villa, she works undercover against the Nazi threat to Egypt. Friendships form as they host extravagant parties for ambassadors and generals – and gather vital information whispered in quiet corners.
Until betrayal snatches yet another person she loves from Nadia. And the villa’s high walls may be the only place to keep a dark wartime secret safe…
Cairo, present day. After the death of her fiancé, Sophie arrives in Egypt, clutching an old photograph of her aunt. Sophie always loved her stories, but all Aunt Nadia would say about the villa was that she could never return.
Sophie hopes that solving the mysteries of her aunt’s past will help her deal with all the loss in her life. But when she finds a note in her aunt’s handwriting, tucked in the villa’s library, it seems Nadia has lied to her for her whole life…
Sophie is left questioning everything. Will the truth from the war tear her apart, just as it did her aunt? Or will facing these secrets help heal not just her own heartbreak, but also one from decades ago?
A tragic romance from World War II that transcends the boundaries of time unfolds within a historical fiction novel by Amanda Lees.
Told in alternating time periods, from the present to the past, beginning in 1942, the story takes readers from London to Cairo, Egypt, in The Key to the Island House.
In the present day, Sophie tries to unravel a mystery left by her great-aunt Nadia. Caught up in grief of her own, Sophie’s search leads to unexpected connections.
Nadia’s past reveals a network of people working against the Nazis by gathering key pieces of information. Her love for Tom resonates in spite of the many challenges.
The Key to the Island House offers both a mystery and a love story tied to the past.
Amanda Lees is the bestselling author of multiple historical fiction novels and psychological thrillers. A screenwriter, broadcaster and former actress, Amanda draws inspiration from hidden histories, real-life espionage, and women who dared to defy convention. Her latest novel, The Key to the Island House, is inspired by her own family and the real spy networks of WWII Cairo.
