Publication Date: March 9, 2026
Germany, 1940. Roxy ducked behind the rusted train carriage in the darkness. She’d walked all night alone. She just needed to make it across the railyard and onto the final carriage of the train slowly pulling into the station ahead. Then she’d be safe. At least for a little while…
Cared for by her aunt and extended family since losing her parents as a little girl, RoxyPopa has always felt like an outsider. She hates to follow the strict rules her family hold her to. When the whole clan is forced from their land and their beloved, beautifully ornate caravans and treasured horses are taken away by the Nazi authorities, Roxy refuses to be broken.
Deported to a labour camp hundreds of miles from home, Roxy plans daring escape after daring escape. Each time she is thwarted or re-captured. But she never loses her courage. Then she meets Marek Wesel, drowning in grief at the loss of his young son. The fierce spark in Roxy reignites the hope in him that the war has long since snuffed out.
Reluctantly, the two form a powerful bond: a lost young girl who trusts no-one and a broken man desperate for something to believe in. Can they work together to reach the train station and save themselves?
But the worst is to come, when betrayal comes from the most unexpected and devastating place…
Fans of The Nightingale, All the Light We Cannot See and The Midwife of Auschwitz will be totally swept away by this emotional and gripping page-turner about the experiences of Sinti and Roma people during the Holocaust.
Despite having German citizenship, anyone with Gypsy blood was considered an inferior race during World War II.
Author Marion Kummerow highlights the horrors in The Last Train Home as young Roxy and others are forced to give up their roaming livelihood and sent to a work camp.
For people used to charting their own paths, the forced servitude was enough to break their spirits, especially as food and basic necessities became scarce. Even the intake process proved to be incredibly humiliating.
Relationships play an important role in the story. While Roxy is an orphan, her relatives don’t always value her innate talent to hide. It’s not until she meets a fellow prisoner, Marek, that someone appreciates her scrappy nature.
The Last Train Home delivers a powerful story about sacrifice and survival during World War II.
Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to “discover the world” and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she’s now living with her family.
Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.
