“Thrilling. Haunting.”

“This clearly written tale of a lesser known piece of history frightened and haunted me. I wondered, if I were one of the characters, how would I act? Would I feel hope?”--Carol Schultz, Naperville, IL

“A beautifully written book that captures the time period. I really cared about the characters. They were complicated and multifaceted. I loved learning about the history of the village. The author is able to take horrific events in WWII and make the story interesting and I wanted to learn more about the characters with every page. I feel enriched after having read it.”--Cinnamon, Amazon reader review

“What a solid opening; I was hooked from the beginning. These characters are so vivid! I could feel a mother’s fear about her son’s fascination with the fascists. Oy! The book planted me in a time and space and painted it with words. Really an amazing, amazing book."--Mariann Stephens, LaGrange Park, IL

"A debut historical novel of betrayal, reprisal, defeat, and hope in World War II Czechoslovakia. Sandrick delivers a complete story in which all the characters’ arcs feel satisfying and logical, and in which scenes of violence and cruelty are never overused for shock value. "--Kirkus Reviews  

The novel shows the loss of community and its effect on the individuals displaced from their home and torn from each other. It also shows the long-term trauma of war and atrocity on the surviving characters, who must go on with their lives even though their village is destroyed and they and their fellow Czechs have endured terrible losses.

While published for adults, this novel will appeal to teen readers of historical fiction. About a third of the story is from [14-year-old] Milan’s perspective, and I think it’s shortsighted and simplistic to assume that teens don’t want to read books that include adult perspectives, especially when those sections explore survival in wartime, the impulse toward revenge, and the quest to find missing loved ones. Not every teenager wants to read about “chosen” teens in fantasy or contemporary stories set in a high school just like their own.

 Like “rebellious book” Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill, The Pear Tree deserves a lot more attention than it is likely to get as a self-published title… Sandrick has produced a novel that will compel and challenge readers, high school and up, with great world building and storytelling, layered narrative, and complex themes.—Lyn Miller-Lachmann (lynmillerlachmann.com) 

This indie gem is a gripping and historically authentic recounting of the 1942 assassination of Nazi leader Reinhardt Heydrich in Czechoslovakia, the hunting and ruthless destruction of the commandos responsible for the operation, and the bloody aftermath inflicted upon the innocent civilian population of Lidice.

While a number of recent books and movies deal with the events, The Pear Tree is unique in its follow-through. The lives of family members of the Lidice victims are depicted with wrenching emotional relatability as they seek to sift through the remnant evidence of the massacre, and retain what hope they can that some, especially children, may have survived. The book goes well beyond other accounts in covering the aftermath of the assassination and genocide, giving life to the very personal and human perspectives of such characters as firefighter turned resistance fighter Juri Fischer and German policeman Wolfgang Weber. Milan Tichy, a rare young survivor of the Lidice massacre living on the edge of starvation, joins the resistance and uses his newfound power and courage to search for his missing mother. Even the character of Karl Frank, the Nazi officer responsible for the German retaliation, is given a modicum of human conflict as he carries out his hideous acts, reminding us of the uncomfortable fact that these crimes were perhaps most monstrous in that they were not committed by actual monsters.

The novel illustrates that moral ambiguity exists even in the midst of great and unmistakable evil, and that the seeds of societal recovery often lie in small acts of humanity and quiet courage. The best of historical fiction survives fact-checking while bringing to life little-known events and individual human experience. This novel succeeds at all levels. The style is crisp, fast-paced and very readable as it navigates a complex set of events and characters. Highly recommended.--The Historical Novel Society

The Pear Tree has received a Silver 2018 Global Ebooks Award.