A Fierce Radiance - by Lauren Belfer (Paperback)

About the Book

From the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "City of Light" comes a compelling, richly detailed tale of passion and intrigue set in New York City during the tumultuous early days of World War II.

Book Synopsis

A Washington Post Best Novel of the Year

An NPR Best Mystery of the Year

This suspenseful novel from the New York Times bestselling author of City of Light follows a photojournalist as she takes on an assignment that will involve blackmail, espionage, and murder--all in the early days of America's involvement in World War II.

In the anxious and uncertain days after Pearl Harbor, beautiful, talented Life magazine photojournalist Claire Shipley is assigned to cover the clinical testing of a new medication at the renowned Rockefeller Institute in New York. Still grieving the death of her young daughter from an infection, Claire is shocked by what she finds there: the doctors and researchers are attempting to cure fatal infections with a little-known, temperamental medicine made from green mold, which they're calling penicillin--and that may be just the beginning of their breakthroughs.

As the nation plunges into war, Claire begins an intense love affair with James Stanton, an Institute physician given the difficult, top-secret task of coordinating penicillin research for the military. Meanwhile Claire's long-estranged father, a self-made millionaire entrepreneur, is realizing the potential of the new mold-derived medications to transform the very nature of human existence.

When James's sister and colleague dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes involved in the antibiotic breakthrough become starkly clear. Caught between the extremes of war and greed, Claire finds her new relationship challenged in ways she could never have predicted.

At once a thriller, a love story, a family saga, and a window into the tumultuous home front during World War II, A FIERCE RADIANCE will captivate readers.

From the Back Cover

A Washington Post Best Novel of the Year
An NPR Mystery of the Year

In the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, Life photojournalist Claire Shipley finds herself covering one of the nation's most important stories. At New York City's renowned Rockefeller Institute, researchers are racing to save thousands of wounded American soldiers and countless others by developing a miraculous new drug they call penicillin. For Claire, a single mother haunted by the loss of her young daughter--a death the miracle drug could have prevented--the story is cuttingly personal, especially after she unexpectedly begins to fall in love with the shy and brilliant head physician, James Stanton. But Claire isn't the only one interested in the secret cure. When a researcher dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes become starkly clear: someone understands just how profitable the new drug could be--and will stop at nothing to get it. Now, with lives and a new love hanging in the balance, Claire will throw herself into harm's way to find a killer--no matter what price she may have to pay.

Review Quotes

"Belfer's prose is heartbreaking, as are her twin themes of love and betrayal, both romantic and familial. . . . She also has a gift for rejuvenating spirit of place--turn-of-the-20th-century Buffalo in City of Light and wartime New York here." - USA Today
"Belfer keeps a tight rein on the plot and never lets the pacing go slack, while at the same time creating nuanced, complex characters." - Wichita Eagle
"This is a book to pick up and savor....A thrilling ride that kept me enthralled throughout." - Mostly Fiction.com
"With an exquisite artist's eye for detail that puts readers right in the middle of New York City and the World War II fronts and incorporating all the elements of a hot, sprawling, page-turning romance--not to mention espionage, murder, crime-scene deceptions, big business intrigue, and family estrangements--Belfer once again blends fiction and facts with riveting results" - Library Journal (starred review)
"A FIERCE RADIANCE is a feast of storytelling wonders, mixing corporate greed, murder, espionage, fraying family ties and irresistible descriptions of old New York. . . in a morality tale about one drug's power to save lives--and how ordinary humans aren't necessarily equal to that daunting task. " - Salon.com
"Belfer's first novel, City of Light, delineated the social and political tension of Buffalo, N.Y. at the beginning of the age of electricity. A FIERCE RADIANCE is similarly ambitious, combining medical and military history with commercial rivalry, espionage and thwarted love. Belfer clearly knows her scientific material. She also knows how to turn esoteric information into an adventure story, and how to tell that story very well." - New York Times Book Review
"Belfer combines life-and-death scenarios, romance, murder, and wartime reality at home and abroad, while taking a stab at industrialists who profit by dubious means and salve their consciences through philanthropy. . . . An engrossing and ambitious novel that vividly portrays a critical time in American history." - Booklist (starred review)
"Enthralling. A FIERCE RADIANCE shines with fascinating detail about a moment in American history we have mostly forgotten, when penicillin was new, miraculous, and in short supply. Belfer's powerful portrayal of how people are changed in pursuit of a miracle makes this book an especially compelling read." - Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank
Lauren Belfer's panoramic new novel is a love story wrapped around a spy story with a pivotal medical breakthrough at its center." - O magazine
This fulsome tale of a modern marvel, and what life was like before it became ubiquitous, crackles with twists and turns. . . . It's also a beautiful valentine to 1940s New York City and its neighborhoods, painted with great affection. A FIERCE RADIANCE's life, humanity, and crack mystery was worth the wait. Highly recommended. - Historical Novels Review
"All these story lines are tied up to the reader's satisfaction and in every one of them there is a common thread: there are shades of gray everywhere in judging the morality of human actions. All of Belfer's characters must come to terms with this truth, in themselves and in others. Belfer exempts no one, and in so doing creates a believable story and recreates a forgotten time in our history." - Shelf Awareness
"A FIERCE RADIANCE mixes fact, fiction, romance, murder, and debates about who should profit from scientific innovation to create a capacious, sometimes melodramatic but always absorbing tale. . . . These are just a few of the questions framed in Belfer's artful composition, which captures the fragility and anxiety of life in wartime New York in crisply developed shades of black, white, and gray." - Barnes and Noble Review
"A FIERCE RADIANCE shines with fascinating detail about a moment in American history we have mostly forgotten, when penicillin was new, miraculous, and in short supply. Belfer's powerful portrayal of how people are changed in pursuit of a miracle makes this book an especially compelling read." - Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank
"Penicillin operates as the source of romance, murder, and melodrama in Belfer's evocative WWII-era novel. . . . Belfer handily exploits Claire's photo shoots to add historical texture to the book, and the well-researched scenes bring war-time New York City to life, capturing the anxiety-ridden period." - Publishers Weekly