Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man's incredible courage and resilience during one of history's darkest hours.

Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager--obsessed with music, food, and girls--but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.

In an attempt to protect him, Pino's parents force him to enlist as a German soldier--a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler's left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich's most mysterious and powerful commanders.

Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.

Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.

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Published May 1, 2017

523 pages

Average rating: 8.34

701 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Beneath a Scarlet Sky* is a gripping, fast-paced historical novel based on a true WWII story set in Italy, highlighting courage, faith, a...

thenextgoodbook
Sep 04, 2025
8/10 stars
thenextgoodbook.com
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
509 pages

What’s it about?
This book is based on a true story and takes place in Italy during World War II. The story follows young Pino Lella from 1943 through the end of the war. We see Pino change from a carefree teenager to a man willing to risk his life for what he believes is right.

What did it make me think about?
This novel made me wonder at all the stories that go untold after a war. Italy during WW II is a very complicated place. Between the Fascists, the Nazi's, and the Resistance their were lots of sides to come down on. This story sheds some light on Italy’s history.

Should I read it?
For fans of "Unbroken", those interested in World War II, or anyone who likes historical fiction this is an engaging and interesting story. Pino Lella is a man you will root for throughout this book.

Quote-
“Pino left the chapel believing that he’d entered it as a boy and now exited having made a decision to become a man.”

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​Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
​The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Khris Sellin
Jul 05, 2024
8/10 stars
Amazing story of Pino Lella, a teenager in Milan during the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. Faced with the atrocities of war and what the fascists and Nazis were doing to his city and his country, he was moved to do incredible acts of heroism but in the process saw some unspeakable things that he could never forget.
frannie-puckett
Mar 17, 2024
10/10 stars
Could not put down!
rccohill
Oct 05, 2023
10/10 stars
Very powerful, but sad!
Abbie Bearden
Dec 01, 2025
8/10 stars
Stayed up way too late finishing this one. So sad but great story

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