"The Ways We Hide" is by Kristina McMorris.

Last week, this column covered a young adult novel that centered on true events that took place across the Pacific Ocean during World War II. This week, we’ll take a look at two works of historical fiction for adults that take place in the same era, but in the European theater of war – and backstage.

“The Opera Sisters” is the latest book from Marianne Monson, an Astoria author. It is based on the true story of British sisters Louise and Ida Cook, who, although from a working-class background, held a shared enthusiasm for opera that led them to become well acquainted with several notable musicians.

As World War II loomed, the sisters got involved in a scheme to help move several Jewish members of Germany’s opera community to safety in England and elsewhere.

Part of this plan involved securing guarantees of housing and employment from people back in London. Another facet involved smuggling Jewish wealth in the form of furs and jewelry out of Germany.

To do this, the sisters had to assume roles as upper-class ladies as they left Germany after their many opera trips and then restore the items to their proper owners once they had escaped to freedom. By war’s end, the sisters had facilitated the escape of 29 families.

At some points in “The Opera Sisters,” the narrative flow gives way to jumbles of vignettes that describe harsh new policies announced by the German government, the plight of desperate German Jews, attitudes on the English home front and bureaucratic roadblocks. This might reflect the chaos the sisters had to navigate as they tried to assist as many refugees as possible, but it does make for some bumpy reading.

But there are moments of stark clarity, too. When one character comments that “it’s easier than we think to become convinced that decency is for the weak, that democracy is naive, that kindness and respect for others are ridiculous. The whole world has been reminded these past few years that the things we care about have to be nurtured and defended because even seemingly good people have the potential to do hideous things,” it will give 21st-century readers pause.

Portland author Kristina McMorris’s new novel also was inspired by true accounts of a mastermind inventor who created devices to help imprisoned Allied soldiers escape their German captors.

In “The Ways We Hide,” Fenna Vos, a Dutch-American illusionist, is tapped by British intelligence to assist in designing escape aids. McMorris spends 150 pages on prelude to the story – the background on Vos’ childhood and her early career. Managing an escape artist act could have been told better in half the time.

But once the action finally gets rolling, it is filled with treacherous relationships, nerve-wracking chases and unanticipated baggage, making for good edge-of-your-seat reading.

“The Opera Sisters” by Marianne Monson

Shadow Mountain – 352 pp – $26.99

“The Ways We Hide” by Kristina McMorris

Sourcebooks – 496 pp – $16.99