“The Brunswick” by Callie Murray

Debut novel The Brunswick (Revell 2026) by Georgia-based writer and entrepreneur Callie Murray is a celebration of the power of community, and of families grafted together not by blood, but by circumstance, choice, and adoption.

Set in Murray’s hometown of Norcross, GA, at the dawn of World War II, the story centers around the sprawling, once-elegant Brunswick, a hotel that once housed and entertained a steady stream of guests debarking from the nearby passenger train, the Air Line Belle. The hotel had been the pride and joy of its owner, local war hero Ralph Cain, until a financial crash devastated the hotel’s business and Cain’s spirits, leaving both the business and the man in a state of atrophy.

With the help of a community-minded crew of neighbors, who built shelves and arranged orders and otherwise worked to drum up business, Cain’s daughter and the protagonist of this story Cora, has converted The Brunswick from a hotel into a grocery store. She is a bright young woman not afraid of tireless, hard work.

As Cora struggles to make ends meet while yearning for the eye and love of her reclusive father, a new character, Thomas Watkins, shows up in town. He is the long-absent middle son of the local pharmacist, who is himself a frequent customer and surrogate father to Cora. Thomas quickly joins Cora’s inner circle, alongside his older and younger brothers—the oldest of whom, Anders, is dating Cora’s best friend, Billie.

Thomas and Cora are a slow-burning duo, and readers root for their inevitable romance from the start. But theirs is no fluffy rom-com romance; the two speak often about weighty matters, such as world events and their respective family tragedies. Thomas also displays a remarkable business acumen, stepping in as Cora’s new (and only) assistant store clerk.

Across the ocean, in Vienna, about six months after the Nazi takeover of Austria, we meet Charlotte, the protagonist of the novel’s second storyline—a pre-teen whose bucolic life and loving family situation seem idyllic. But in a matter of only a few pages, everything Charlotte holds dear is taken by the Nazis—her home, her family’s lovingly-tended orchard, and her father, Otto.

Charlotte and her mother Emilie take refuge in the home of Emilie’s sister, Tante Hermine, who is already harboring several other Jewish families. Emilie soon becomes paralyzed by fear and sadness, refusing at first her sister’s efforts to secure Emilie and Charlotte safe passage out of Austria. It is all too much, she asserts—she simply cannot make such a bold move without her husband.

“Sometimes bravery just looks like love. And love, you have,” counters Hermine. It is a theme repeated by multiple characters throughout the novel: that with great risk comes great rewards.

As Cora’s and Thomas’s relationship deepens, the two receive a missive from a pair of neighbors and philanthropists. George and Evelyn Cohen, backed by a Jewish organization called Brith Sholom, aim to travel to Austria and rescue about fifty children endangered by the war, using unclaimed American visas. While the Cohens initially hope to host the children with individual families around town, it becomes clear that the more practical solution would be to open up for them the many shuttered rooms of The Brunswick.

Cora, with characteristic courage, is quick to agree. The Brunswick’s many supporters soon flock to the cause—cleaning and prepping rooms, making toys for the children, and bolstering the grocery business while Cora is busy with other preparations.

Meanwhile, all three of the Watkins boys find themselves shipping off to a European continent at war—Anders, Billie’s now husband, with the army; Thomas, as a stand-in for Evelyn with the kindertransport mission; and Dean, the youngest and burliest Watkins, on a professional wrestling tour.

The Nazis do not make things easy for the Cohens, but the Austrian children do eventually make their way to Georgia, where they are welcomed by the beating heart of Norcross: The Brunswick, and its many supporters and contributors.

Charlotte is among these children, along with her new friend, Ben. While the children admire the elegance of the hotel, the novelty of American foods like fried chicken, and the comfort and structure of their schedules and accommodations, they also struggle with missing their homes and parents.

Cora sees a bit of herself in Charlotte, a child who knows how it feels to have one parent physically absent, and one emotionally unavailable.

The children’s presence also sparks something in Cora: an understanding that parenting can be tender, loving, and enjoyable, even if she hasn’t received such tenderness from her own parents for some time.

All is not well in Norcross—Cora experiences mysterious neurological symptoms that weaken her hands, frightening her and limiting her ability to work. She and her helpers also experience the community’s dark side—a racist, xenophobic fear of Germans and perceived German sympathizers, which manifests in violent acts of vandalism and unkind mutterings, even in the presence of the children. And a thrilling, war-related twist keeps Cora and all of her neighbors on their toes until the novel’s end.

In an author’s note that accompanies the story, Murray recounts a historic basis for her fictional tale. Eleanor and Gilbert Kraus, a real couple from Philadelphia, backed by Brith Sholom, actually did rescue fifty children from Nazi-occupied Austria, bringing them to the U.S. in 1939.

There was also an actual Brunswick Hotel in Murray’s hometown of Norcross, built around 1870. It stood until the late 1950s.

There’s a glimmer of Murray’s own story here, too. The author shares a medical history with Cora—and Murray, like Cora, is an adoptive parent, and an advocate for foster parenting and adoption.

Murray states that proceeds from the book will go to a collection of organizations funding foster care, adoption, and other family support. The author’s website, Calliemurray.com, allows you to sign up for her Substack, where she recounts her experience writing the book and will provide updates on recipient organizations.

The Brunswick is a warm, inspiring, compelling read. Cora, Thomas, Charlotte, and all the characters of Murray’s Norcross are easy to love; we root for all of them to find that love they require, and for many, have lost along the way. It is perhaps unsurprising that they find it in The Brunswick itself: a sturdy, beautiful, vibrant community center, and home.

Callie Murray

Callie Murray and her husband live in Norcross, Georgia with their seven children, four of whom came through the honor of adoption.