Thank you in advance to the publisher, Kensington Books, for providing a complimentary review copy through Bookish First. A positive review was not required nor requested and all words are my own.
This is one of those books that when I saw it … I HAD TO HAVE IT. And, so … I used my points to redeem it.
While not initially a fan of historical fiction, sometimes books come along that tend to steer you in a different direction. And, after a while you don’t hesitate to seek out those books.
I really love World War II (WWII) stories as my grandfather served in that war and it is, to me, one of the penultimate wars that changed the landscape of the world. Thus any WWII book is one I really want to check out – especially different perspectives – this one takes place in England, which was devastated by Nazi Germany. The cover is a complete opposite of that depicting hope and inspiration.
I found this “perspective” rather fascinating due to the use of carrier pigeons (those birds some tend to think are pests) and how useful they were during the war. So useful in fact, that the Nazis were gunning for them. Thus some elements were based on actual events and situations.
This is definitely a clean read – no foul language and there is not intimacy, barely a relationship. Most of the plot is centered on Olive’s quest to get her pigeons into service as well as trying to solve a murder-mystery. This also features elements of an espionage-type suspense. I didn’t exactly know what genre this was trying to fit into – mystery, espionage, young adult.
Other than Olive, there are a lot of characters which makes for quite a few suspects in the mystery. There are a lot of characters to keep up with told in third person with moments from the victim’s diary in first person.
The writing at times can drone on without getting anywhere in advancing the story. It tends to go day by day, some days take multiple chapters. This style really didn’t keep my interest. My over all interest was more “this is okay, but I’d rather be doing something else”. There were some interesting moments, but nothing that stood out. It definitely draw me in the way I had hoped it would. And, it wasn’t because Graves is a “new-to-me” author either.
It begins with Olive seeing childhood friend George off for the military, her brother is already serving. Chapter one was a long and tedious beginning, at one point I almost just gave up.
Olive’s parental background is established here. Her birth mother is deceased, but was hailed as a WWI hero. Serena died of tuberculosis. Olive’s relationship with her step-mom is wonderfully cordial and sweet. Harriet’s debilitating struggle with M.S (multiple sclerosis) is accurately portrayed.
Olive, because of her mother’s heroic work, wants to do more for the WWII effort and sees her pigeons as a chance. And, when two men drop by – she thinks she has it. Of course, they are not from the National Pigeon Service (NPS). And, Olive is drawn into the spy game. Though, there is very little spying and espionage here.
Olive is forced to present one of the men, Jamison, as Jamie – her date for a dance. This is where the story turns into more mystery than espionage/spy suspense when the local “busy body”, Mrs. Husselbee is found dead. Olive, because the woman was found on her property and had uttered Serena’s name, is determined to find out what happened.
But, Verity Husselbee was also reporting for an organization known as “MASS OBSERVATION”. The reader will learn nothing from this – only that Verity was keeping diaries and mailing them in.
In between investigating Verity’s “murder”, Olive is also inquisitive about Station17, and ends up getting hired on as a First Aid Nursing Yomanry (FANY). She feels she will finally be able to honor her mother and live up to an expectation. Though she has to keep things secret from her father and step-mother.
Olive, despite being told to let it go, is trying to solve the mystery. Even more so since her mother’s name was mentioned. There are, as I said, quite a few suspects whose own shady pasts could’ve been motive for murder.
However, Verity’s death is ruled “death by misadventure”. Still, Olive persists.
There were a few suspects I had in mind, but the final reveal is somewhat a let-down, despite being a surprise. Verity’s isn’t the only murder mentioned. There is also blackmail involving one of Olive’s friends (an illegitimate pregnancy referred to as “in the pudding”) and drug addiction is mentioned. There is also some “experiment” being conducted as well by a local doctor. So, there are a lot of “sub plots” floating about in this story. They tend to not lead to much of anything.
Jamison is impressed by Olive’s pigeons though there are some casualties.
The most stunning part of the story is the truth about Olive’s birth mother, something that smacks her in the face by her “handler”, Jamison. He at first thinks Olive knows, and then it becomes apparent that she doesn’t. Thus proving how damaging lies can be to others. But, he is there to “rescue” her when she gets into trouble at the end though.
The whole story/mystery takes part over two weeks (14 days), with the end around two weeks later (June 8th).
While Olive is thinking of George, one can’t help but wonder what will come of her and Jamison as they embark on their new missions together.
In addition to how the story plods along at times, another weakness is how much it relies on the Agatha Christie mysteries as well as one of the heroes of the books – Hercule Poirot. The references do become tedious and tiresome. There is also the “Pride & Prejudice” play that consumes part of the book, which also seems to add extra filler to the story.
This is the first book in an untitled series, and with the open-end, readers who are interested in finding out what happens next will want to check out the next book. I might check out the second book if I could borrow it from the library or happen to get a complimentary review copy down the road.
This is more for fans of the author or those who enjoy this type of read.
This is one of those books that when I saw it … I HAD TO HAVE IT. And, so … I used my points to redeem it.
While not initially a fan of historical fiction, sometimes books come along that tend to steer you in a different direction. And, after a while you don’t hesitate to seek out those books.
I really love World War II (WWII) stories as my grandfather served in that war and it is, to me, one of the penultimate wars that changed the landscape of the world. Thus any WWII book is one I really want to check out – especially different perspectives – this one takes place in England, which was devastated by Nazi Germany. The cover is a complete opposite of that depicting hope and inspiration.
I found this “perspective” rather fascinating due to the use of carrier pigeons (those birds some tend to think are pests) and how useful they were during the war. So useful in fact, that the Nazis were gunning for them. Thus some elements were based on actual events and situations.
This is definitely a clean read – no foul language and there is not intimacy, barely a relationship. Most of the plot is centered on Olive’s quest to get her pigeons into service as well as trying to solve a murder-mystery. This also features elements of an espionage-type suspense. I didn’t exactly know what genre this was trying to fit into – mystery, espionage, young adult.
Other than Olive, there are a lot of characters which makes for quite a few suspects in the mystery. There are a lot of characters to keep up with told in third person with moments from the victim’s diary in first person.
The writing at times can drone on without getting anywhere in advancing the story. It tends to go day by day, some days take multiple chapters. This style really didn’t keep my interest. My over all interest was more “this is okay, but I’d rather be doing something else”. There were some interesting moments, but nothing that stood out. It definitely draw me in the way I had hoped it would. And, it wasn’t because Graves is a “new-to-me” author either.
It begins with Olive seeing childhood friend George off for the military, her brother is already serving. Chapter one was a long and tedious beginning, at one point I almost just gave up.
Olive’s parental background is established here. Her birth mother is deceased, but was hailed as a WWI hero. Serena died of tuberculosis. Olive’s relationship with her step-mom is wonderfully cordial and sweet. Harriet’s debilitating struggle with M.S (multiple sclerosis) is accurately portrayed.
Olive, because of her mother’s heroic work, wants to do more for the WWII effort and sees her pigeons as a chance. And, when two men drop by – she thinks she has it. Of course, they are not from the National Pigeon Service (NPS). And, Olive is drawn into the spy game. Though, there is very little spying and espionage here.
Olive is forced to present one of the men, Jamison, as Jamie – her date for a dance. This is where the story turns into more mystery than espionage/spy suspense when the local “busy body”, Mrs. Husselbee is found dead. Olive, because the woman was found on her property and had uttered Serena’s name, is determined to find out what happened.
But, Verity Husselbee was also reporting for an organization known as “MASS OBSERVATION”. The reader will learn nothing from this – only that Verity was keeping diaries and mailing them in.
In between investigating Verity’s “murder”, Olive is also inquisitive about Station17, and ends up getting hired on as a First Aid Nursing Yomanry (FANY). She feels she will finally be able to honor her mother and live up to an expectation. Though she has to keep things secret from her father and step-mother.
Olive, despite being told to let it go, is trying to solve the mystery. Even more so since her mother’s name was mentioned. There are, as I said, quite a few suspects whose own shady pasts could’ve been motive for murder.
However, Verity’s death is ruled “death by misadventure”. Still, Olive persists.
There were a few suspects I had in mind, but the final reveal is somewhat a let-down, despite being a surprise. Verity’s isn’t the only murder mentioned. There is also blackmail involving one of Olive’s friends (an illegitimate pregnancy referred to as “in the pudding”) and drug addiction is mentioned. There is also some “experiment” being conducted as well by a local doctor. So, there are a lot of “sub plots” floating about in this story. They tend to not lead to much of anything.
Jamison is impressed by Olive’s pigeons though there are some casualties.
The most stunning part of the story is the truth about Olive’s birth mother, something that smacks her in the face by her “handler”, Jamison. He at first thinks Olive knows, and then it becomes apparent that she doesn’t. Thus proving how damaging lies can be to others. But, he is there to “rescue” her when she gets into trouble at the end though.
The whole story/mystery takes part over two weeks (14 days), with the end around two weeks later (June 8th).
While Olive is thinking of George, one can’t help but wonder what will come of her and Jamison as they embark on their new missions together.
In addition to how the story plods along at times, another weakness is how much it relies on the Agatha Christie mysteries as well as one of the heroes of the books – Hercule Poirot. The references do become tedious and tiresome. There is also the “Pride & Prejudice” play that consumes part of the book, which also seems to add extra filler to the story.
This is the first book in an untitled series, and with the open-end, readers who are interested in finding out what happens next will want to check out the next book. I might check out the second book if I could borrow it from the library or happen to get a complimentary review copy down the road.
This is more for fans of the author or those who enjoy this type of read.