By Pam Lecky
A life-changing moment
May 1941: German bombs drop on Dublin taking Sarah Gillespie’s family and home. Days later, the man she loves leaves Ireland to enlist.
A heart-breaking choice
With nothing to keep her in Ireland and a burning desire to help the war effort, Sarah seeks refuge with relatives in England. But before long, her father’s dark past threatens to catch up with her.
A dangerous mission
Sarah is asked to prove her loyalty to Britain through a special mission. Her courage could save lives. But it could also come at the cost of her own…
A gripping story that explores a deadly tangle of love and espionage in war-torn Britain, perfect for fans of Pam Jenoff, Kate Quinn and Kate Furnivall.
Grab a copy HERE!
Read an interview with Pam Lecky about this book HERE!
MY THOUGHTS!
Sarah Gillespie did not expect how quickly her life would flip upside-down. Her evening had already been going badly, when the man she was in love with, Paul, told her that he was going to travel to England to sign up with the RAF, and took a dramatic turn when German planes started circling overhead. Sarah assumes the planes are simply lost, as they have been before when flying over Ireland, but her night ends with her buried in rubble, her sister lost in the collapse of the house, and her father dead, identified by his ring.
When she recovers, Sarah has a big decision to face. She has spent her whole life in Ireland, and it is all that she knows, but she has nothing keeping her there anymore. With her family gone, Paul leaving, and a letter from an uncle in England, offering her a place to live and with the promise of a job, Sarah chooses the path that takes her to live in a different country, among people she doesn’t know. And yet, Sarah’s Uncle Tom is immediately more of a father to Sarah than her own ever was, her Aunty Alice provides a mother that Sarah has been missing since losing hers, and her cousin Martin gives Sarah the brother she never had.
So much happens to Sarah, that by the time she makes it to her aunt and uncle’s house, you already want a peaceful life for her, for nothing else to happen, but there is still so much more of the book to read, and you know that peace and quiet simply isn’t in the books for Sarah. She takes on a job as a tracer at the company her uncle works at, copying the designs for the Spitfires, and she quickly excels at her job. But when she is approached by a Captain Northcott, she is given an ultimatum – act as a spy, and uncover a man named Rob McArthur as a Fifth Columnist spy working at the company, or risk being the cause of her uncle Tom’s family, as well as herself, being deported back to Ireland. The added issue? Rob had asked Sarah out before, and she had made it very clear that she did not want to be around him.
Sarah is an incredibly strong woman, and she holds up incredibly well considering the circumstances. She can tell no one of her mission and finds herself lying to everyone, especially so those who are close to her. She does everything in her power to ensure the safety of the family that took her in, and putting herself in danger is something she has no choice in. Still, if she was the cause of uprooting a traitor, it might bring her some revenge against those who had bombed Dublin and killed her sister. Sarah’s mission takes her on a journey that is anything if not suspenseful. There are so many instances where you are sure she will be caught, where it will all come to an end, and yet, somehow, Sarah persists and makes it through. There are twists and turns aplenty, certainly enough to keep you reading late into the night.
While Sarah is the main character, and most of the attention is on her, there are several other characters I could not help but love. Martin is an absolutely wonderful man, who treats Sarah as his own sister. He protects her when she needs it, although with having to lie to him so much, Sarah almost alienates herself from those she is close to. Gladys, who also works as a tracer, may only want to have fun and is not all that serious, but she is a great friend to Sarah, and I loved reading about her. There are obviously also characters that you are not sure you can trust, and I found my views following Sarah’s as she interacted with people. I found myself treating some characters with suspicion, and accusing others, but the author has weaved a wild ride, and you can never be entirely sure where you are going to end up.
This book is one that I greatly enjoyed reading. Sarah is a character that is easy to love, and her intense braveness, to be able to withstand all she does and keep going, to continue pressing on, makes her all the more likeable. The story itself is intense and gripping, with enough danger and mystery to keep you turning the pages, and more than enough suspense to stop you from physically being able to put the book down. My only complaint is that book 2 isn’t out yet!
Pam Lecky is an Irish historical fiction author, writing crime, and mystery with a dash of romance. Pam is represented by the Hardman & Swainson Literary Agency in London. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Society of Authors and has a particular love of the late Victorian era/early 20th Century.
In November 2020, Pam signed with Avon Books UK/Harper Collins in a two-book deal. The first book in the historical thriller series, Her Secret War, will be published in October 2021; the sequel in 2022.
Her debut novel, The Bowes Inheritance, was awarded the B.R.A.G Medallion; shortlisted for the Carousel Aware Prize 2016; and long-listed for the Historical Novel Society 2016 Indie Award.
Her short stories are available in an anthology, entitled Past Imperfect, which was published in April 2018.
June 2019, saw the release of the first book in the Lucy Lawrence Mystery series, No Stone Unturned, a fast-paced Victorian mystery/crime, set in London and Yorkshire which was recently awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion. The sequel, Footprints in the Sand, set in Egypt, was released in March 2020. She is currently working on the third book in the series, The Art of Deception, which will be published in late 2021.
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Thanks so much for the wonderful review. If you get a chance to read the sequel I hope you enjoy it as much.
ReplyDeleteYou are more than welcome! I loved reading it!
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