Category: World War II Era (1939-1945)

Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers by Tessa Arlen

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, World War II Era (1939-1945), Yearly FavoritesLeave a comment

Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers (A Woman of WWII Mystery #2)
Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: A Woman of WW II Mystery #2
Publication Date: 12/1/20
Number of Pages: 320

This series is a delightful find! I have read other books by Tessa Arlen, but I missed out on the first of the Poppy Redfern books – and I’m so sorry about that! The writing is excellent, the mystery is well-formed and well-executed so you don’t guess who the villain is until the very end. There are lots of red herrings to keep you guessing. This book was so entertaining that I’ll now have to go back and read the first book in the series. Speaking of it being a series, this book can totally be read as a standalone – but I can promise you, you’ll want to go back and read the first book.

I listened to an ARC of the audiobook and I enjoyed the listen. The narrator, Madeleine Leslay, performed the narration with a tempo and voice that made me feel as if Poppy is a happy person who enjoys her life. She sounded very upbeat. I didn’t totally lose myself in the story because I did have a hard time differentiating among the speakers. They all sounded pretty much the same – every once in a while, the Scot would sound like a Scot, but the American never, ever, sounded like an American. So, I had to really concentrate to determine who was speaking. I’ll also mention that the American, who is also the masculine lead, was performed so that he sounded so prissy that I would have thought the part was female had the word ‘he’ not been used to describe him.

In late autumn of 1942, Poppy Redfern is settling into her new job as a scriptwriter at the London Crown Film Unit, which produces short films about valorous deeds performed by ordinary British citizens in wartime. She’s really excited to receive her first assignment, writing the script for a fifteen-minute film on a group of female pilots known as the Attagirls. These intrepid ladies fly every sort of aircraft to bases all over England. These ladies would much rather actually fly as part of the Royal Air Force, but England doesn’t allow female combat pilots – they barely allow these ladies to fly the planes around England. They perform a vital service – getting new planes from the manufacturer to the bases who need them as well as ferrying newly repaired planes back to their bases. Poppy cannot wait to meet these ladies.

Poppy’s gentleman friend, Griff, has seven days of leave and decides to go along with Poppy for a few days. Both Griff and Poppy quickly come to like and admire these brave ladies who fly in all sorts of adverse conditions without any of the basic safety devices regular combat pilots have. Their bravery and patriotism come through loud and clear. The six ladies they meet were the first recruited by the Air Transport Auxiliary and all of them are highly skilled and rated for most types of aircraft.

Poppy, Huntley (the producer), Keith (the cameraman), and Griff, all head for the ferry depot from which the Attagirls work. Poppy and Griff arrive first and Poppy sets about getting to know the ladies in order to begin the scriptwriting. She likes them very much and is excited to tell their tales. That excitement turns to horror when, one of the best pilots crashes and dies during a filming session. Everyone is immediately saying it was an accident and/or pilot error. Griff, who is a pilot, and Poppy don’t believe it to be an accident. They investigate more and more – they become more and more sure it wasn’t an accident. Without any proof, they cannot say anything – and when a second crash and death occur, they are sure both are related. When the powers-that-be decide that the crashes are ‘accidents’, and the filming session is drawing to a close, they know they have to quickly get some answers.

I absolutely adored Poppy and Griff – not to mention Bess, Poppy’s sweet little Corgi. Since I didn’t read the first book, I have no idea where Poppy and Griff left their relationship in that book. However, in this book, it is quite evident they care for each other. I’ll be so very happy to read the next book in order to see what mystery they get to solve and to see where their relationship goes next.

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an Advance Audio Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley, C.S. Harris, Anna Lee Huber, and Christine Trent

On By BarbaraIn Anthology, Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Mystery, Regency Era (1811-1820), World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

The Deadly HoursBarbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone Anthology
Publication Date: 9/1/20
Number of Pages: 352

Deadly Hours contains four novellas by four exceptional authors. Each tale deals with the curse placed on gold stolen from a church in 1697. Some of that gold is made into a beautiful watch called La Sirene. Each person who owns the watch, even temporarily, comes to a terrible end. The stories take you from the watch’s creation to its final destruction a couple of centuries later. Or, is it really destroyed and the curse broken???? Two of the authors are longtime favorites of mine – Anna Lee Huber and C.S. Harris and I couldn’t wait to read their contributions. I haven’t read Susanna Kearsley nor Christine Trent, so I was anxious to give some potential new favorites a try.

The stories are in chronological order, so be sure to read them in the order they appear in the book. Skipping around only confuses the timeline – I speak from experience there.

While each of the stories was good, well-written, and well-delivered, the whole just didn’t catch my imagination. I think part of that was that I wanted to know more about each set of characters and the size constraints just didn’t allow for that.

Weapon of Choice by Susanna Kearsley – 4 Stars

February 1733 (with tales dating to 1697)

Oh! We have pirates, Jacobites, assassins, and a cursed timepiece all trapped together during a raging storm. What could possibly go wrong there? I think this might have been my favorite of the four stories because it was fast-paced and the characters were very interesting.

Three different ships, all bound for the same place, but from different origination points, are all caught in a horrendous, unnatural storm. All three ships make it to the same port and the passengers have to stay at the same Inn. One ship carries an assassin who is looking to assassinate The Duke of Ormonde, a staunch supporter, and advisor to the king. One ship carries a staunch Jacobite and protector of the king and the Duke. One ship, oops, carries the Duke himself.

The pirate captain carried an unusual timepiece that seemed to strike fear into the heart of another captain. Why? The timepiece was named La Sirene and it had quite a history – which the captain gladly shares. Then – when murder happens …

This was a really good read and an exciting way to start the tale of La Sirene.

In A Fevered Hour by Anna Lee Huber – 4-Stars

May 1831

I THINK this would be book 4.75 or so in the Lady Darby series because it takes place two weeks after the wedding and before they take off for their honeymoon in the Lake District. You can read this story without reading the Lady Darby series, but it is a really good series if you care to read it.

Keira and Gage are spending a quiet evening at home when Bonnie Brock Kincaid comes knocking on their door – highly distraught. That is highly unusual for the normally cool and aloof Brock. He tells his tale of a cursed watch bringing down his family and all of Old Town Edinburgh. OH! Curses!

Keira and Gage don’t believe anything about cursed timepieces, but when Brock collapses on the floor with some strange malady they immediately think he might have been poisoned. After sending for a doctor and learning that a strange illness is decimating Old Town Edinburg they have to wonder – and investigate.

Can they solve the mystery, find and destroy the timepiece before all of Edinburg is wiped out? Will Brock survive? You’ll just have to read this excellently crafted novella to find out. It is well worth your time.

A Pocketful of Death by Christine Trent – 4 Stars

March 1870

La Sirene resurfaces again when a newly minted Viscount begins to have all of his relatives disinterred and reburied in a new family plot. Inside a grave, the undertaker handling the removals and reburials finds a lovely and expensive watch wrapped within a pair of gloves. Believing that it must belong to the family of the deceased, she takes it to the Viscount.

Strange occurrences begin within the exclusive Mayfair neighborhood – a murder, then another, then another. Some blame the newly found watch. Some blame a madman. Either way, the undertaker, Violet Harper, being the curious sort, begins asking questions. (Note – Violet Harper is from this author’s Lady of Ashes series.) The more questions she asks, the more confusing the circumstances – there are almost no commonalities among the victims other than they live within the same neighborhood. Yet, La Sirene stops working one hour prior to each death. What does this cursed watch have to do with the deaths?

This was an excellently written story, but it was my least favorite of the four. It seemed to be more slow-moving and plodding than the other stories. As I said, well-written, but it just didn’t catch my imagination.

Siren’s Call by C.S. Harris – 4 Stars

June 1944

There is a German spy and a murderer loose in the small English village of New Godwick. Are they one and the same? What do they want? The murderer’s first victim is a lovely old man who is an antiquarian with a vast collection of valuable antiques. One of his most cherished items is missing. That item? A case for a cursed timepiece called La Sirene. Did it contain clues to the location of the timepiece itself?

More deaths and mysterious radio broadcasts to Germany keep MI5 – and a local miss – busy investigating. With Hitler and his henchmen’s interest in all things occult, it is no surprise that they might be looking for La Sirene. Will the spy find it and get it to Hitler? Will our English detectives discover them and retrieve La Sirene? Will the curse end? You’ll just have to read to see.