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In Farleigh Field: A Novel of World War II by Rhys Bowen - I don't usually choose wartime novels, but having enjoyed a couple of previous novels by Bowen, I thought this would probably be a good bet. This one had mystery, adventure, intrigue and a touch of romance, and was not heavy-handed or dark.
An unidentified parachutist's body is found in a field belonging to Farleigh Place, and at first it's assumed a British airman had a tragic accident. But some of the details don't add up, and suspicions are raised about the man's identity and purpose for trying to parachute into this field. Farleigh is home to Roderick Sutton, the Earl of Westerham, and his five daughters, and temporary quarters for army unit. If the parachutist was a German, he must have had a contact in the area, yet who could it be?
Farleigh neighbor Ben Cresswell has been working in MI5 and is sent home on the pretense of leave to do some investigating. At the same time, one of the Sutton girls, Pamela, gets leave to go home for a visit as well. She's looking forward to seeing another old friend, RAF flying ace Jeremy Prescott, who has arrived home after a daring escape from a German prison camp. The reunion doesn't go as she'd hoped, but she is glad to have Ben's company and friendship, not realizing that Ben has been carrying a torch for her for years. They begin to cooperate in the search for answers, but each must remain secretive about what their jobs actually entail - Pamela isn't MI5, but she does work in a top secret section of Bletchley Park translating and decoding enemy communications. Of course, because everything is top secret, neither Ben nor Pamela can let on to anyone (including each other) what exactly they do, and everyone assumes they are in boring desk jobs. Ben is often slighted because loyal Brits wonder why an able-bodied young chap like him isn't over on the continent with the troops.
Ben and Pamela are the two main characters hunting down answers, but Pamela's youngest sister, Phoebe, and her friend are playing at detective as well, since they originally discovered the body. Also, Pamela's older sister, Margot, has been in Paris, living with a member of the French Resistance, and her status and loyalty comes into question. Actually, very few of the characters don't have their loyalty to Britain questioned at some point!
Ben and Pamela trust each other and get closer as the story goes on, and as they race against time to figure out the message the parachutist was carrying and who they were planning to contact. The stakes are high, because it might be a plot against the prime minister or the royal family; and because someone in their own circle appears to be a traitor.
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, with its wry humor and quirky characters. I think my list of possible suspects was longer than Ben's, and I correctly identified at least one of the traitors fairly early, but without my suspicions being confirmed until near the end. And to be fair, I guessed wrong on another suspect. My only disappointment was that the wrap-up at the end seemed somewhat abrupt, and I wasn't totally satisfied with where it left the relationship between Ben and Pamela.
by Rhys Bowen - I don't usually choose wartime novels, but having enjoyed a couple of previous novels by Bowen, I thought this would probably be a good bet. This one had mystery, adventure, intrigue and a touch of romance, and was not heavy-handed or dark.An unidentified parachutist's body is found in a field belonging to Farleigh Place, and at first it's assumed a British airman had a tragic accident. But some of the details don't add up, and suspicions are raised about the man's identity and purpose for trying to parachute into this field. Farleigh is home to Roderick Sutton, the Earl of Westerham, and his five daughters, and temporary quarters for army unit. If the parachutist was a German, he must have had a contact in the area, yet who could it be?
Farleigh neighbor Ben Cresswell has been working in MI5 and is sent home on the pretense of leave to do some investigating. At the same time, one of the Sutton girls, Pamela, gets leave to go home for a visit as well. She's looking forward to seeing another old friend, RAF flying ace Jeremy Prescott, who has arrived home after a daring escape from a German prison camp. The reunion doesn't go as she'd hoped, but she is glad to have Ben's company and friendship, not realizing that Ben has been carrying a torch for her for years. They begin to cooperate in the search for answers, but each must remain secretive about what their jobs actually entail - Pamela isn't MI5, but she does work in a top secret section of Bletchley Park translating and decoding enemy communications. Of course, because everything is top secret, neither Ben nor Pamela can let on to anyone (including each other) what exactly they do, and everyone assumes they are in boring desk jobs. Ben is often slighted because loyal Brits wonder why an able-bodied young chap like him isn't over on the continent with the troops.
Ben and Pamela are the two main characters hunting down answers, but Pamela's youngest sister, Phoebe, and her friend are playing at detective as well, since they originally discovered the body. Also, Pamela's older sister, Margot, has been in Paris, living with a member of the French Resistance, and her status and loyalty comes into question. Actually, very few of the characters don't have their loyalty to Britain questioned at some point!
Ben and Pamela trust each other and get closer as the story goes on, and as they race against time to figure out the message the parachutist was carrying and who they were planning to contact. The stakes are high, because it might be a plot against the prime minister or the royal family; and because someone in their own circle appears to be a traitor.
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, with its wry humor and quirky characters. I think my list of possible suspects was longer than Ben's, and I correctly identified at least one of the traitors fairly early, but without my suspicions being confirmed until near the end. And to be fair, I guessed wrong on another suspect. My only disappointment was that the wrap-up at the end seemed somewhat abrupt, and I wasn't totally satisfied with where it left the relationship between Ben and Pamela.
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