The long flight home

Hlad's debut delves into an obscure piece of World War II history: the covert mission of the National Pigeon Service, which deployed an army of homing pigeons to send messages to Britain from Nazi-occupied France. In 1940, as the Blitz begins, Englishwoman Susan Shepherd and her grandfather are called on by the military to provide the pigeons they raise on their farm to act as messengers from behind enemy lines. A young American pilot, Ollie Evans, ignores American neutrality and arrives in England determined to join the Royal Air Force; he finds himself staying with the Shepherds, which leads to a blossoming romance between himself and Susan. A series of mishaps sees Ollie on an RAF plane that crashes in France, and one of Susan's pigeons becomes their sole link across the Channel. While some of the characters are a bit thinly drawn, Ollie's attempts to escape from France are gripping, and Hlad adeptly drives home the devastating civilian cost of the war.--Martha Waters Copyright 2019 Booklist

Hlad's debut snares readers with its fresh angle on the blitz of WWII, focusing on the homing pigeons used by the British, and the people who trained and cared for them. It's autumn of 1940, and the carpet bombings of London have begun. Susan Shepard and her grandfather Bertie raise pigeons on a farm in Epping, outside of London and near the North Weald Airfield, and they rush to their shelter each time the Luftwaffe passes over. Meanwhile, Ollie Evans, an American crop-duster pilot living in Buxton, Maine, has decided to try to join the Allied effort as a Royal Air Force flier. Soon, Ollie meets Susan and the birds she has trained, but before they can explore their feelings for one another, Ollie becomes caught up in the fighting while Susan becomes involved in Source Columba, the real-life intelligence operation that featured the air-drop of hundreds of homing pigeons in occupied France. Descriptions of the horrors of war and the excitement of battle are engaging, and the unusual element of the carrier pigeons lends an intriguing twist. This story will speak not only to romance readers and WWII buffs but also to animal advocates and anyone who enjoys discovering quirky details that are hidden in history. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.