Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Graves's enjoyable sequel to 2021's Olive Bright, Pigeoneer begins in 1941 in the village of Pipley, England, where pigeoneer and amateur sleuth Olive supports the war effort by training her homing pigeons for a clandestine government organization stationed at a nearby manor. Her latest assignment, training the pigeons to carry messages for Resistance fighters in Europe, is interrupted when a mild-mannered acquaintance, Lt. Jeremy Beckett, is found dead. The police determine his death was an accident, but things don't add up--Beckett was carrying a coded message in his pocket and a map of Germany clutched in one hand. Was he a spy? Determined to find the truth, Olive solicits the help of her superior officer, the handsome but prickly Capt. Jameson "Jamie" Aldridge. They must overcome their fraught relationship long enough to devise a trap for the real traitor. Olive and Jamie's budding romance is promising, though Olive's brash and sometimes immature behavior can wear thin. Graves's focus on a fascinating bit of WWII history makes this stand out among lighter wartime mysteries. Agent: Rebecca Strauss, DeFiore and Co. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Graves's sequel to Olive Bright, Pigeoneer combines well-developed characters with the fascinating role of carrier pigeons in World War II, historical fact, and mystery. Olive has her hands full with her multiple tasks in the war effort against the Nazis. She's finished her FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) training, and she's home in Pipley, England. She's still training her pigeons to act as couriers for messages, while working at Brickendonbury Manor training school. Her hardest job, though, might be pretending to the village that she's romantically involved with her boss, Captain Jameson Aldridge. It wouldn't be so difficult if he'd put a little effort into that aspect of their job. When a group of Girl Guides discovers the body of a training instructor, it's quickly ruled an accidental death. But Olive, who's infatuated with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, suspects murder. Jamie gives her permission to investigate, and she soon links the death to her fellow FANYs. Even worse, she fears that one of the young women might have betrayed the Belgians in the Resistance who are depending on Olive's pigeons. VERDICT Suggest for fans of Rhys Bowen's World War II novel of intrigue, In Farleigh Field.--Lesa Holstine
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In 1941, an English pigeon breeder resolves to continue her contributions to the war effort. Olive Bright of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry got involved in intelligence work when she agreed to use her pigeons to carry messages back from occupied Europe. She and her superior officer, Capt. Jameson Aldridge, are pretending to be in love to account for all the time they spend together, but although Olive finds the enigmatic Jamie more and more attractive, he seems to find her more and more annoying because of her tendency toward sleuthing--which has recently produced some excellent results. Olive is working to find the birds best suited to work with a group of Belgian agents due to be dropped into France to help the Resistance, even looking for some in her dovecote that have Belgian heritage, since her father had brought back a pigeon from Antwerp years ago. But when some Girl Guides find the body of Lt. Jeremy Beckett in the woods near a radio wire, she sets out, much to Jamie's despair, to prove that he met with foul play. Although Beckett's death is written off as an accident, Olive is convinced that German spies are at work, especially when she finds a pilot's silk map, marked with a few tiny crosses near Berlin, clutched in Beckett's hand. Olive reluctantly decides that her three fellow FANY office workers are the most likely suspects, but proving it while keeping up with her work with the pigeons and the village effort to support the war will prove difficult and dangerous. Perfect for lovers of wartime novels that combine history, mystery, and romance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
