A Valiant Deceit
A WW2 Historical Mystery Perfect for Book Clubs
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4.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In the same vein as Rhys Bowen’s and Susan Elia MacNeal’s engrossing mysteries, Stephanie Graves returns with the latest book in her captivating historical mystery series set in England during World War II, featuring the young and spirited veterinarian student Olive Bright.
Returning to Pipley following her FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) training, Olive is eager to step up her involvement in the war effort. Her pigeons are being conscripted to aid the Belgian resistance, and it’s up to Olive to choose the best birds for the mission. To protect the secrecy of their work, she must also continue the ruse of being romantically involved with her superior, Captain Jameson Aldridge, a task made more challenging by the fact that she really does have feelings for the gruff Irish intelligence officer.
But perhaps the greatest challenge of all comes when an instructor at Station XVII, the top-secret training school housed at Brickendonbury Manor, is found dead in Balls Wood by a troop of Girl Guides. The police quickly rule Lieutenant Jeremy Beckett’s death an accident, but based on clues she finds at the scene, Olive begins to suspect he might have been a spy. Involving the reluctant Jamie, she is determined to solve the murder and possibly stop a threat to their intelligence efforts which could put the Belgians—not to mention her pigeons—in grave danger.
“Perfect for lovers of wartime novels that combine history, mystery, and romance.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Graves’s focus on a fascinating bit of WWII history makes this stand out among lighter wartime mysteries.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
