The Incidental Spy - a Novella by Libby Fischer Hellman

 Reviewed from ebook

This novella starts at the beginning of the end, with nothing given away; then it quickly reverts to the beginning...a unique method that really pulls the reader into the book. The story takes place in a time I can remember and as such I can honestly say that Libby Fischer Hellman has absolutely captured the feelings and fears of that time of world war, as well as delving into the pressure cooker of the beginnings of the atomic bomb. Nuclear physics was at its highest priority, and Lena, a German Jew living in America, has already suffered the probable loss of her family to the concentration camps, and has just lost her husband, father of her young son. After this loss, and to support her son and herself, she finds herself back in the Physics Dept. of the university where she had worked prior to her son's birth, busily occupied with the humdrum portion, the paperwork. Now she works with famous scientists and government workers, albeit as a secretary. Everything in her life seems to have begun to return to some type of normal...or has it?

At this point, tension in the story takes a full swing into terror and brings the reader with it.Yet, though the tension builds, it all seems plausible. Once again, a time in my memory is revived when the world lived in fear, especially North America. What can one do in the situation Lena finds herself? The story is a classic good versus evil, but where and how will Lena be able to reconcile her thoughts, her shame and the trap she has set herself? This book pulsates with a life of its own, believable, memorable and deadly. The author has an amazing way with words and is exceptional at toying with our minds if we set to wondering "What would we do in Lena's situation?" I read this one straight through at one sitting, with the story still reverberating in my mind.

The Woman in the Wing by Jean Sheldon

Reviewed for Review the Book
Published by Bast Press

I am so excited by this book and very pleased to recommend it. It is well-written, intense, and true to itself. Jean Sheldon really knows how to tell a story. Taking place after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is a work of fiction in a very realistic presentation. Based on the work of women in the United States during wartime, it centers around the work of the "Rosie the Riveters" as they came to be known, and the women pilots in the WASP. Jean Sheldon has given us an insight into the personal and work lives of these women, reflecting the attitudes of the time, and giving us a good dose of sabotage and espionage as well.

"The Woman in the Wing" grabbed my attention and held it until even after I finished the book. I think this is the longest I ever sat with one book trying to read it all at once.  If it weren't for requiring nourishment and sleep, I'm sure I would have done just that. This is not something I say often.

There are not many works of fiction that feature the women, although the author gives some references on-line for non-fiction resources at the back of the book. I even found myself looking up some of the planes mentioned after reading the descriptions!  The story primarily follows the paths of two very good friends and neighbours who want to fly and manage to get the training for it. But Char, our chief protagonist, has run into the male-domination theme so prevalent in the this era, and she is told she will not get her wings because of something distasteful to her which she flat out refuses. I, being a child of the 1940s, applaud Ms. Sheldon for incorporating this imbalance of humanity that was very current at that time and still persists in some ways today.

Enter the FBI searching for Nazi spies in the warehouses and hangars. There appear to be a number of them sabotaging the planes being built and those in use. Since Char is being "punished" for her refusal of the Major's proposal, she has been sent to be a riveter, along with her friend Max.  They are soon required to watch out for suspicious behaviour and report it to the FBI. They know there are FBI agents working in the facility too, but they don't know who they are.

Accidents have increased in the facility over the past 3 months and are becoming more personal than just slowing production. It soon escalates to planes crashing, equipment falling, and murder, with deaths and injuries piling up, building from fear to terror for the women. Character-driven, the plot accelerates through the whole book until the reader may find he/she is out of breath. I highly recommend this book for its research, subject matter, characterizations, and its exciting, suspenseful finish.

Stuff to Spy For by Don Bruns

Reviewed for "Review the Book"

Don Brun's characters come into the story fully fledged, at least they appear to be, although from the Prologue it would suggest the story is being told by a dead man. Nevertheless, the characters at the beginning are definitely like comfy socks, well-worn and comfortable, and so they should, this is the third book in the "Stuff" series.

Still acting in their high school personae, these two bumbling lifelong friends are still chasing the American Dream.  Even with Skip's Business School training he is still floundering in the security business he is now working for, while James works for Cap’n Crab.

An underachiever, Skip is put in charge of installing security for a government department (a big secret everyone seems to know), the Department of Defense, and it begins to look like they may finally be getting somewhere in life.  He hires his crew, including James, and as an afterthought he also hires their neighbour who has not particularly been of interest to them, but seemed to have some knowledge of the equipment.

Skip's first order of business though is to play the part of boyfriend to the boss' girl-friend to throw his wife off the scent of infidelity.  The plot is complicated and fun, I loved the interaction of all the characters, including those who have made their first appearance in this book.  I am at a slight loss because I have not read the first two, but this works just as well as a stand-alone and is a very enjoyable and fast read.

However, Skip is no sooner introduced to the project than the first body turns up his feet under his desk and is found laid out behind said desk, very dead. Then they learn that other people on the government project have gradually gone missing. To complicate matters more, there are some very strange characters populating the book, and more spy intelligence equipment is soon purchased, or borrowed in order to get to the bottom of things.  Skip is overwhelmed with women wanting his attention, not a common state.  James is the Hardy Boys fan who is the catalyst to getting the equipment, but who to spy on? There are so many possibilities, not to mention that they are being tracked themselves. 

Overall, this is definitely an entertaining book, complete with espionage, mystery, murder, spies spying on spies, and a romp that kept me reading. It was hard to put the book down. I most certainly will read the first two in the series.   5 stars