“Instantly absorbing, suspenseful, romantic, and stylish—like binge-watching a great British drama on Masterpiece Theater.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author
Winner of the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel, the Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel, and the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery.
World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord … Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham’s middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret: she has taken a job at Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility.
As Ben follows a trail of spies and traitors, which may include another member of Pamela’s family, he discovers that some within the realm have an appalling, history-altering agenda. Can he, with Pamela’s help, stop them before England falls?
Inspired by the events and people of World War II, writer Rhys Bowen crafts a sweeping and riveting saga of class, family, love, and betrayal.
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I love Rhys Bowen. Such great historical mysteries.
Meh. Predictable. Stock characters.
This is…amazing. The wonderful Rhys Bowen takes her rightful place on the shelves beside Kristin Hannah and Pam Jenoff in this captivating tale of war, romance, loyalty and deception–and decisions. Brilliant. (And if you love Downton Abbey–grab this instantly!)
I’ve come to love riding about ordinary people in WWII and how they met challenges head on. I enjoyed seeing ordinary people triumph.
My first Rhys Bowen book, and certainly not the last. As in The Tuscan Child, this book deals with Second World War events. Once again, enough suspense and secrets revealed to keep the reader fascinated. The lives of the British aristocracy are vividly described and I loved the characters. This book has been called Downton-esque, involving the upstairs and downstairs characters and an ancestral home. However, here we have traitors and spies, Bletchley Park with its code-brealing and MI5 involved when a parachutist falls to his death on the estate and an investigation follows. So this is not mere domestic drama. I love suspense, history and secrets, and this book certainly does not disappoint. It has everything my recipe requires and the story unfolds beautifully.
Set in WWII Britain, “In Farleigh Field” is the sort of novel I guess I’d call “sweeping,” in the sense that it covers many different characters, most of them aristocracy in the highest circles. A parachutist falls to his death in Farleigh field, and even though he’s dressed in a British military uniform, he has no ID. Various people begin to suspect that he was a German spy. But if that were the case, why Farleigh? What could the possible connection be? Each character tries to figure this out in his own way, and each begins to suspect everybody else. Pamma, one of the sisters who grew up at Farleigh, is thought to work at a paper-pushing desk job… but she’s really a code breaker. Ben, the son of the vicar, injured his leg in a plane crash before the war, and is therefore not in uniform. Everyone thinks that he’s a mere courier, and treats him that way–but really he’s working for MI5. He discovers that there is a twisted sort of patriotism among the British Aristocracy that calls themselves the Ring: their goal is to murder the royal family and put the Duke of Windsor back on the throne, because he has pro-German leanings. With him at the helm, Germany will invade, and therefore the war will be over, and they can go back to life-as-usual. So was the parachutist connected to the Ring?
Meanwhile, Pamma’s boyfriend Jeremy escapes from prison camp and makes his way home–but he’s so changed she hardly knows him. Ben has to deal with watching them together, because he’s been secretly in love with Pamma for years. Pamma’s younger sister Phoebe and a local Cockney boy take it upon themselves to investigate the parachutist’s identity themselves. And Pamma’s older sister Margo gets picked up by the Gestapo in France and tortured (mildly) for information, because she and her lover are both members of the Resistance. They let her go… but only if she will infiltrate the Ring in Britain and further their cause.
Rhys Bowen is a master at historical British fiction! I wouldn’t know where to start, to believably create a story like this. The intrigue was great, and the characters mostly sympathetic (except for Jeremy–she did a great job of making him subtly despicable from the beginning, even though it was in such a way that you *could* explain it away, but you didn’t really want to.) I love reading historical fiction because I actually learn something at the same time (especially when there’s a note at the end that tells you what’s true and what’s not.)
My rating: **** 1/2
Loved this book and this author. If you love WWII stories and authors you will love this author and her books.
I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down!
This is an excellent WW2 story set in England and Paris. It has lots of twists and turns, excitement, credible characters, suspense and is a real page turner.
Thoroughly recommended.
The book started slow and I almost deleted it and went on to another but I was glad I kept going.
The is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it will certainly not be the last. I enjoyed every page of this book
A superb World War II spy/mystery novel. Rhys Bowen perfectly captures the atmosphere of the period. The characters are well-developed and the story moves at a cracking pace. The reader will be hooked from the first word.
Easy to read historical fiction story set in WW2 England and Paris. Somewhat predictable, but I kept reading to make sure my suspicions were correct.
It took a bit for me to get into this story but soon I was hooked, and then once I finished the book, I found myself wanting more time with the characters. That’s a good thing. This WWII thriller had an interesting cast within – the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of the story and action was pretty predictable, but I still enjoyed the journey with the family.
A satisfying story about WWII in a small town outside London.
I enjoy historical novels. This was a good one. Story was about Britain during WWII .An unidentified soldier died parachuting into England near an English army unit billeted in an English manor, only his uniform didn’t quite match the English army uniform. The author did a good job with the characters and left the reader trying to figure out the conspiracy and who was in on it.
Loved this book. Great character development; great story; and an all around great read.
This is a new author to me , & I thoroughly enjoyed this historical, WW2 story. It was realistic as to what people went through, so it had very sad parts. But it kept my attention & I learned alot m. I then read this author’s book, “A Tuscan Child”, enjoyed it alot, & look forward to reading more of Rhys Bowen’s books.
Was an easy read and had me guessing right up to the end.
Not quite as good as I thought it would be, but a very fast read, and entertaining.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I read it because I saw many liked it and gave it excellent reviews. While I appreciate historical fiction, this book seemed a little far fetched. I did enjoy the characters and found that aspect of it enjoyable. The majority of the book dragged and the ending wasn’t as great as I would have liked. All in all, its worth a read.