Do you enjoy World War II thrillers?This historical thriller with a tearful ending is filled with conspiracy, corruption, the horror of a Nazi ghetto camp, a mysterious escape from Europe, hunting Nazi treasures and a stolen toy aeroplane.“I couldn’t put it down and cried at the end.” ARC ReaderFlying Without WingsAt the close of World War II in Terezín Concentration Camp 1945 a young Jewish boy, … Wings
At the close of World War II in Terezín Concentration Camp 1945 a young Jewish boy, Johan Falkner, overhears a deadly secret about the final legacy of the Third Reich.
Forty years later, in rural England, Matt Buttrick learns of a hidden Nazi rumoured to be living in the area.
Are the two connected? And what is the mysterious treasure that one of two men took from Germany on a flight from an abandoned airfield near Bremen at the end of the war?
The discovery of a body confirms that ruthless people are also searching for this treasure, and the safety of Matt’s family may depend on him getting to it first. The only problem is that to do so he will have to talk to the man he holds responsible for the greatest loss in his life, and in doing so confront his broken dream of taking to the skies.
Fly with a young man through life’s journey of hopes, dreams and tragedies!
ARC Reader “World War II is not my genre. That being said, this was an EXCELLENT story!!! I really, really enjoyed it! And the story is woven between World War II and the modern world of 1985.”
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The appalling conditions in a Nazi concentration camp at the end of WII sets the stage for a fast-paced, historical thriller, with revenge, secrets, and broken dreams scattered around every corner.
WWI is not really my genre at all. However, that being said, this was an EXCELLENT story! I really, really enjoyed it. Even though the story flips between 1945 and 1985, the plotline revolves around the characters themselves, instead of the events of the war.
The storyline is intriguing, the characters are well-developed, the writing flows well with rich detail, and a twist at the end caught me by surprise.This was a book I couldn’t put down.
I received an ARC from the author and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review. I liked it so much I also bought a copy of the book.
In her previous books the author splits her historical stories between two periods, and this continues in that vein, this time set during WWII and the 1980s, both periods are evoked brilliantly, the horrors of the concentration camps and the struggles to keep alive in the 1940s and the rather more bucolic 1980 in the English countryside.
The other aspects of Ms. Wynne’s writing that really stand out are the rather involved plots, with the focus switching between the two time periods and the characters.
In this book there are really well developed and believable characters, the desperate internees in the concentration camp, doing whatever they must to survive set against the cruelty and inhumanity shown by the guards and then in the 1980s there are more great characters who are allowed to grow and change as the story develops, especially ‘Bomber’ who redeems himself from his initial grumpy self, but Cami is perhaps the best written character, bitterness having eaten her up to become an evil, cold-hearted and manipulative treasure hunter, willing to do whatever it takes to get vengeance, as she saw it.
If I do have a criticism it is that because of the switching between era and the number of characters it isn’t an easy read, you do have to concentrate to get the most out it, but if you do, the reward is an exciting, original read with a fascinating plot.
I received an advance copy of the book from the author, but have voluntarily written this honest review.
I have been enjoying Paula Wynne’s books in the past and was curious how she was going to handle this new material. She did a marvelous job in describing been interned in a Concentration camp through the eyes of a young Jewish boy. How he felt the loss of his sister. The importance of him holding on to the little toy airplane even risking his live trying to recover it after the Nazi commander had stolen it from him. The boy survived, became a father and started recovering stolen goods by the Nazis to return to their rightful owners for a commission. I’m sure he never would have understood the actions of his child after he died. The child trying to rectify the horror he had lived through by becoming as violent as some of the Nazis had been with little feelings for the harm done to others.
I Pre-ordered this excellent historical novel from Amazon. This is an extraordinary novel, one I am pleased to refer to friends, and family. The work is well researched. The telling of the tale is simple and easily followed, and the WWII facts true to history. The characters are all interesting and picturesque. This is an all-nighter novel.
The central hook of Flying Without Wings is an inherent love of flying and a quote from Zen Dog by Edward Monkton. “He knows not where he’s going, For the ocean will decide. It’s not the destination, It’s the glory of the ride.” And then there is the red K345 model plane that crops up every so often…
We do time-travel flip-flopping, beginning In May of 1942, deep diving with Steffan Sommer in Lake Toplitz in the Austrian Alps and other adventures as he searches out remote hiding places for storing Nazi loot. May 7, 1945, we are at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia, seen through the eyes of Johan Falkner who was interred with his whole family in 1942. Johan is young and small and still housed with his mother in the women’s quarters. He had brought with him hidden in his coat when the Falkner family was shipped to Theresienstadt a small red German K345 model airplane which was confiscated by the commandant of the camp and placed in plain sight at the gate guards hut, where Johan could see it every day but never again touch. He has watched his older brother Aron and father being hauled off to an unknown labor camp, and his beautiful older sister Elza put through medical ‘testing’ and tortured before her death. Both Johan and his mother Ima are skin and bones and out of hope. The Russians are coming, they can often hear the shooting and shelling, but will Allied forces arrive in time to save the Czech families still alive, or will the stepped-up killings at the concentration camp get them all before the Germans flee?
In June of 1945, Little Hollow, Berkshire, England, we visit the Sommer family, who are the elite in that stretch of the English woods, and we spend time with Sommer cousins Steffan and Wilhelm at Bremen Airfield in Germany and join in their travels at war’s end in search of Nazi gold.
In 1977 we join John Falcon and Aron who are also Nazi hunters – both Nazi criminals and stolen loot. The Falcon brothers, however, would like to see that loot returned to the families it was stolen from.
In our more modern time frame, we have Matt Buttrick in Aldermaston, Berkshire, England beginning in July 1985. What is behind the vague rumors of a Nazi hiding out in Berkshire after the war? Is there really a treasure map of Nazi loot as reported by cousin Allan? What really happened in the Falklands? The Buttrick boys lost their father in a plane crash in the Falklands War. The co-pilot of the plane, Steven ‘Bomber’ Balmaine, lived to return home and run a small local airfield. Matt has always held Bomber personally responsible for his father’s death. Their mother runs a coffee shop in Little Hollow. Both Matt and Luke are crazy about planes. Luke actually works at the local airfield with Bomber, but Matt, injured in a fall years ago, is still mourning the fact that he cannot pass the physical requirements to join the RAF.
This book was fabulous until the inappropriate language towards the end. I can handle some language, but this did not fit with the times. It’s the only reason I gave it four stars instead of five. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and this book didn’t disappoint. In spite of the language,I would highly recommend this book. The reader does need to pay attention to the changing years. It’s a long book, but very well written!
Not really a history buff, but I wanted to give this book a try because I enjoy Ms. Wynne’s writing. And thankfully, she didn’t disappoint me! From the death camps of the Nazi regime to 40 years later in a small town in England, life has a way of circling back. This an intriguing story of hatred, domination, greed, small town life, first love, and a small child’s toy airplane. It will make you angry, make you cry, make you smile, and make you thankful that there really are good people in this world. Grab this book and settle in for an amazing “flight.”
I received an ARC of this book from the author, but this review is my opinion alone.
An engrossing story. Complex characters, sometimes growing dramatically. The transition from part 1 to part 2 trying to figure out what I missed and distracted me from the story.