Inspired by fascinating, true, yet little-known events during World War II, The Long Flight Home is a testament to the power of courage in our darkest hours—a moving, masterfully written story of love and sacrifice. It is September 1940—a year into the war—and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home … sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan—loyal, intelligent, beautiful—but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan incubated in a bowl under her grandfather’s desk lamp, Duchess shares a special bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world.
Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, a young crop-duster pilot named Ollie Evans has decided to travel to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping and to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert assignment. Codenamed Source Columba, the mission aims to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do make the journey home to England can convey crucial information on German troop movements—and help reclaim the skies from the Luftwaffe.
The friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens as the mission date draws near. When Ollie’s plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess’s devotion and her singular sense of duty will become an unexpected lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on—and proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost.
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Tense, heartwarming, and life affirming, The Long Flight Home gives a fresh slant on heroism in WWII.
I’ve always been fascinated by homing pigeons, and Alan Hlad makes these amazing birds and their trainers shine in The Long Flight Home — a sweeping tale full of romance and espionage, poignant sacrifice, and missed chances, uncommon courage and the ongoing costs of war. A compelling debut told with conviction and great heart.
I’m always a sucker for a great WW2 story. I’ve never read a book by this author, but the theme was very interesting (homing pigeons helping to win the war for England). I found the book mostly enjoyable and entertaining. There were places where I skipped past (too much detail, for me anyway). And the ending was a bit unsatisfying. It wasn’t horrible, but since this was’t a true story, felt like the author could have ended the book way better than the path he chose. He set things up for a great ending then suddenly turned left.
historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-figures, historical-research, England, France, love, WW2, war-is-hell
This is essentially a love story. Love for homeland and way of life, love for the pigeons that gave their lives in the war effort, love of family, love of men to fly airplanes, and the author’s love of a historical footnote. It’s also about man’s inhumanity to man. But mostly about perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds. It is an excellent read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books.
A debut novel that shines the light on a somewhat obscure WW2 British intelligence operation that used tens of thousands of homing pigeons to enable French resistors to relay information on German resources and readiness. Susan trains homing pigeons, and is called to service with the British National Pigeon Service during the early months of the Blitz of London. Susan crosses paths with Ollie, an itinerant crop-duster from Maine who has designs on flying for the RAF. Ollie and Susan forge a bond when each learns the other has lost their parents, and as Ollie helps Susan do her bit to prepare the birds for the war effort, romantic feelings ignite. But Susan and Ollie must overcome their RAF flyer foil Clyde, who had been snubbed by Susan and turns his ire on Ollie. Susan is especially well-drawn, we gain an appreciation of her technical knowledge of pigeon training as well as her deep love for the birds, and her keen sense of duty to England that enables her to put her precious pigeons in great peril. The story is chock-full of well-written action scenes, with period detail aplenty, from bombings during the Blitz, to the terror of French-occupying Nazis, to the Allied pilot escape route through Spain. Mr. Hlad is a fine storyteller, and I’ll watch for his new titles. If I were to quibble, I would love to see him tighten down his narrative summarizations with real-time words and actions, and let the story unveil itself.
Was this review helpful? I am an avid world war based fiction reader and author. You can read more of my takes at https://brodiecurtis.com/curtis-takes/.
A wonderful book I discovered on the shelf at the library. A man, a woman and pigeons, homing pigeons used to relay vital intelligence during World War II. I found it riveting and heartwarming.
The Long Flight Home is a fantastic debut novel set in England and France during WWII. It is well written and the characters of Ollie, Susan and Bertie are well developed, and lovable. This was the first I had learned about pigeons being used during the war, and I fell in love with Duchess! I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction.
Alan Hlad’s The Long Flight Home is a moving historical fiction novel about Pigeons used during WW II to send messages. The two main characters have suffered the loss of their parents. Susan is British and she lives with her grandfather after losing her parents to influenza. Her grandfather, Bertie, is asked by the War Office to participate in Operation Columba to train their pigeons to send messages behind enemy lines in France.
Ollie, our second main character, is a crop duster in Maine. He lost both of his parents in a tragic car accident. Ollie ones to England to join the RAF. While on a train, he encounters Susan who is being harassed by an English officer. He gets in trouble with the military police and is forced to help Susan and her grandfather on their farm for three months before joining the RAF.
Hlad has created a beautiful, haunting novel of courage and survival told from both Susan and Ollie’s point of view. I enjoyed learning about how pigeons were used in the war effort. Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A wonderful debut novel by Alan Hlad. It is a blend of historical fiction, based on the heroism, courage and will of the British and French Resistance during WWII. Add the unknown legacy of homing pigeons that were used to deliver intelligence messages and the devoted trainers that sacrificed everything to send them into service, and the result was a inspiring tale.
You will come to love and admire these heroes, as Alan Hlad skillfully develops a wonderful cast of characters. His talent for storytelling is apparent and each character added to the enjoyment. I really liked this book a lot.
I received this ARC for my honest review and I hope I did justice to it. My thanks to Alan Hlad, Goodreads and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity.
#TheLongFlightHome #KensingtonPublishing
I don’t usually read historical fiction but this story was really good. It was interesting to learn how pigeons were used to carry messages during World War II.
Wonderful. Engrossing. A page turned. I loved it.
The Long Flight Home is a mesmerizing historical fiction novel set during World War II by Alan Hlad. It is the story of Bertie, Ollie, Susan, an extraordinary pigeon named Duchess along with the hundreds of pigeons who helped save Britain. I was captivated by this well written novel; the ending had me in tears of both joy and sadness. I rated it a high five.
A great read of historical fiction with believable characters and a good story probably based on facts,
The best character is, of course, the pigeon. Realistic ending.
A great look into events of WW II. Never knew that pigeons played so impartment role in the effort to defeat Germany.
I really enjoyed this book. Remarkable how the pigeons contributed to the overall plot.
I found this book to be a wonderful historical informational book about something I was unaware of.
Great Read! Great characters! And you got to learn about the pigeon service during WW II. I was sorry to see it end.
Learned things I did not know or even considered. Intriguing story line. Will recommend to book club,
I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t want to put it down until I read the whole thing!
A great read with an unusual story and realistic characters. I loved it and look forward to reading more from this author!