Blitz: 3 (Rook Files)

Product Information

O'Malley has a knack for developing cool powers for Checquy agents, and I never tire of discovering them. Of course, the two stories are connected, and as they unfold we are treated to much action, hilariously ludicrous powers, loveable new and old characters, and two satisfying mysteries. When Usha, Bridget, and a Pawn encounter a Nazi bomber in the air, the Pawn breaks all the rules of the Chequy and knocks it out of the sky.

Although London absorbed the brunt of the campaign, the reader is also taken to the smouldering bombsites of Coventry, Birmingham, the south coast ports, Belfast, and other cities that the Luftwaffe ranged across, where the voices of rescue squads and fire services shine an unwavering light on the harrowing consequences of aerial bombardment for civilian populations. Lovejoy is both fierce and tender in her desperation to have something to believe in, and Godden’s fluid storytelling carries the reader along as Lovejoy and the local children find sanctuary in their unsanctioned garden. Three women of the Checquy, the secret organization tasked with protecting Britain from supernatural threats, stand in the sky above London and see German aircraft approach.Three women of the Checquy, the secret organization tasked with protecting Britain from supernatural threats, stand in the sky above London and watch German aircraft approach. I didn't care a bit about any of the characters - I didn't find the plot compelling - there was no humor and even worse both story lines were filled with long long sections of information that dragged - like the letter one character wrote, or when one character tells another of a past event or about a past member, or the history of something or the other- endless dialog and even more endless fight scenes - everything was LONG in this book - even skipping pages still didn't shorten the tediousness of this story. Standing at Ta’Qali, where an airfield received in one single raid the same tonnage of bombs that crippled Coventry, I felt I’d been given permission. But over fifty per cent of children were not evacuated during the War, and it is these young people who offer an unrivalled view of what life was like during the bombing raids in Britain's cities. Bryan Hale’s chance encounter in a London pub with Jenny, an acquaintance from school, starts a relationship that neither wants nor can afford.

With no on to rely on but herself Lyn has to prove her innocence if she wants to get back to the family she loves and the job she's discovered she loves just as much. I kept reading about the 1920s, particularly 1920s Paris, through my Masters and then my Doctorate in war fiction. Little does she know that the summer will be one of air-raid sirens and bombs raining down, tearing the heart out of London. They are not connected strongly enough connected IMO to warrant them being put together; I think both would have been more entertaining and compelling if they had stood alone.

Just when I thought I couldn't stand more WW2 novels, O'Malley places his third Checquy files novel partly during the Blitz in London, with a parallel storyline in the present, following directly after "Stiletto". it is very rare that both story lines are interesting but also very rare that both are dreadfully boring and guess what? I was so excited to get an early copy of the third book in one of my favorite series, and I am ecstatic to say that it gave me the exact delight I was looking for. For fans of Dilly Court, Rosie Goodwin and Katie Flynn, this is the launch of a new series based around the true stories of the Blitz.