Book Review: Her Secret War by Pam Lecky

About:

Her Secret War by Pam Lecky tells of Sarah Gillepsie, who finds herself over her head working for the war effort in England. Ms. Lecky is an Irish author, specializing in historical fiction.

• 384 pages
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avon
  
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008464847

My rating for Her Secret War – 3
Buy Her Secret War from Amazon.com*
More Books by Pam Lecky*

Thoughts:

I always enjoy World War II books, and especially if espionage is involved. Her Secret War by Pam Lecky was certainly right up my alley.

The book is very well written, with great atmosphere, as well as fascinating settings. I can’t remember if I read any other WWII books set, all or in part, in Ireland, so it was an interesting section of the book about events I never knew about.

The cast of characters is likeable and relatable. Sarah is very naïve, at first, I didn’t understand why she was picked to root out the fifth columnist, but it was soon revealed.

The story, however, moves very slowly. It takes about a third of the book for Sarah to make it to England, and another third for the espionage part to take place. I also wouldn’t categorize this book as “historical fiction”, but rather as a story which takes place during WWII.

For me, historical fiction reconstructs past events, using a fictional story as a mechanism. I didn’t feel that this book reconstructed…well… anything. There are mentions of the bombing of Ireland by the Nazis, as well as Sarah’s workplace in the Supermarine. I, however, felt that this story could have taken place almost anyplace, and any other time. I don’t know anymore about the Supermarine, which is next to nothing, then when I started the book, nor did any historical characters were involved in the plot-line – or even in conversation.

The book did end on a note that there might be more to come!

Synopsis:

Sara Gillepsie is her family’s sole survivor after a Nazi bombing. Leaving her home in Ireland, she goes to work in England helping the war effort.

In the process of her work, Sarah finds herself being pressured to attempt to root out a fifth columnist. This is something Sarah didn’t bargain for, finding herself in uncomfortable situations, and mortal danger.

Buy Her Secret War from Amazon.com*
More Books by Pam Lecky*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free from TLC Book Tours
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books