The Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad (2019 fiction)
This debut novel by Alan Hlad appears to be yet another novel about World War II and the bombing of Britain, but the story is that of the National Pigeon Service, the civilian group who in another life raised and raced homing pigeons. In 1940, the British military requisitioned the pigeons with the idea that they would be dropped by parachute into occupied France, where they would be picked up by the Resistance and used to transmit messages about Nazi locations and activities. It was expected that most of the pigeons would not survive, but that a few would return to England carrying vital information. Susan Shepherd and her grandfather are members of the NPS, contributing 1,000 of their flock. Due to a set of circumstances, she meets Maine crop duster Oliver Evans, who had hopes of joining the RAF and instead ends up working for the Shepherds and their pigeon enterprise. Duchess is Susan’s pet pigeon who was never meant to be part of the group, but she is accidentally caged and loaded onto the transport plane. While Oliver is attempting to get her back, the plane takes off and both Oliver and Duchess end up on their way to France, where the pigeons are released and the plane is shot down. Oliver is able to attach a message to Duchess and send her home, whereby begins a correspondence between himself and Susan via pigeon. While this is fiction, the basis of the story is true, and another heroic war operation is revealed. I truly enjoyed this book. It is well written and holds your interest until the end.
Reviewed by Ginger Russell
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