Review & Giveaway: In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen

Title:In Farleigh Field

Author:Rhys Bowen

Published:March 2017, Lake Union Publishing

Format:ARC Paperback, 396 pages

Source:Publisher via Little Bird Publicity

World War II comes to
Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five
daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on
the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5
operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with
determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben
the chance to be near Lord Westerham’s middle daughter, Pamela, whom he
furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret: she has taken a job at
Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility.

As Ben
follows a trail of spies and traitors, which may include another member
of Pamela’s family, he discovers that some within the realm have an
appalling, history-altering agenda. Can he, with Pamela’s help, stop
them before England falls?

Inspired by the events and people of
World War II, writer Rhys Bowen crafts a sweeping and riveting saga of
class, family, love, and betrayal.

My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by Rhys Bowen and I was blown away – I really enjoyed it. I‘m a big historical fiction fan, especially with books dealing about WWII and anything that is compared to Downton Abby is sure to be a must-read for me!

I found this to be a rather quick read, despite the heavy topic – WWII is never a topic one picks up for it’s lightheartedness, yet I found this book to be engaging, the characters to be endearing and the mystery to be clever. 

I loved that we got to see women taking on rather important roles during the war. Though they had to keep these roles a secret from their families, it was still neat to see just how important their role was during the war. And even the roles some of the men who couldn’t be on the battlefields – their roles during the war were just as important, too – those behind-the-scenes roles, the ones cracking the codes and keeping track of who was where – these were important roles.

I loved how Rhys Bowen created the Westerham daughters as such independent women. Three figure prominently in the the story – Pamela, Margot and Phoebe – and these are strong, independent women for their times. These each end up with important roles during the war. 

What was most fun about this book is that throughout the story, as we meet the whole cast of characters – and believe me when I say cast as there is a pretty comprehensive list of characters right at the beginning of the book – I found myself trying to figure out just who was on which side. No one is allowed to talk about their job so you don’t really know who is on which side and you are often left wondering if they might be a spy or even a double agent??? And then suspicious things start occurring and you are left wondering and trying to put the pieces together.

I really enjoyed this book and even though my guesses didn’t come to fruition, I found the overall mystery to be just plain fun! It was the perfect read for the crazy snowstorm we had here in NY yesterday, in March! And now, I definitely want to check out Rhys Bowen’s other books – though I understand they are all part of different series…so which one do you suggest I start with?

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GIVEAWAY DETAILS – (US only)  

Thanks to  Little Bird Publicity one reader can win a copy of  In Farleigh Field  by Rhys Bowen. To enter the giveaway, please fill out the rafflecopter by March 21st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to US residents only and ends March 21st

Good Luck!!!