Pam Lecky Will Win Your Heart with ‘Her Secret War’ [DIAMOND REVIEW]

She thought they were safe. But that was before she heard the drone of planes overhead. The following day’s events changes her life forever. Does she have what it takes to rise from the ashes and forge a new path as a spy? Find out in Pam Lecky’s Her Secret War.

On May 31, 1941, Sarah Gillespie loses everything when Germany bombs Dublin. Suddenly her home and family are gone. Days later, the man she loves leaves Ireland to enlist in the RAF in Britain. Eager to help with the war effort herself, she goes to England to stay with relatives. But it doesn’t take long for her family’s history to catch up with her.

Now she is asked to prove just how loyal she is to the Brits. To do so, she must uncover a spy at a fighter plane manufacturing company. Her success depends on her becoming involved with an enemy sympathizer, a game where failure is not an option.

For many, Her Secret War will mark readers first encounter with Pam Lecky’s writing. But what an introduction it is! Vivid and descriptive, Lecky’s voice is assured and courageous. She writes with clarity and insight, and as a result her descriptions are spot on and her characters become living, breathing people we come to care about.

Her writing also serves as our magic time machine to the past, where readers will likely feel they are experiencing history firsthand. In fact, the tension in the air is palpable every time a plane soars overhead, making us shudder and look around for the closest bomb shelter. Not since reading Anika Scott’s The German Heiress have I loved a piece of historical fiction this much!

The danger doesn’t just appear in the form of German planes, however. Lecky deftly creates nerve-jangling suspense with the subtle touch of a master. The result is a book that will keep you up far past your bedtime turning pages, eager to see if Sarah will survive her secret mission undetected. As good as this book is, I must share one caveat: this is a book that is going to leave you wanting more. Lucky for you, a sequel is already in the works.

Pam Lecky is an Irish historical fiction author, writing crime, and mystery with a dash of romance. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Crime Writers’ Association and the Society of Authors.

In November 2020, she signed with Avon Books UK/Harper Collins in a two-book deal. The first book in the historical thriller series, Her Secret War, was published January 2022.

Her debut novel, The Bowes Inheritance, was awarded the BRAG Medallion and was shortlisted for the Carousel Aware Prize 2016 and longlisted for the Historical Novel Society 2016 Indie Award.

Her short stories are available in an anthology, entitled Past Imperfect, which was published in April 2018.

June 2019 saw the release of the first book in the Lucy Lawrence mysteries, No Stone Unturned, a fast-paced Victorian mystery/crime novel set in London and Yorkshire which was recently awarded the BRAG Medallion. The sequel, Footprints in the Sand, set in Egypt, was released in March 2020. She is currently working on the third book in the series, The Art of Deception, which was published in late 2021.

For more information, visit PamLecky.com, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

HER SECRET WAR
By Pam Lecky
400 pp. Avon Books. $16.99.

Purchase Her Secret War direct from Jathan & Heather Books or from one of these other fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, HarperCollins, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, Target, or Walmart.

Her Secret War is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.