Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park by Molly Green: Moving, atmospheric, with a cast of vibrant characters - book review -

After falling in love with an American on the first day of the war, young reporter Dale Treadwell is left distraught when he is posted abroad without the chance to say goodbye.
Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park by Molly GreenSummer Secrets at Bletchley Park by Molly Green
Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park by Molly Green

Will helping the war effort help mend her broken heart or will she find new beginnings and a new love working as a code breaker at Bletchley Park?

Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park is the first book in an inspiring and authentic new Second World War saga series from seasoned author Molly Green who lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

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In September of 1939, London is in blackout, war has been declared and junior newspaper reporter 21-year-old Dulcie (better known as Dale) Treadwell can think only of American broadcaster Glenn Reeves. She met and fell in love with Glenn on Westminster Bridge on the day that war was declared but he never got to say a final farewell before leaving for Europe as a war correspondent.

Heartbroken, Dale, who has some knowledge of German, leaves her journalism job and is posted to Bletchley Park where she must concentrate on working to crack the German Enigma codes. The hours are long and the conditions tough, with little recognition from her superiors… until she breaks her first code.

Because of the Official Secrets Act, Dale has to keep her real job hidden from her family and friends but she finds solace with her handsome, happy-go-lucky colleague Eddie Langton whose friendship could become more than that if only her heart didn’t stop whispering Glenn’s name.

But when a spiteful act of jealousy leads to Dale’s brutal dismissal, her life is left in pieces once again. Is it too late for Dale to prove her innocence and keep the job she loves? And can her broken heart ever truly heal if she doesn’t hear from Glenn again?

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Green serves up plenty of drama, romance and nostalgia in this gripping tale which also opens a fascinating window on to the crucial work of the code breakers at Bletchley Park and the personal and social difficulties of working for the war effort under the constraints of the secrets act.

Moving, atmospheric, with a cast of vibrant characters, and full of Green’s compelling storytelling and rich period detail, this is an impressive start to an exciting new saga series.

(Avon, paperback, £7.99)

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