"The Golden Doves" by Martha Hall Kelly is a powerful and interesting historical fiction novel about two women spies during WWII and their activity and passion for bringing nazi criminals to justice after the war. Full of devotion, personal motivation and confusion, this novel is wonderful. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book, as well as all of her orders. The two timelines were woven together so seamlessly, and I loved learning about what happened to the Nazis after the war ended. I would definitely recommend this book to any historical fiction lover! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Review will be posted on 5/25/23

Former resistance fighter, Josie Anderson, should be starting her life over now that WWII is over, but she finds herself working undercover at Fort Bliss, Texas. She has been offered the job of tracking down Nazi physician, Dr. Snow, who experimented on people at Ravensbruck concentration camp. This is very personal for Josie as Dr. Snow "worked" on Josie's mother. Then there's Arlette, a former resistance fighter who partnered with Josie, who had her son taken from her during the war. She hopes to be reunited and heard that there is an orphanage in French Guiana for children that were separated from their parents during the war. After so many years apart, she gets a tip that her son might be there, but once she arrives at the orphanage, things aren't as they seem and something sinister lurks in the shadows. Martha Hall Kelly's The Golden Doves is another historical home run, but it is very heavy at times, so readers should be in the right frame of mind before they pick it up.

One thing I can count on Kelly for is a well-researched historical novel. I always learn something when I read her novels and they always really move me. Whether I am experiencing anger at the atrocities committed during WWII, extreme sadness for the victims, or both, Kelly always packs an emotional punch. Readers that enjoy stories based on real-life events, as well as female spies, will especially enjoy this one. I know I was personally blown away by learning the details surrounding Operation Paperclip as well as the Catholic involvement in transporting Nazis to South America. My mind was blown! And even though it was tough to read at times, isn't that the point of a good historical novel? I am glad that Kelly took the time to shed light on some details of the war that often get forgotten.

A young French woman, Arlette LaRue, and American Josie Anderson worked together with the French resistance in World War II. Known as “the Golden Doves,” the women were eventually captured and sent to Ravensbruck. While imprisoned, Arlette loses her toddler son and Josie’s Jewish mother is selected for extermination. Their concentration camp experiences inform their choices in 1952: Josie is with Army Intelligence tracking down ex-Nazi officials, while Arlette tries to find out what happened to the child taken from her at Ravensbruck.

I liked that this historical novel focused on the aftermath of the war. We learn about the ratline run by the Vatican to smuggle Nazi elite out of Europe to South America. We learn about “Operation Paperclip” run by the US military to bring Nazi scientists to America, lest they share their expertise with the Russians.

Suspense builds slowly, but it does build. I raced through the final third of the book. While there are some cameo appearances from a few Ravensbruck personnel in “Lilac Girls,” this is not a sequel.

(Thanks to Netgalley and Ballentine Books for providing a review copy.)

I’ve read all of Martha Hall Kelly’s previous works (and count Lilac Girls as one of my best WWII reads) so when I saw The Golden Doves, I knew I had to read it. American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue are brought together working for the French resistance in Paris during World War II. Their partnership leads to some incredible work stealing Nazi secrets and they soon become known as the Golden Doves. However, their bravery is tested when they end up at Ravensbruck concentration camp along with Josie’s mother and Arlette’s son.

Ten years later, the war is over, but both women are dealing with the loss of their families at Ravensbruck and struggling to right the wrongs that they witnessed. Josie works as an Army Intelligence officer and will stop at nothing to find the doctor she holds accountable. Arlette receives a tip that her son may be living in a boys camp overseen by a wealthy French family in French Guiana. Their paths cross again when they find justice can be served for both of them in South America.

I will always admire Kelly’s ability to take real stories and do right by them when turning them into historical fiction. She has once again crafted characters I’m invested in and treats this WWII story with the respect that it deserves. I feel like the best historical fiction works have me reading the author’s note and then doing research of my own to learn more about what I just read. This book did just that and shone a light on the lives of Nazi scientists after the war that I didn’t know nearly enough about. Thank you to Random House – Ballantine and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Josie and Arlette are working in the French Resistance as female spies. They are on a very risky mission to track down a Nazi doctor who committed heinous crimes during World War II. They provided so much vital information that they became known as The Golden Doves. When they are captured, they are sent to Ravensbruck, a concentration camp. Josie's mother is also there and a victim of this infamous doctor. Arlette's son is with her; then taken from her for an adoption. Their quest takes them across Europe to eventually French Guiana. Will Arlette ever reunite with her son?
It was great to learn about places Jews escaped to and re-established their lives trying to escape Nazi control. I cannot image such a life of turmoil and oppression. Martha Kelly tells a wonderful story based on fact. It is joyous at times, sad and thrilling. I highly recommend this book to historical fiction lovers who enjoy stories based on facts.

Martha Hall Kelly's latest novel, The Golden Doves, explores WWII and the ratline - the path where high-ranking Nazis obtained false paperwork, crossed the Alps into Italy, and aided by the Vatican, escaped to South America. I had heard of this before, but this is the first book I've read that explores this topic, so it was a different take on WWII.

Teenagers American Josie Anderson and French Arlette Larue team up in Paris, working for the resistance by receiving, decoding, and delivering German messages they receive over their ham radio. They become known as the Golden Doves. While befriending a street child, they are taken by Nazi soldiers to Ravensbruck. The story then alternates between their time at the camp and the horrific things they saw and experienced, and after the war in 1952, where Arlette works in a cafe and Josie works for Army Intelligence. As the Americans, Russians and Italians all seek the former Nazi scientists, Josie is sent to find and bring back Dr. Snow, who was at Ravensbruck.. When Arlette follows a lead to French New Guinea, she reaches out to Josie, and the Golden Doves once again team up to bring justice to the past.

With enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, this is Martha Hall Kelly at her best. If you liked Lilac Girls, then this is a must-read for you. Thanks to Netgalley for ARC of this book; all opinions are my own.
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The Golden Doves
Author Martha Hall Kelly
(This review is from an uncorrected ARC from NetGalley)

This is a well-researched historical novel which has a World War theme..
The hunt to find German scientists after the war is a race with Russia to see which country can get their hands on them.
Josie Anderson was an American working in the French resistance during the war. She had been partnered with Parisian Arlette LaRue. When they were caught, they and their families were shipped to Ravensbruck. Both survived, although their relatives were either killed or went missing. The book is based on true events.
A decade later, the Doves fall headlong into a dangerous dual mission: Josie is working for U.S. Army Intelligence and accepts an assignment to hunt down the infamous doctor Dr. Snow, Arlette’s son is stolen from her, never to be seen again, while a mysterious man tells Arlette he may have found her son.
The story goes between the two women back and forth during the war period and 1952.
The Golden Doves embark on a quest across Europe and to French Guiana, discovering a web of terrible secrets, and must put themselves in grave danger in search of justice and protect the ones they love.
This is an unforgettable story about female spies, and I highly recommend the book.

Bravo! Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction!

I found this dual timeline story to be intriguing, starting in 1952 with flashbacks to 1943-45. It tells the story of two courageous young women and their mission to hunt down a war criminal. The author skillfully reveals their past, as she jumps between their present mission to the past, giving the reader tantalizing details of their former existence as spies during WWII.

While I read a lot of books set in WWII, it was refreshing to have a slightly different spin, as the author takes her heroines across the world as they seek to bring justice to some of the criminals who escaped the Nuremberg trials.

The author sets a high bar of excellence with her masterful research and her gift of storytelling. Not only was the story told in dual timelines, each was told from two points of view as well. With expert plot pacing, I found myself intrigued from the first to the last page, thoroughly captivated by Arlette and Josie's story. I realize that their story reflects the many untold stories of the real heroes of that time period.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the author/publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Great historical fiction by a favorite author! Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

I will read anything related to WW2 and have read all of Martha Hall Kelly's previous novels. Just like all of her back catalog books, this did not disappoint. This story is about two female spies who get paired up together in Paris and also develop a deep friendship. They get caught and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. The story opens with present day, after both have been liberated from the camps. One is on the hunt for a Nazi that committed atrocious medical experiments on prisoners, while the other is on the hunt for her son with whom she was separated from. The story goes back and forth from present time and their time in the camps (and prior). And the characters present lives intersect. I found this book to be well researched but also at the same time a bit contrived and over the top. It felt like it went on a action / espionage/ thriller-esque spin towards the end that i felt was unnecessary in a historical fiction story such as this. That being said, the short chapters and the suspense of the story kept me hooked. I'll still read anything MHK writes, but this may have been my least favorite. Id still recommend it - its worth the read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Martha Hall Kelly once again explores the astounding, haunting, immeasurable consequences of World War ll, the Holocaust, and experimentation at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Readers of Kelly’s Lilac Girls will recall the horrific experiments to which women and children were subjected at the all-female camp where Dr. Herta Oberheuser was working. The saga continues as two female spies known as the Golden Doves are arrested and sentenced to Ravensbrück to endure unspeakable things. The Golden Doves are Josie Anderson, an American whose mother is a famous Jewish singer and Arlette La Rue, a Parisian. The survival of Josie’s mother and Arlette and her son, Willie from the Kinderzimmer, are central to the plot set at Ravensbrück. A decade later Josie’s mission for the U.S Army is to track down an infamous Nazi doctor and Arlette is led to believe her son, Willie, may have survived. The former Doves risk their lives to seek justice for Josie’s mother and hopefully reunite Arlette with her son.
This novel is based on an inordinate amount of research, so typical of MHK’s previous books. There’s an unbelievable amount of history that’s certainly not taught in schools or revealed in many World War ll novels. She seamlessly weaves an introduction to “Operation Paperclip” here in the U.S. and the Ratline in Germany to give readers a host of nonfiction reading and research to pursue after The Golden Doves. The emotional tension, fear, and guilt are palpable on every page as the plot alternates from 1944 (Before) to 1952, taking readers from Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas where Josie is stationed, to Arlette’s Parisian café, and then following them both to South America to Camp Hope. Readers may not be aware of Colonia Dignidad, an entire “world in the aftermath” of World War ll.
From camp experiments at Ravensbrück to working on vaccines to alleviate a ‘germ bomb’ by the World Health Organization in French Guiana, readers will be spellbound by this compelling narrative and mesmerized by the revelations based on an inconceivable time in our history.

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly.

Josie Anderson and Arlette LaRue are from two very different worlds, yet become unlikely friends working for the resistance in occupied France during WWII. Josie is an American with a Jewish mother and a diplomat for a father. Arlette is a young French girl living with a cruel aunt whose relationship with a German soldier has resulted in a pregnancy. These women are introduced by a resistance operative and The Golden Doves are born. Throughout their individual and combined stories, they work together to do their part to bring down the Nazi regime, survive the horrors of Ravensbruck, and the evil still at play once the bomb drops. While their lives are taken down two different paths after the war’s end, Josie and Arlette join forces again to find Arlette’s son and hunt down an escaped Nazi physician who was responsible for human experimentation and countless deaths at Ravensbruck.

I received this book as an ARC, but did not finish it until after the pub date. I found this story to be inspiring and thrilling and full of deep, rich plot lines that kept me on the edge of my seat. I love that this book takes a look at the aftermath of WWII and Project Paperclip, which so many Americans have heard little of or know nothing about. Hall has created two female characters who are endearing and adventurous, brave and precocious, tough and tender, and amazing role models. I enjoyed this difficult and inspiring story from beginning to end. Martha Hall Kelly is a fabulous WWII novelist who brings the horrors of that era to life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction, strong female characters, adventure, and a thirst for justice.

Wow. An amazing book with wonderful details and well developed characters. Definitely to the level of the Lilac Girls. An historical novel based in World War II and the subsequent timing afterwards The Cold War. This story begins with Josie, stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas in 1952, who spends six days out of the week staring at photographs of German soldiers, sifting through them, trying to determine which of Hitler’s scientists might hold value to their program. She is the daughter of an American diplomat, and was friends with Arlette, a half-Jewish young mother whose baby’s German father left when the Nazis were looking for young men to fight for Hitler’s dream. These two young women became close working in the resistance, trying to obstruct the Nazis in Vichy France. Their work in the resistance as part of The Golden Doves is crucial to the success, or failure, of the resistance. Crucial for the lives of many, including Arlette’s baby, Willie. But their work for the resistance comes to an end, and they end up at Ravensbruck. The research was impeccable as well as the details in the novel adding to the content as well as the story line. Just when you think you have read the worst of the Nazi's an author continues to add to the wealth of disgust in treatment of human beings. Martha Hall Kelly is a phenomenal author, adding to the story with every word and research detail.

Thank you to Martha Hall Kelly, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.

Based on a true story, this is centered on the hunt for escaped Nazi scientists who had worked at concentration camps during WWII. A compelling story with striping female characters trying to find those that got away, it also takes you into the sadistic mind of the Third Reich and it’s human experimentation.

Themes: 👀🔎🔦🕵️‍♀️👩‍🔬🧑‍🔬🧪🔬🧿

Me thoughts: 🙂🙃🥸🧐🫡😬😌

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Martha Hall Kelly has done it again! Another amazing story. Her books have yet to disappoint.

Her books are so well researched but never bogged down with all she’s learned. It leaves me wanting to learn more on my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this great book!

The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly was another great book. Kelly does so much research for her novels and is an excellent author so her books are always favorites. This book focuses on two strong female spies who were only known as The Golden Doves. I love the way the story winds around and becomes so all encompassing that I cheered for them, worried about them and held my breath.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this advanced e-book.

American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue are thrilled to be working in the French resistance, stealing so many Nazi secrets that they become known as the Golden Doves, renowned across France and hunted by the Gestapo. Their courage will cost them everything. When they are finally arrested and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, along with their loved ones, a reclusive Nazi doctor does unspeakable things to Josie’s mother, a celebrated Jewish singer who joined her daughter in Paris when the world seemed bright. And Arlette’s son is stolen from her, never to be seen again.

A decade later the Doves fall headlong into a dangerous dual mission: Josie is working for U.S. Army Intelligence and accepts an assignment to hunt down the infamous doctor, while a mysterious man tells Arlette he may have found her son. The Golden Doves embark on a quest across Europe and ultimately to French Guiana, discovering a web of terrible secrets, and must put themselves in grave danger to finally secure justice and protect the ones they love.

𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨!
This is one of those stories that you can’t stop reading. A beautifully written story, about bravery, family, survival and friendship that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 released April 18, 2023.

Having read and loved Martha Hall Kelly’s first book, Lilac Girls and hearing her speak in Indianapolis, I was excited to read The Golden Doves as I knew the book would be well-researched. I was not disappointed. The book is told in two time periods, During WWII and after the war in 1952. We follow two main Characters. Josie, who is the daughter of an American diplomat and her mother is a famous French Jewish singer. Arlette has a baby boy. During the war, Arlette and Josie work as a team helping the Resistance passing messages by wireless to the British. When they are caught, they are sent to Ravensbruck. Along with Josie’s mother. Throughout the novel, we learn what happened at Ravensbruck.

In 1952, Arlette is an Army Intelligence Officer stationed in Texas. Arlette, has traveled to French Guiana in search for Willy, her little boy. Josie is sent on assignment to French Guiana and is reunited with Arlette. Who can be trusted? This reader found The Golden Doves to be highly emotional. I felt like I was looking over Arlette’s and Josie’s shoulders. @fter reading an ARC of this book, I bought the Audio version to be able to listen to the story.. I really enjoyed it. I found myself talking to the characters. My thanks to Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book. the opinions in this review are my own.

ARC for The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly
*Pub date: April 18, 2023*

You will RAGE with anger, CHEER with relief and then STARTLE with shock as you read The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly.

It is an amazing story that unveils the journey of the two teenage spies living in Paris who suddenly become prisoners during WWII and the aftermath that leads them to become hunters of an escaped Nazi Doctor who changed the trajectory of their lives forever.

If you love WWII historic fiction and diving into those rarely-told nuggets surrounding the war, you will love The Golden Doves. The journey of American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LeRue takes the reader through the exciting WWII streets of Paris, the dirty secrets of RavenBruck-a women’s prisoner camp, and the post-war cities of Europe and beautiful French Guiana.

The story begins in post-WWII Texas, where Operation Paperclip has provided Nazi scientists and doctors a safe haven to work for the US government. War criminals are living a comfortable life in exchange for secrets and continued research. Josie Anderson, an US intelligence agent, is appalled by this program and doesn’t hide it. She finds herself given an assignment away from Texas-Find Dr Snow, an escaped Nazi Doctor from Ravenbruck, who tortured Josie’s friends and family. Josie quickly reaches out to her best friend, Arlette LeRue, now a waitress, in Paris for support on this soul-crushing assignment. Arlette, too, has had encounters with the doctors at Ravenbruck and could be provide important details.

The layered story of Josie and Arlette seamless bounces between two timelines, WWII and 10 years post-war. The hunt for Dr Snow introduces Josie to a potential love interest and partners her with her best boyfriend, Johann. They travel the Ratline to follow the trail that Dr Snow and thousands of other Nazi’s took to escape Germany as the war ended. Although the trail is long cold, they quickly realize that the Catholic Church in Rome aided these criminals to escape to the luxuries in South America. Alone Arlette finds herself in French Guiana embroiled in an unwelcome romance, a potential reunion with her long-lost son, an WHO investigation, and an International charity that brings Hope Home.

Their journey becomes a page-turner that keeps you speeding through the carefully research details, the shocking twists, and the horrors experienced by these brave women. You will SO miss them as you finish the last pages. After spending hours in their company, your connection with them is intense. They are your sisters, your best friends, your neighbors who carry the secrets of survivors.

Available now! READ IT! 5 stars

*I was given the opportunity by Net Gallery and the publisher to read a copy of the Golden Doves in exchange for a fair & honest review.