Thank you Roundel House for allowing me to read and review Trial and Tribulation: A Novel of World War II Breaking Point series, book 4 on NetGalley.

Published: 06/06/23

Stars: 2.5

Pedals -- he loves me; he loves me not. Not for me. There are too many facts that read like a telephone book, one after another. It was unrelenting. I read the first 20% twice over a period of months and had the same reaction. I tried again today and fatigue has set in. I hear droning. I'm left wondering why the author didn't write a nonfiction book.

I am a voracious reader who enjoys historical fiction in a storytelling fashion. Trial and Tribulation is a book not a story. There is a market for this style and I would gift this; however, it's all about knowing the reader.

I’m sorry I just really couldn’t get into this. It wasn’t what o thought it would be
It’s just not my type of book. Dnf

I think this is the best of author John Rhodes' excellent saga about John and Eleanor Shaux and their roles in WWII, whether flying or strategizing. Suffering survivor's guilt, John tours the US but wishes to return to England possible reconciliation with Eleanor. Excellent flying knowledge and great characters. Recommended.

Thank you Netgalley and Roundel House for access to this arc.

I was so excited to see the next installment in this series which features fighter pilot Johnnie Shaux and mathematician Eleanor Shaux – each fighting in their own way to help win World War II. As in the second book, “Infinite Stakes,” the two are separated for most of the book. The reasons behind it for the plot are that Eleanor feels her skills and knowledge are best utilized in London plus she’s being broken emotionally as she waits for Johnnie to return from raids, always wondering if he’ll return at all. The second reason allows for broader coverage of the many intricate cogs within the wheels of the war that couldn’t have been shown otherwise.

New readers might be able to begin the series here but starting with book one, “Breaking Point” will allow people to fully understand the mathematical model that Eleanor devised which has assisted those in power to make decisions based on statistical probability. As she gives world leaders her predictions, it also gives the book a rational reason for her to be in the company of Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and other leading politicians and military leaders and for them to listen to her. Their attention is reluctant at times, yes, but Eleanor doesn’t back down from telling them what the math tells her and math doesn’t lie. Okay so Churchill has his reasons for sometimes needing 2 + 2 not to equal 4 but that’s what Eleanor will tell him will be the answer.

But is it worth it, she wonders. Leaving Johnnie – and taking his dog though Eleanor justifies this because if Johnnie dies in combat, who will look after Charlie? – was almost as painful as staying with him. Eleanor’s days are filled with work, avoiding the supercilious FO (Foreign Office) types, and batting away those who would try and take away her autonomy. Thank goodness for Harry Hopkins – Roosevelt’s right-hand man – who remembers Eleanor likes coffee (learned during her earlier stay in the US) and misses marmalade. He goes to bat for her but also drops the bomb about American choices going forward in terms of theaters of action and who will be in command. Eleanor has told all who will listen about her feelings regarding Stalin’s probable actions after the war and that the other Allied forces need to push as far into Europe as possible or National Socialism will be replaced by Communism. And over the course of the book, she can see British influence shrinking both now and in a postwar world.

Johnnie’s long held feelings of sadness at the loss of human life and guilt about his role in it are eating him up. Forced to go on a morale boosting tour of the US, Canada, and Australia, he’s got pat answers for the three most common questions he’s usually asked but not real answers. People don’t want to hear those. He’s always been in his own head a lot and Eleanor’s leaving has knocked him for a loop. Does he want to “fly a mahogany desk” back in England or move laterally to Bomber Command and, with the 50:50 odds of dying in any mission, have German fighter pilots end his internal debate?

Eleanor’s predictions drive increasingly large bomb raids against Germany. The lack of accuracy will be made up for with intensity. Throw enough ordinance at a target and the odds increase that it will actually be hit. The cost, however, in lives from both sides and destruction sickens her. She also unwittingly sets up the next impossible missions that Johnnie’s squadron is tasked with flying. Will he survive it and what will Eleanor do when she realizes what she’s done?

I should warn readers that in the beginning, Johnnie’s thoughts do turn to suicide in battle. He has obvious signs of what we call PTSD. As his squadrons are tasked with dangerous missions, many of the crew don’t make it back. Johnnie meets some US bomber crews whom he admires and the horrible way one of the young men dies is described. Eleanor needs data for her mathematical models and some of that is the amount of destruction caused by bombing raids – in this case on Hamburg.

Readers looking for romance probably won’t find much here as this series is much more historical fiction. Johnnie and Eleanor are deeply in love and their separation causes both much pain. Eleanor has to deal with the pain of being in love with a man who will probably die in combat and she does this by leaving though her thoughts are often on him. Johnnie, already suffering from PTSD and having nightmares about the people he’s killed, now has this loss as well. So yeah, for much of the time this isn’t a happy book. There is also some “As you know, Bob’ing” going on. It doesn’t make me happy but given the amount of information that needs to be conveyed, I can understand it.

I did enjoy the behind the scenes view of the political maneuvering going on among and between almost everyone. To paraphrase a saying, “Politics are like sausages. You should never watch them being debated and made.” Where the book really shines for me – but what might not interest a lot of readers – are the flying scenes. There is a lot of information and details about the preparation for and the “flights” that Johnnie and his squadron make. I was white knuckling my reading through many of them.

As the action taking place leaves us still in the early stages of the Italian campaign and only starting the planning for Overlord, as well as discussing Burma and support to Chiang Kai-Shek, much less wondering how the Shaux’s marriage is going, I hope that there will be more books in the series and I’ll be waiting for next year. B

At first i got a bit confused about who was who when it came to the Shauxs, but as I continued to read I got more hang of it and it hot clearer who was who. It was also a lot of fun to read about a woman in a very important military position during the war and her own wievs on herself, her work and life in general.

When I started reading Trial and Tribulation I didn't realize it was book four in the series. It didn't matter because the author never left me confused about what had happened in past books. He wrote a story that grabbed me from the beginning and kept me reading well past my bedtime. He left me in such a wonderful state after finishing the story that the first three books are already on my Kindle.

The two main characters, Johnnie and Eleanor, gave me great insight into some of the going ons during the war. As an Analyst with personal contact with Winston Churchill, Eleanor was in the thick of things as the allies plotted and planned future invasions. She travelled back and forth to the United States illustrating the importance of communication and the unfortunate situation of stroking egos. Everyone knew best, but her numbers don't lie. Eleanor had left Johnnie in a recent book, (I can't wait to read all about it.) Her actions created a bridge between her defense planning and his actions in the sky. Without realizing it she will put him in great danger.

Johnnie's side of the story is brilliant. I have never read so much detail about missions. I never understood what went on between all of the flyers. I didn't realize the tedious testing and practice that was done before a plan was initiated. The author opened my eyes to some of the many challenges, not just physically but emotionally as well, that pilots experienced. It must have been so difficult to keep living when every day you lost one or more people you knew.

If you enjoy WW2 historical fiction this is a must read. The different perspectives made for an amazing read. The behind the scenes situations give understanding to bits of the past. I can't wait to go back and read the other books, and hope that there will be more.

This, the fourth in the series, continues the stories of John Shaux and his wife Eleanor tow people caught up in British service in WW2. My copy of the novel is an advanced reader copy which I received via Net Galley.
The previous episode ended with John and Eleanor living on the embattled, besieged island of Malta. John’s fatalism has grown almost crippling. After another ditching his Spitfire in the Med when the overstressed wings failed during violent combat, John has become more remote. Since he is the only other person Eleanor is close to on the island ( their dog doesn’t quite count as human) she feels as if she has made a mistake left when behind her job she as an analyst for the War Office. There she was in close daily contact with the highest levels of the Cabinet , even the PM himself. Stress cracks are showing in their marriage, too.
Still, it was a bit of a surprise when T&T begins with the two lovers separated. The fog of war extends into their personal lives. Both are in England, but not together. Eleanor left John in Malta, brooding, and she does not know that he is stationed but a few miles away, combat flying the new Mosquito fighter. “ Trials and Tribulations” is about two lovers apart in a world that offers them little to live for. She is involved with planning for the invasion, he does not think more than a day ahead.
The author continues to give his readers realistic portrayals of the stress and dangers aerial combat. In this book , he adds more of a look into the loneliness of two despairing lovers torn apart by war.
I thought that this was the best in the series so far. I look forward to the next book