Recently there seems to be a larger number of historical fiction books based on stories that came out of World War II. This is one of the best of those. The Long Flight Home by Alan Hiad is based on a 2012 British news report about the skeletal remains of a war pigeon found in a Surrey chimney. Attached to the pigeon's leg was an encrypted message, which baffled code breakers for years.

Some 250, 000 pigeons were used by the British between 1939 and 1945 to provide intelligence to Britain. The author imagined Susan and her grandfather Bertie as part of the National Pigeon Service, a volunteer civilian organization, who kept and trained these pigeons. Ollie is an American who wants to fly with the Royal Air Force. he works his way to England, only to be jailed for coming to Susan's aid when a British officer gets too fresh. Bertie has him released to serve his time working with them getting the pigeons ready. Ollie is in a plane loading pigeons when it takes off to avoid an airstrike. The plan goes down in France where Ollie and the pilot take refuge with Madeleine and her truffle hog, Louis. Susan and Ollie are able to communicate more than military intelligence through coded messages sent via pigeon.

This is a story of British resilience, of love that blooms even in the worst of times, of the amazing job done by the war birds. If you enjoy historical fiction, you will not want to miss this book.

I enjoyed this book and found it engaging, well researched and entertaining.
The characters are well written, the historical background is well researched and the plot keeps you hooked till the end.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

What a beautiful story and such interesting characters. I love the history of the homing pigeons in the book.
This book had engaging characters.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

The Long Flight Home is primarily set in Eppings, England 1940 at the beginning of what has come to be known as The Blitz, where the Luftwaffe bombed London for almost 60 straight days. Eppings, England holds the farm home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather Bertie who are both volunteers in the National Pigeon Service where they raise homing pigeons, or in this case - war pigeons. Shortly after the story starts 'Ollie from Maine', through a set of circumstances, begins helping them on the farm. He and Susan develop feelings for each other, but shortly after are separated when the first pigeon mission begins.

When I first heard about the book, I will admit my assumption was that it would be more geared toward the detailed inner workings of the National Pigeon Service as well as how it was run and setup during this time frame, what the messages contained that were carried back by the pigeons when they went to France, what was acted upon based on the messages, and so forth. Something a bit real and gritty. However, the book is primarily more focused on the relationships between Susan, Ollie, Bertie and Boar (the antagonist) during this time of war.

In the book, we learn information on these types of pigeons such as one-way and two-way communication and hear the harrowing tale of Cher Ami, who is probably the most famous homing pigeon known and can be seen, I believe, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. I always enjoy books such as these that bring out a new part of history that you may not have known about or at least aren't as well-versed in.

So although it wasn't quite the book I hoped for, once I adjusted to a different style of book I did find it enjoyable and endearing. The characters were easy to like, except for Boar, who is a jerk throughout the entire book. It was a pleasant, easy read that shines a new spotlight on a little known part of WWII, and even WWI.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I absolutely loved this story and couldn’t put it down!
I have never read anything detailing the use of homing pigeons during WWII and it was fascinating.
Hlad did an excellent job creating endearing characters (Susan, her grandfather, and Ollie) and their relationships were so genuine.
I also loved the connection between Susan and Duchess, what a beautiful story!
5 stars!

Epping, England, Sept. 1940: Susan Shepherd postpones her zoology study at the University of London in lieu of a more important endeavor – raising war pigeons.

Buxton, Maine, Sept. 1940: Ollie Evans postpones his study in aeronautical engineering due to his father’s accident on the potato farm. Ollie has been fascinated with planes since early childhood. His father taught him how to operate a crop-duster biplane, at the age of 14, to spread fertilizer over potatoes. But now, another accident leads him to leaving the farm completely and this farther takes him to join the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

The work for RAF directs him to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a secret assignment.

What attracted me to this story was the little-known event during WWII. Homing pigeons played an important role in war, transporting messages.

However, the plot is somehow predictable and the prose is fairly simple. Some scenes are very descriptive. All the step by step descriptions are not necessary. Instead, the characters could be better developed and dialogue could be more engaging.

A whole new perspective on WWII. Using pigeons to help gain intelligence on German soldiers, this is the story of how important this mission was to those involved and what the ultimate price was. Interesting storyline, captivating characters and descriptive settings leads to a must read novel!!