I really enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting it down. The journey through Joyce's life during WWII was both heartwarming and gut wrenching. The author did an incredible job in making me feel like I was right there with Joyce watching her live out all the love, warmth, loss and stress. I will highly recommend this book to anyone. It has all the emotions wrapped into one great historical fiction.

In this story, a Londoner remembers in incredible detail her tumultuous life during WWII and 35 years later when her fate came full circle: Joyce Cooper, 21 years old, did her part in WWII, she was recognized and offered a job as a plotter of bombing incidents based on the ARP1 forms that flowed into headquarters night after night.

I am awed by Jan Casey's ability to detail the job of an ARP (air raid precaution) warden; with responsibility to protect people from bomb damage, hand out gas masks, and guide people to shelters. It was a frontline, dangerous job running from one bomb-damaged building to another all night long during the blackout and assessing the damage and services needed to recuperate. In addition, the ARP warden also wrote up a report of each incident for the first available messenger to take back to Report and Control headquarters: which map plotters mapped and acted on with all haste.

Although The Woman with the Map is a story with the most purposeful detail of London during the blitz, WWII and a recovering Britain 35 years later; it also includes two remarkable love stories: Joyce and Peter and Flo and Vernon. It communicates families' love and support for friends and neighbors when the chips are down. Joyce continues living an independent and somewhat lonely life. But will Joyce be rewarded in this world or the next?

I commend the author for authentically describing the horror of the bombing and the grit of the British people, who were both first responders and victims. Based on incredible research, her truth and honesty made every scene real. The background of radio shows, film stars, and London entities continues the feeling of authenticity. Jan Casey's page-turner provides genuine and raw emotions, and readers who lived through it will feel nostalgia and appreciate this poignant story of courage and profound loss.

I immensely enjoyed the close-knit family that Joyce represents; Joyce had her Mum with brother Sid, his wife, and two kids. Cousin Flo, Aunty Cath and Uncle Terry, and Nana and granddad. Joyce was an exceptionally considerate and sensitive person; most concerned about good manners, a throw-back to the '40s and '50s when the young respected their elders and felt in-tune with older generations. Naturally, every family member with older generations. Naturally, every family member worried about every other family member in wartime because danger lurked everywhere.

I rate this story 5 out of 5 stars for authenticity, incredible detail, for reminding me of my life and its beginning in 1939. It salutes the British fighting spirit, which withstood all that a monstrously evil man could throw at them. The writing consistently provides rhythm and reality, and the plot is enthralling.

I recommend The Woman with the Map to people who embrace history, wartime stories, good winning over evil, and reading about good people with true hearts.

I enjoy dual time novels and this was unique in that they were both historical, during WW2 and the 1970s. However despite telling the harsh reality of war, I expected there to be some happiness towards the end. I even began to believe that there would be some connection between the two time periods as a hint was given about Mr Taylor’s smile that reminded Joyce of someone she cared about. Unfortunately this was not the case and I actually felt quite upset and cheated that it came to an abrupt end. This novel had more to give and the way it ended made me hope there would be another which continued the story of the main character and tied up the ends.

I finished this book, but I did not enjoy it. The writer is talented, but the story left me feeling empty. have read numerous books about WW2, and the blitz. All were sad, but this went beyond war time sad. I kept reading hoping something would turn the story before the last page, and add a glimmer of hope. But if it was there I could not find it. I thought it started with a clear picture of how tense the job would have been to place pins on a map, indicating where homes were obliterated, people killed, etc. War is harsh, so was this story. I read an advance copy courtesy of Net Galley.

I enjoyed this dual time historical fiction book. Unlike most dual time novels this one both of the timelines are historical. As one is during WWII and the other is in the 1970s and both time lines are set in Britain.

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book follows Joyce Cooper on a dual timeline of her life in London during WWII and in the 1970’s.
The WWII era is one of my favorite historical periods and I enjoyed reading about Joyce’s London in WWII.
In 1941, Joyce is a courageous young woman with a strong sense of duty to her country. She is a member of the Civil Defence, and becomes the woman that marks German air attacks on a map of London to help determine potential patterns for these air raids. One comes to admire Joyce for her heroism during this time.
1974 Joyce is faced with finding a new home as her current flat is scheduled to be torn down. Her flat has been her sanctuary for so long, she’s anxious about moving to a new unknown.
I love the author’s attention to detail with her writing that really sets the scene for the reader.
However, I thought the book moved slow and I didn’t really find anything that pulled me into the story. It was an okay read.

I loved this dual timeline novel! It follows the life of Joyce, both during WWII and later in 1974. Her life during the war is full of happiness, hardship, and heartache. In 1974 she is forced to move to a new apartment from where she has lived for 30 years. Her life has become one of loneliness and routine. At the end she begins to embrace changes to try to bring friendship and happiness back into her lonely life.

"The Woman with the Map" is a very compelling WWII historical fiction piece. In 1941 Joyce Cooper, a member of the Civil Defence, assists people of Notting Hill when the Blitz starts. She must mark the losses and suffering inflicted around surrounding homes and businesses where she lives. The story jumps ahead to 1974 where Joyce hides out in her basement flat. She must come to grips with the row of flats in which she resides being torn down and the fear of having to start over and forget the past. I was enthralled by the plot and felt the heartbreak Joyce endured at the prospect of losing the safety of her living situation and having her life upended. I highly recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of WWII historical fiction.

A little slow in the beginning but enough to keep you reading. I love the character development and the story of courage.