I read and loved Lilac Girls so I was very excited to get to read The Golden Doves. I loved this book just as much. The story alternates between Josie and Arlette's points of view. Josie and Arlette become female spies to help the French resistance. They become known as the Golden Doves and are wanted by the Gestapo. Eventually, they are arrested and sent to a concentration camp. While at the camp, Josie's mother is experimented on by a Nazi doctor and Arelette's son disappears. Years later, Arlette is still looking for her son and meets someone who says he might have found her son. At the same time, Josie is working for the U.S. Army Intelligence and is trying to hunt down the Nazi doctor who experimented on her mother. The stories weave together and both women face their traumatic pasts. This was a book that I couldn't put down!

I have read and loved all of Martha Hall Kelly’s novels. They have all been page turners and The Golden Doves is no exception. It is action packed from the first page to the last and you won’t be able to put it down.

Once again she has taken a little explored area of history and created a story that explores this time period and will leave you wanting to do your own research. It is 1952, seven years after World War II and Josie and Arlette are still trying to recover from their time in Ravensbruck. Arlette is trying to find her son and Josie is trying to come to terms with the death of her mother. Their searching brings them face to face with unimaginable danger and circumstances that will keep the reader engrossed from start to finish.

If you have never read one of Ms. Kelly’s novels, this is a great one to start with. You will be hooked from the first page, so be prepared to sit, relax and get lost in the story. Once you have finished, you will also want to pick up all her other novels.

I requested and received this book for review from NetGalley.

Martha Hall Kelly does it again. This book was such a great read until the very end. This book is about two former female spies who are trying to hunt down a Nazi doctor after the occurrence of WWII. These two women , Arlette La Rue and and Josie Anderson, work for the French resistance and become know as the Golden Doves. This book time travels from past to present and recaps their time spent in Ravensbruck concentration camp. These ladies bravery, courage, and difficult times are chronicles throughout the book. I highly recommend this one. Thanks Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

Josie and Arlette believe in their cause, and they believe in each other also. Fiercely loyal to one another, and willing to take risks for their friends that experienced the horrors of the holocaust with them, they do whatever it takes. And hardly least of all, a missing little boy that was separated from his mother by the cruelties of the Nazi regime is the heartbeat of this World War II (and its aftermath) tale. Martha Hall Kelly keeps me involved and intrigued from beginning to end in all of her books and this one does not disappoint. Being historical fiction, I am not quite sure how much fiction and how much history is in the ending of the book, because it is so unbelievable, but nevertheless well written and engaging. I would highly recommend this book to all lovers of World War II historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

This is a story of people in the US and Russia trying to help a Nazi scientist escape prosecution for the atrocities at a concentration camp so that he would share the results of his experiments. Many Nazis were helped to flee to Argentina and other countries with help from the Vatican at the end of WWII. To be honest I wasn't thrilled with the book even though I read it all. More than likely I won't be looking to read another "Concentration" book again. I'll give it 3 stars as it was well written, just not for me.

This is the story about Josie and Arlette, two former spies from WWII. During the war, they worked in the French resistance and were so effective in stealing Nazi secrets that they soon were well known as the elusive Golden Doves. They experienced all of the terror of the war, including the fear of delivering messages, being arrested and taken to a concentration camp, and getting a glimpse at the terrible activities and experiments that happened there. Arlette even had her very young son taken from her at the camp.

The book opens about 10 years after the war. Josie is now working in Texas for the U.S. Army and Operation Paperclip. She gets a prime assignment of hunting down the doctor who performed these atrocious experiments in the concentration camp. At the same time, a mysterious man approaches Arlette in France and tells her that her son is sill alive, in South America. The women start to investigate and explore, but soon learn that not everyone can be trusted.

This book was a page-turner and more suspenseful than I had ever imagined. The web of events and characters keeps you guessing and wondering to the end. I especially enjoyed the author's notes at the end of the story.

Martha Hall Kelly never lets me down. I loved getting to know both characters, Josie and Arlette. Although it is the fourth in the series, it is a stand-alone novel. I highly recommend this beautifully-written historical fiction. The suspense kept me turning the pages faster and faster. Martha Hall Kelly has the gift of creating characters that jump off the pages..

Over the last two years Martha Hall Kelly has become one of my very favorite authors! The research that went into a book like The Golden Doves is just amazing! The author has such a way with telling stories of extraordinary women who basically changed history with their actions. Arlette and Josie were brought together to spy on the Nazis during WWII and were given the name The Golden Doves. They were discovered eventually and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp and saw the terrible things that were being done there firsthand. Years later they are reunited and go after the Nazis to make them pay for what they have done. I learned so much about what happened after WWII and highly recommend this excellent book!

Martha Hall Kelly breathes life into history and gives us female characters that exemplify the best in women. In her latest book, Josie and Arlette, known as the Golden Doves, thwart Nazis in Paris. Once captured, they are shipped to Ravensbruck where they are subjected to the horrors of the prison camp. While at camp, Josie watches her mother die after experimentation by a Nazi doctor. Additionally, Arlette's son is taken away from her. These two women find themselves drawn together again, a decade later.

Josie and Arlette learn that the doctor responsible for Josie's mother's death may still be alive and living with a large group of escaped Nazis in French Guiana. They join forces to identify and expose him. This story not only exemplifies the resilience of prison camp survivors but also the strength of female friendship. In a time when women were not valued for their strength, this book shines a light on the wonderful accomplishments of women during the war.

This is the story of Josie and Arlette who are spies during WWII. (Arlette was my Mom’s name, and I never, ever see it in novels, so it was fun to see it in print.) The story is told partly in the ‘40s in wartime Germany and France and then later in 1952 in various places. During the war the young women stay under the radar until they are finally discovered and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. Arlette’s son and Josie’s mother are also sent to the camp.

Ten years later the women are involved once again with mystery. Josie is with Army Intelligence on a mission, and Arlette thinks she has a lead to find her son.

As usual, Ms. Kelly tells a captivating story. She interweaves truth with fiction which makes the story fascinating. This time, however, several anachronisms got in the way of total enjoyment for me. For example, “… nylon stockings are slipping down, the crotch already mid-thigh …”. This was 1952, but pantyhose were not invented until 1959. Stockings would have been the kind held up with garters. Another was “… a Lucky Strike from the green pack …”. In 1952 Lucky’s were not in a green pack. They were changed to white in 1942. (Menthol cigarettes, called “Lucky Strike Green” were not brought out until the 1960s.) There were several words that would not have been said in either of the timelines of the book, including “legit” instead of legitimate, “toked” in the connotation that was used, and “hard copy.” I know that all sounds picky of me, but they were distracting and annoying.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Golden Doves. I did enjoy it and look forward to Ms. Kelly’s next project.

Once a dove, always a dove, is the motto of Josie and Arlette in The Golden Doves. Set in 3 alternating time periods, through 2 Ravensbruck survivors’ perspectives, author Martha Hall Kelly does not disappoint, AGAIN. For me, reading historical fiction is about learning about unsung women and events in history that don’t make the history books. Look for this great book in April 2023.

Once this WWII story gets moving it’s fairly fast paced action. Since it’s fiction you expect to have to “forgive” random coincidences, but this story is just so chock full of them. The writing and story line are decent, but the amount of times characters in conversation ask a question and the other character simply jumps to a completely new topic is distracting. (Ex: “what’s the weather like?” “ I took out the trash last week.” #not direct quotes)
Overall, a decent read but not one I’d add to my favorites shelf.

Thank you @NetGalley for the preview in exchange for a review. Martha Hall Kelly does it again! She delivers a poignant story of two friends on a dual timeline in the early fifties with flashbacks to their war time activities as part of the French Resistance. Numerous characters make a reappearance in this story from the authors previous books and the layers of the entwined stories makes for an interesting perspective. The intrigue of the hunt, loss, betrayal, and healing are all woven together in a beautiful tapestry as only Martha Hall Kelly can do. #historicalfiction #WWII #frenchresistance #NetGalley #WWIIlaborcamps #TheGoldenDoves

Author Martha Hall Kelly has written another expertly researched and wonderfully written novel set in WWII. This novel is told through alternating chapters of Josie and Arlette and time frames from the 1940s and 1950s. It is a little confusing at the beginning because the time keeps changing from the 1950s to “Before”. We soon learn that before includes the women becoming partners in the Resistance and their time at the Ravensbruck concentration camp. They both lose so much personally that it not only shapes who they are, but also how they interact with others and how their lives change after the War. Even into the 1950, these women’s lives are intertwined and they must once again trust each other for their very survival.
I hope that all readers will take the time to read the Author’s Note at the end of the book. It explains so much of the author’s research and I have learned new information from her notes at the end of her books.
Thank you to the author, Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

I had to stop reading this partway through to see if it was the sequel to another book. It’s hard to understand where the characters are in the beginning of the book without clearly understanding where they were and what happened to them at Ravensbruck. I’ve read nonfiction books about Ravensbruck concentration and understand what the ‘rabbits’ were and the sick experiments done on them, without that background I fear more readers wouldn’t understand.

I feel so incredibly lucky to receive an ARC of this amazing book. I have read all of Ms. Kelly’s books and loved each and every one. She is a master storyteller and once you start reading you have to finish as each page just seems to turn themselves. This one is a little different in format than the previous books but still follows amazing women as they face adversity and find their own strength to overcome the most incredible challenges. Her ability to tie together these two brave women, who were part of the French Resistance, with the historical context of Nazis, who were somehow allowed to go on with their lives after the War, is simply amazing. While you get a hint of what is happening on the island there is enough intriuge to make it interesting, along with a little sex! After reading her books I always feel that I learned so much new information about topics that I thought I was well educated on. This book is scheduled for publication in April 2023 and I encourage everyone to get in line now for your copy. All opinions are my own and not based on the ARC that I received from the publisher,.

I want to thank penguin random house and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The Golden Doves by author Martha Hall Kelly. She previously wrote Lilac Girls, Lost Roses and Sunflower Sisters.
This is a frightening story of people in the US and Russia trying to help a Nazi scientist escape prosecution for the atrocities at a concentration camp so that he would share the results of his experiments. Many Nazis were helped to flee to Argentina and other countries with help from the Vatican at the end of World War Two!
Ms Kelly created her story with extensive research! Part of the novel is based on breeding blue eyed, blond hair children with pure Aryan blood.
Josie and Arlette, the heroines of the book, were incredibly brave. They bring the Ravensbruck camp to life!
I did find the constant change of time periods and switching from Josie to Arlette confusing.
Ms Kelly’s work reminds us of the horrors that one person can inflict on another. Her novel uses fictional characters but the concentration camps and what happened there is very real!
Publication date is 04/18/2023.

The author's fourth novel, this book is a excellently researched WWII book, Wonderful, captivating writing plot and original gives this novel depth and an ability to pull in any reader. I highly recommend this author and all three of her other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

I loved The Golden Doves! The book had me
hooked from the first chapter. This story of two women who met during imprisonment at Ravensbruck was heart-wrenching, suspenseful and difficult to read at times. Very well-written and an important story about war criminals during WWII that I didn’t know about. I received an ARC from NetGalley. Five stars!

Set in two timelines, the 1940s during WWII and the 1950s, this historical thriller will have you on the edge of your seat. Two teenage girls, French Arlette Larue and American Josie Anderson are thrown together in their attempt to help the French Resistance in Paris. Known as "The Golden Doves", they are cautiously optimistic that their work is making a significant difference in the outcome of the war when they are suddenly exposed and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp together with Arlette's infant son Willie.

Determined to rebuild their lives, Arlette and Josie are unexpectedly reunited seven years after the war, each with their own agenda. The plot of the book changes abruptly and they will need each other's unique skills once again to survive yet another life-threatening menace.

Cancel all social engagements while you read this book. You won't be able to put it down.