M. van der Pol

Van der Pol uses the real life story of the last great continental air race, which took place from London to New Zealand in 1953, as the jumping off point for Bride Flight. It tells the story of three women who left post-war Holland for various reasons, all seeking new lives and (supposedly) planning to meet up with their respective fiancés in Christchurch. I found the story quite fluid and absorbing, though it did drag a little towards the end as some emotional climaxes or reveals were left for too long or happened too close together and so their impact was muted. There are also some decisions made by characters which felt more as if they were prompted by cliché than because that was an authentic action for the character to have taken. However, when van der Pol does get properly inside her characters' heads she does so with skill. A solid read, and I'd happily read more by the author.… (more)