In Farleigh Field

This was a great book to read. Loved the time--(spring 1941), the place--(Kent) and the glimpses of England and the people during the Blitz. I especially loved the references to wartime spy craft and the brave men and women who fought behind the scenes to help keep their country safe. Ms. Bowen's characters are real and relatable. Lord Westerham and his family of girls are a breath of fresh air, each as different from the other as can be, and the family drama that occurs within this house full of women made me smile and nod my head as I read. The family dynamics and the setting depicted perfectly what it must have been like living in the country during the Blitz. London was far away, but not far enough to keep the traitors away. Even in show more this idyllic country setting, the war is never far away. Many young men from the village are away and fighting in the war. Food and petrol rationing are as bad here as they were in London. One half of the house that the Westerham's own is being occupied by a British army contingent and an airfield is not far away. One of the girls and the pastor's son are each working in the intelligence field. Pamela is working in Bletchley and Ben is a junior in MI5. Neither of them can tell anyone what they are doing for the war effort, and Ben especially has to be creative with why he is not serving. When a parachutist is found dead in the fields around Farleigh, it opens up a whole can of worms, and everyone in and around the area is on high alert for some kind of German advance. Ben and Pamela find themselves in grave danger chasing potential German spies and British traitors in and around their own backyard. The book is beguiling in its simplicity and misleading by its pastoral settings. It is a cracker of an espionage book, that delights and intrigues from start to finish. show less

Three childhood friends from Kent are in the centre of this novel: Aristocratic Pamela and two men who are both highly interested in her. Yet Ben, the vicar's son, knows that he doesn't stand a chance against Jeremy, an upper class RAF pilot with good looks and money. During the war, Pamela works at Bletchley Park, while Jeremy fights in Germany. Ben, who cannot fight because of a former injury, starts a job at MI5. After a long time of dry and repetitive work he is sent to Farleigh, the stately home owned by Pamela's parents, where an unknown man was found dead - might he have been a German spy?

This historical novel has lots of good ingredients, but the middle part dragged a bit. I also felt a bit disconnected from the characters show more (apart from Ben). However, the story was very interesting and picked up even more towards the end.
I especially liked the depiction of how life of the upper classes was during World War Two, and the mystery kept me guessing. show less

Rhys Bowen has painted a broad canvas, and it's filled with action, suspense, and the period detail and fascinating characters that she's known for. With a length of almost four hundred pages, I am happy to report that I wanted it to go on for at least another hundred. There are many characters in this story, and although I didn't have a speck of trouble keeping them all straight, inevitably one or two whom I was most interested in got (what felt like) short shrift.

Two of the period details that I really appreciated were Bowen's giving readers a feel for living in an English country house during the war, and how there were so many clandestine agencies at work in England-- and they were all trying to keep what they were doing secret from show more all the other agencies.

Even though there's not really anything trailblazing in In Farleigh Field, it is such a joy to read that it doesn't matter. Danger. Spies. Traitors. Romance. Everything combines for an absorbing read that is finished much too quickly. Readers can pit their skills at playing Catch the Spy and form their own close attachments to one or more of the characters. My favorites? The youngest daughter, Phoebe, and her partner-in-crime Alfie, a young Cockney boy evacuated to Farleigh Place due to the Blitz.

Are there any fellow fans of Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series reading this? I think you'll love In Farleigh Field (and so will most of the rest of you)! show less

It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed reading In Farleigh Field. This is a delightfully unhurried story, which in spite of its coziness manages to maintain a degree of suspense throughout its pages, and hence keeps the reader's attention to the last page. All characters are brought to life vividly, and the writing is exquisite. The book is also very well researched, which gives a distinct feel of authenticity to the story. The predictability of some central events strangely does nothing to detract from the pleasure of reading this fine novel. I will be reading more of Ms. Bowen's work.

4.5 stars

Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness series is so much fun to read, and I read the newest book in the series as soon as it comes out. Accordingly, I was so excited to learn she had written a stand-alone novel that takes place during World War 2 (which is one of my favorite eras). Bowen did not disappoint – In Farleigh Field was a delight from beginning to end. I hesitated slightly when I first opened the novel because she includes a list of all of the characters upfront. I have generally found that means there are too many characters for me to keep up with, but that was not the case at all for In Farleigh Field. The central plot of the novel involves the ancestral home of Lord Westerham, Farleigh Place, which is serving as show more headquarters for one of the British armed forces groups. Lord Westerham has five daughters, three of whom play large roles in the story, Pamela, Margot and Phoebe. Pamela works at Bletchly Park breaking German codes, Margot is in Paris working for the French Resistance, and Phoebe is at home (she’s only 12) and discovers the body of a soldier whose parachute failed as he tried to land near Farleigh Place. There are various subplots that develop with these and other characters as the story progresses and eventually a number of them tie together very effectively. The resolution of each plot line was very realistic and convincing.

Bowen’s exhaustive research is evident, and the tidbits she includes really add to the storyline. I loved learning about the group of aristocrats that supported Hitler and created a group to try and make peace with Germany (she calls them the Ring in the novel; in actuality she explains in her Author’s Note that they were called the Link). The MI5 and Bletchly Park details were fascinating too. I highly recommend this novel and was so glad I got the chance to read it early. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

Farleigh Field is the home of Roderick Sutton, Lord Westerham, his wife Esme and their five daughters. It is a small estate near Elmsleigh, Kent. Their nearest neighbors are Reverend Cresswell and his son Ben, Sir William and Lady Prescott and their son Jeremy, and Colonel and Mrs. Huntley. The middle Sutton daughter, Lady Pamela (Pamma) is the same age as and has grown up with Ben Cresswell and Jeremy Prescott. The Prescott's are a wealthy family, and as the book starts in 1939, Jeremy has just passed his flying lessons and is taking his friend, Ben, up for a ride in his newly purchased airplane. He flies too close to a garden party at Farleigh Field and crashes the plane, injuring Ben, who walks with a limp afterward.

The book then show more fast-forwards to 1941, where we find that Pamma is working at Bletchley Park, translating German messages. Jeremy is an RAF ace but was shot down and captured, and there has been no word from him, but suddenly he appears after having escaped from a German Prison Camp. Pamma believes that there is an unspoken agreement between her and Jeremy for after the war, however, it appears that Ben has feelings for Pamma, as well. As Ben is not fit to fly or fight, he works for MI5, tracking down spies in England. One day, a London evacuee living with the Gatekeeper at Farleigh Field finds the body of a parachutist in a field. The body is dressed in the uniform of the Royal West Kent Regiment, who have taken over half of Farleigh Field. There is no one missing from the Regiment, and the uniform on the body is not quite correct, so Ben is sent down to investigate. Ben feels that the parachutist must have been going to meet someone in the area and he must determine who the contact was to be and whether they were a German spy. Meanwhile, Lady Margo, Pamma's older sister, has stayed in Paris with her boyfriend, whom she realizes is working for the Resistance, after she is taken to Gestappo headquarters. The Gestapo has said that they will release her friend if she goes back to England to spy for them.

Farleigh Field is a stand-alone novel by Rhys Bowen, who writes the Molly Murphy and Her Royal Spyness series, as well as the Constable Evan Evans series. I have enjoyed her writing for many years and was looking forward to this book, both because of the author and the World War II period. I was pleased to receive this book for no cost from Kindle First due to my Amazon Prime membership.

I was immediately drawn into this novel. The author's writing is so fluid that I feel that I am actually transported to Farleigh Field instead of reading the pages. The reading is so effortless to me, which is why I enjoy her books. She has a grasp of period novels and must have thoroughly researched this period. The main characters are well-developed, as are several of the secondary characters, so you can imagine how they are feeling and why they make the choices they do. In Farleigh Field is a mystery, and I was able to determine the identity of the German spy, although it was not obvious. Although everything important was wrapped up at the end, it seems that there was enough of an opening that perhaps a sequel is planned.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, especially if they like reading about World War II. show less

WWII means sacrifices for everyone in Britain. That includes Farleigh Place in Kent, the home of Lord Westerham and his family, where soldiers are being billeted. When the body of a paratrooper wearing a British uniform is found in Farleigh Field, at first it is assumed that he is one of their own troops…except that everyone of the regiment he supposedly represents are accounted for. Which means he is most likely a German spy. But what would a spy be doing in this area? Was he there to meet someone but, if so, whom? The only clue and the only thing he was carrying is a photograph with a number on it but no one recognizes the area depicted or sees the significance if any of the number.

In Farleigh Field, the historical fiction by show more author Rhys Bowen, is, for the most part, a well-plotted and well-written tale about life on the British home front during WWII when it was only Britain and Commonwealth members fighting. There is a large number of characters but Rhys makes them distinctive enough that they remain separate and mostly interesting individuals. The story is mainly told by two protagonists: Ben, the vicar’s son, injured in a plane crash before the war, now working for a secret government agency in London, sent home to investigate and Pam, one of Westerham’s five daughter, who also works in London but has also been sent home.

That is not to say that this book is perfect. Interesting characters and storylines disappear from the story only to be resurrected later in rather clumsy ways, uninteresting ones get too much space, and others appear for no apparent reason except to add an extra (and unnecessary) red herring. But my biggest complaint was about the ending; despite the fact that the reader has already been told who the main culprit is, there is an attempt at a big reveal at the end which, for obvious reasons, doesn’t work.

Having said that, though, I have to say I really enjoyed this book. It is an interesting combination of fiction and actual history. Much of the story, for example, revolves around the fear of an attempted assassination of the king by a group of Aristocrats who feel that surrender would be in the best interest of England and wants to restore the Duke of Windsor, an admirer of Hitler, to the throne. There was, in fact, such a group. There is also much space given to the inconveniences that were necessitated by rationing, billeting of troops, and housing of children from the cities. Some may find all of this boring and a distraction from the mystery but, for me and I expect for anyone who likes real history in their historical fiction, I found this all fascinating and made the story much more compelling.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less