Stephanie Graves Bücher

Weaving wartime intrigue, rural village life, and little-known historical facts about carrier pigeons in WWII, Stephanie Graves continues Olive Bright's adventures as a young pigeoneer conscripted to aid the fight against the Nazis. Returning to Pipley after her FANY training, Olive is eager to contribute more to the war effort. Her pigeons are now tasked with aiding the Belgian resistance, and she must select the best birds for the mission. To maintain secrecy, she pretends to be romantically involved with her superior, Captain Jameson Aldridge, complicating matters since she genuinely has feelings for him. The stakes rise when an instructor at Station XVII, a secret training school, is found dead in Balls Wood by a troop of Girl Guides. While the police deem Lieutenant Jeremy Beckett’s death an accident, Olive suspects foul play based on clues she discovers at the scene. Determined to investigate, she enlists the reluctant Jamie to help her solve the murder, potentially averting a threat to their intelligence efforts that could endanger the Belgians and her pigeons. Olive's journey intertwines personal challenges with the larger fight against the Nazis, revealing the complexities of loyalty, love, and courage in wartime.

As London is strafed by German aircraft, the little village of Pipley in Hertfordshire bustles along much as it always has. Olive Bright fills her days by helping at her father's veterinary practice and tending to her racing pigeons, hoping that the National Pigeon Service will enlist Bright Lofts' expertise, and use their highly trained birds to deliver critical, coded messages for His Majesty's Forces. The strangers who arrive in Pipley are not from the NPS. Instead, Jameson Aldridge and his associate are tied to a covert British intelligence organization known as Baker Street. If Olive wants her pigeons to help the war effort, she must do so in complete secrecy. When local busybody Miss Husselbee is found dead outside Olive's pigeon loft. Is the murder tied to Olive's new assignment? -- adapted from jacket

Though war rages across mainland Europe and London is strafed by German aircraft, the little village of Pipley in Hertfordshire bustles along much as it always has. Adrift since her best friend, George, joined the Royal Air Force, twenty-two-year-old Olive Bright fills her days by helping at her father's veterinary practice and tending to her beloved racing pigeons. Desperate to do her bit, Olive hopes that the National Pigeon Service will enlist Bright Lofts' expertise, and use their highly trained birds to deliver critical, coded messages for His Majesty's Forces.

As the weather turns bitterly cold in the dark days of November 1941, fewer pigeons are being conscripted for missions into occupied Europe and Olive fears her covert program may be dropped altogether. In fact, the new CO of the Baker Street intelligence operation at Brickendonbury Manor, Major Blighty, has expressed his doubts regarding her birds -- not to mention Olive herself -- and assigned her to a far more insignificant role: escort to a visiting officer of the Royal Navy Intelligence Special Branch.

Returning to Pipley following her FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) training, Olive is eager to step up her involvement in the war effort. Her pigeons are being conscripted to aid the Belgian resistance, and it's up to Olive to choose the best birds for the mission. To protect the secrecy of their work, she must also continue the ruse of being romantically involved with her superior, Captain Jameson Aldridge, a task made more challenging by the fact that she really does have feelings for the gruff Irish intelligence officer.

Set against the backdrop of WWII, the story follows British pigeoneer Olive Bright as she navigates new challenges when winter forces her racing pigeons indoors. Assigned to escort Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming to the Brickendonbury Manor spy training center, Olive's journey intertwines wartime intrigue with the unique historical role of carrier pigeons. The narrative blends rural village life with little-known facts, showcasing Olive's resilience and the significance of her work during a pivotal time in history.

Weaving wartime intrigue, rural village life, and little-known historical facts about carrier pigeons in WWII, Stephanie Graves continues the adventures of British pigeoneer Olive Bright. As bitter cold weather forces her racing birds indoors in November 1941, Olive is assigned a new role in the war effort—escorting Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming during his visit to the Brickendonbury Manor spy training center. With fewer pigeons conscripted for missions into occupied Europe, Olive fears her covert program may be dropped altogether. The new CO, Major Blighty, has expressed doubts about her birds and assigned her to the seemingly insignificant task of escorting Fleming, who comes across as aloof and arrogant. Unexpectedly, she finds herself accompanying him to a séance led by the self-proclaimed medium Velda Dunbar, who has captured the village's attention after a public channeling of a doomed seaman from the HMS Bartholomew. Fleming remains tight-lipped about his reasons for attending, raising eyebrows as Olive maintains the ruse of dating Captain Jameson Aldridge. When murder occurs before her eyes, Olive must trust her instincts and consider everyone a suspect—including the enigmatic Fleming—since one of them harbors a hidden deadly agenda.