I adored this truly unique WWII hf mystery debut featuring young Olive Bright and her racing pigeons. Who knew that pigeons played such a critical role as wartime messengers? As conflict looms, Olive desperately wants to help but finds herself stuck in a small English village. She thrills when her birds are tapped to carry secret British messages, and uses her spunk and smarts to solve a thorny village murder. A delightful start to what could be a smashing Netflix series.

5 of 5 Stars

Thanks to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

Pub Date 29 Dec 2020
#OliveBrightPigeoneer #NetGalley

I an sorry to say i did not like this book. It was too confusing to read. Not a completely Hf or a mystery. What was it. 🤔

I was so looking forward to this book - I have read many wartime books and both historical fiction and historical mysteries and none of them have ever addressed the topic of this book - the raising and using of pigeons for communication in the war. I was totally excited to learn more about this while also being wrapped up in a mystery as well. Unfortunately, I was massively disappointed.
First, I had a narrator, that while English and well-spoken, was bland and without much inflection in her voice. That lent to quite a boring book, even in the exciting parts. Second, it takes a V E R Y long time before we get to the pigeons and when that finally happens, it is more about the mystery and not very much about the birds and what they do. I felt myself nodding off a lot while listening to this book and very little of it engaged me or kept me guessing. It was just a huge disappointment. There was more in the historical note in the back of the book than there was in the actually story. Sigh.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover and the title drew me to this book. The description sounded interesting and Olive sounded like a strong character.
The book is about a murder mystery with a bit of a side story of using pigeons during the war. I didn’t realize that pigeons had actually been used to carry messages.
There are several interesting characters along for the ride.
The mystery was good and I was surprised by who actually killed Miss Husselbee.
There was a bit of romance between Olive and Jameson Aldridge which may or may not go anywhere. Only time will tell.
I thought the book was a little slow, too wordy and really seemed to take forever to get where it was going. This book appears to be the first in a series so I’m interested to see if it gets better as it goes on,
I think fans of historical fiction will enjoy this book.

I think that this book was an enjoyable historical fiction/mystery novel. Olive Bright was a brightly curious young woman doing her best to keep busy in trying to help the war effort, like her mother before her. Her main work is with the racing pigeons that she and her father raise and are trying to get approval to turn them into messenger birds for the war. I did like learning about how they are trained with the homing tests and such. That was interesting.

This book deals with the pigeons and how Olive is hired to work on the covert side with British Intelligence, which I liked, even with Jamie being cold and mean sometimes. The other drama in this book is the death of Miss Husselbee, local busybody who ferrets out all the secrets in the small town. Olive decides to add the task of solving that mystery as well as work with the pigeons. I liked the pigeons parts better, mostly because there were so many people with different possible motives for murder and it was sometimes hard to keep them straight.

I still ended up liking this book, despite the confusion of the names, as it had cool little details with the pigeons and small town life during the war with Girl Guides, changes in dances, things people did to keep up spirits, and even the Mass Observations of Miss Husselbee.

I would not mind reading more books with spunky and curious Olive Bright channeling Poirot to solve mysteries and be the best pigeoneer!

A book that tried
unsucessfully to blend,
Jane Austen, Agatha Christie and espionage.
Heroine modeled on Elizabeth Bennett, but became annoying in her relationship with "Mr. Darcy".Lacked Austen's deft satirical touch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an e-galley of this novel.

I'm giving this book a 3 star rating even though it read slightly lower on the evaluation scale than that because I see so much potential for a good, long series. The concept was just about glowing with potential. I've never read a novel which featured the role of carrier pigeons during World War II so I was really looking forward to this. Except that role for the pigeons was so short and almost inconsequential that I couldn't help but be disappointed. As a character Olive reads as much younger than she actually is; I was shocked when I finally found the author revealed her age as 21. Olive is also a twenty-first century young woman trapped in the wrong time period or else she didn't fit in with my thoughts of her character development. Plus, and this is adding on - I know, the victim of the crime came as a complete surprise to me because there just wasn't enough menace there to categorize that person as a deserving victim to be murdered.

Okay, so Olive is not my ideal character. She was too impulsive, went much too far in ignoring rules, seemed to think she wasn't accountable to anyone. Luckily the author seems to have Olive realize toward the end of the story that she has made (in my opinion - many) mistakes and needs to learn some self control; with those thoughts in mind I will give Olive a second chance if there is a second book. The carrier pigeon aspect is a goldmine of potential for war stories, I just hope the author takes advantage of that aspect for any future novels.

This is a period piece mystery set in England during WWII. In the little town of Pipley, in Hertfordshire Olive Bright is working helping in her father’s veterinary practice, helping with family obligations and working with the family racing pigeons. She is hoping that she can use them in the war effort and do her part for the war effort and she is hoping to get them in use in the National Pigeon Service (NPS). The NPS never shows up to check on using pigeons in the war effort but another group does show up. This group is known as Baker Street and is a secret operation and Oliver is willing to use the pigeons to help with this effort although it will never be recognized but she wants to help her country. Her boss Jameson Aldridge and her don’t always see eye to eye and there looks like there is a possible romance brewing. When the town busybody ends up dead after eating a poisoned piece of pie (spam and potatoes ..yuk) then she starts to follow the clues like the heroines in her Agatha Christie books. This was an interesting story as I have not read many period pieces set during WWII and the pigeon story line was very interesting to me. I really enjoyed this and hope there is more in this series.

Olive Bright, Pigeoneer
by Stephanie Graves
Kensington Books
Kensington
Historical Fiction | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 29 Dec 2020 | Archive Date 01 Jan 2021

Excellent!! I hope we hear more from Olive Bright, Pigeoneer. This was a delightful story full of mystery and historical references. Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC.
Great book!

5 star

I read this book not long after reading Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders, and the two of them have a little of the same vibe: young woman in her twenties living in a small English village as World War II rages—Poppy has trained as an air-raid warden, Olive is the 22-year-old daughter of a veterinarian and pigeon fancier. As much as I liked Poppy Redfern, I almost enjoyed Olive Bright more. The story opens as Olive's best friend George is just leaving the small village of Pipley to join the RAF, and she too wishes to do something for the war effort. Her father has volunteered their homing pigeons to the Army's National Pigeon Service's for courier duty; unfortunately the recruiters know of Dr. Bright's mercurial tempers and are avoiding the Bright loft. Instead, two other, secretive Army officers approach Olive, saying they would like to use the Bright pigeons, but for super-secret war matters they can't tell her about. Eager to get the pigeons in action and without asking her father, Olive challenges the two men to put the Bright birds to the test.

In the meantime, with the village women rallying around the war effort, overbearing busybody Miss Husselbee is being more of a martinet than usual. While everyone is annoyed by her, they're also shocked when she turns up murdered at the Bright loft, found by Jonathon, the Brights' young evacuee. Is her death tied to the secret movements of Jameson Aldridge and his partner, the officers who wish to use Olive's pigeons? And, if not, who in the village would want Miss Husselbee dead?

I really, really liked the fact that even to the end of the book there was no effort made to pair up Olive with Jameson Aldridge as Poppy Redfern had been paired with the American officer. They are contentious with each other through the end. There's a Welsh corgi in this story as well, and it's called a corgi, not "a Welsh herding dog." I thought the pigeon angle of the tale was a fresh one, something not involving spy training, American bases, or anything else that has been used in historical mysteries before, and enjoyed the fact that the birds are all named after book characters, and Olive herself is a devotee of Agatha Christie mysteries and still is a bit of an innocent at heart. There's also a subplot about Olive's late mother that turned out to be not what it seemed, and I liked that Olive had a good relationship with her stepmother, who is gamely battling multiple sclerosis. I'm not sure if the author plans a sequel, but if she did, I would definitely read it.

Unique, bright and delightful, this book takes the reader on a beautifully heartwarming journey during the trials of WWII Britain. Pipley, Hertfordshire, is the backdrop for a tantalizing murder mystery, war connections and valor, budding romance and bustling village life. The National Pigeon Services focus is brilliant and enthralling, one of my favourite topics in the book.

Olive Bright, a clever young woman who throws caution to the wind and has a predilection for Hercules Poirot, raises and trains racing pigeons, her passion. Due to her specialty she is approached to join a secret war operation. She agrees as she is passionate about helping her country. She and her boss Jameson Aldridge frequently have differences of opinions but work together with the same vision.

A woman's body is discovered near Olive's dovecote and Olive sets out to discover secrets to unlock the mystery. Her search causes her to suspect those she knows in her village and she has no qualms about questioning them, just as her idol Poirot did. In her search for clues she learns about those around her as well as herself.

I love that this story is not all roses. It is not dark or bleak, either, still a cozy mystery but one with oomph. The heroes of the story in my mind are actually the pigeons...I learned a lot about them. Be sure to read the notes at the back. Another smart touch is the notes (you'll see what I mean). The twists and turns kept me firmly engaged the entire time. So, if you enjoy these attributes, you will find this book truly worthwhile.

How marvelous it would be to have further books featuring these characters!

My sincere thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this exceptional book!

This is a World War II mystery set in Great Britain, but it is has most interesting feature - the role of pigeons in warfare. Olive Bright is a young woman, experienced as a pigeoneer, who is chafing at staying home in her village with her father. She hopes that their pigeons can be used in the war effort, but she finds that a more secret use of her pigeons by British intelligence is required. The shocking murder of a local busybody occurs at the same time, and Olive is determined to not only manage her pigeons but solve the murder. The fascinating use of racing pigeons to send wartime messages is explored here. Readers will enjoy another World War II mystery with this added twist.

Thank you Kensington Books and Net Galley for this free advance copy of the book in return for my honest opinion. I like Kensington Books, and most I give high marks to, but this one does not hit the mark for me. Has a ton of potential with a super interesting topic - the pigeon service used by England to get messages through the lines when conventional means are not available. But from the very first sentence the book just was flat for me. Not that much good dialogue, too many descriptions of peoples clothing, hair, etc. and it just made such a mediocre opening for me that I really never connected with the book or characters. Maybe others will really enjoy this one, but I just felt left down since I really thought the topic of the book was really unique and uncovered by other war novels.

Olive Bright, Pigeoneer by Stephanie Graves is an excellent historical fiction/cozy mystery that kept me thoroughly entertained.

This WWII, small village cozy mystery is just perfect in every way. Despite the seriousness of the time period and some of the subject matter, through witty dialogue and Olive's adorable characteristics and personality, the book seemed to feel lighter and more enjoyable. I really enjoyed the concept of adding the cozy murder/mystery plot within the overall WWII concept of pigeons as messengers and also some of the special operations units that were implemented during the war.

I really enjoyed the pacing, plot, the complexities that were added from the multiple facets, as well as the full cast of characters that lived within the village that added a great collection of potential suspects. The author definitely kept me guessing.

I loved Olive as the main character. She was fun, smart, stronger then she realized, intelligent, and feisty. She really kept me entertained with her witty dialogue, responses, one-liners, and banter. It added seamlessly to the fantastic plot. Olive was realistic, likeable, and overall just a great main character. A new series could definitely be created just from her character and the cast of villagers alone. I also enjoyed the character of Jameson Aldridge. I think that they make a good team of sorts and I look forward to the possibility of a further installment with them teaming up again.

I also enjoyed the addition of the concept of the NPS (National Pigeon Service) and learning more about how it fit in to the bigger picture of the war efforts. I enjoyed the author's note at the end to give more of a historic note in regards to the NPS and the SOE. I have already read quite a bit about both organizations in the past, but it is still nice to have a refresher and additional context.

An excellent book for anyone that enjoys cozy mysteries, historical fiction, and excellent female amateur sleuths.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

It's WWII when we find Olive Bright saying goodbye to her friend George at the train station. He's on his way to London as he has joined up with the RAF. As the war is ravaging other parts of Europe, all seems well in the town of Pipley in Hertfordshire. 22 year old Olive seems out of sorts with the need to do something to help with the war effort. Currently she is helping at her father's veterinary practice along with tending to their dovecote where there are many racing pigeons, she is discontent. Hoping that the National Pigeon Service will enlist their birds for the war as messengers with secret codes, that is not to be. Until 2 strangers arrive in Pipley wanting to her to let them use her birds but not for the NPS but for a highly covert organization, one which Olive would have to keep absolutely secretive as Jameson Aldridge and his associate not only work for that organization known as Baker Street, but it is off limits/knowledge to anyone. Yet while she decides to join this covert operation, one of the town's citizens is murdered. Not just murdered but found outside the dovecote. Indeed it is the town's busybody, Miss Husselbee, a woman who has just about had the entire town enraged with her busybody tactics, never minding her own business. Of course, Olive who loves reading Agatha Christie novels stands at the ready to help investigate the crime. Along with Jameson , Olive intends to find out. Did Miss Husselbee find something so secretive, someone would murder her? There are certainly enough suspects in this charming and quaint English town.

This adult "Nancy Drew" is a delightful book. Presented so well as the typical small English village at that time period you can see it in your imagination. Told with a dash of humor, with witty repartee, Olive comes across as a smart, charming and witty heroine of this novel. With a cast of supporting characters and "suspects" this book is sure to tickle you. Highly recommended.