Having recently finished “The Pilot’s Daughter” by Meredith Jaeger, I am happy to have had the chance for the preview; thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton!

This is by far the best historical fiction book that I have read in months! The isolation, and methods Ms. Jaeger used to “escape” while writing during the pandemic has led to an amazing story! I can’t remember when I have ever read the last line in a book and immediately began searching for the PBS documentary recommended in the Author’s Note... Nova: The Last B-24. I found it on Amazon Prime Video and it was fascinating! I love learning new things from stories!! I even “Googled” to discover more about “the Broadway Butterfly” mystery too!

The dual timelines were both set in the past with just one generation separating Ellie and her Aunt Iris’ stories. Each was equally entertaining, emotional, mysterious and full of so many historical details. I am glad to have come across this as a preview selection and will keep one of my very favorite memories of the story close to me. Mayflower Donuts at the beginning of the story… and Mayflower Donuts at the very end!!

"Don't ever dim your shine for anyone."

This was a fantastic read - I couldn't believe how well the author combined two stories into one so seamlessly, each as captivating as the other. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Ellie's father is killed in WWII, and she discovers he actually has a second family. Doubly shocking, but Ellie is not faint of heart. She decides she wants to meet this second family (I would have wanted to do the same, so I related very much to her), and enlists her Aunt's help to find them. Did her aunt know all along about this mysterious other family? What other secrets is this Aunt hiding? You will discover them and more in this wonderful, thrilling novel. I can't tell you how much I loved this book. I had to know how it ended, and again, the author was absolutely amazing in how she wove the two stories together. GO BUY THIS BOOK!

What happens when your father is shot down during WW2 and you discover he has another family? And when you rope your aunt into finding them, you learn about her secret past life as a Zeigfried girl in NYC. This was so good. There were two tales and both were intriguing. I love historical fiction that makes me stop what I'm reading and go research the time period. This book did that. Great read. Definately recommended.

The Pilot’s Daughter is a captivating, richly detailed historical novel, following Ellie’s journey as she travels to New York with her aunt Iris to attempt to find out what happened to her missing pilot father in WWII. Meredith Jaeger artfully weaves the glittering but also dark Jazz Age of Iris’s New York, with Ellie’s search for answers there during WWII. An emotional and gorgeously woven story of strong women, fighting for the truth and ultimately, for themselves. I could not put this book down!

I read a lot of WWII set novels. As one of my go-to genres, I was very excited to read The Pilot's Daughter. This book is one of courage and discovery -- following a dual-narrative of both Ellie and her aunt, Iris.

It's 1945 and Ellie's life is flipped upside down as she not only recieves news of her father's death, but also discovers love letters he's written to another woman across the country. As she wrestles with grief, Ellie and her aunt head across the country to uncover the truth. Full of determination and perseverance, both these women move outside of the typical roles society has placed upon them -- and I loved that these characters made bold decisions in a way that still felt very realistic.

While I enjoyed the book overall, I didn't connect with this story as deeply as I was hoping to. Having read a lot of WWII novels, I was missing a bit of a spark with this one. (And that's solely reader's preference.) I also felt that while the mystery angle was interesting, the stakes were too low in the 1945 timeline for me to feel that heightened sense of suspense.

I did, however, love the inspiration behind this story. I'd never heard of the Ziegfeld Follies and this was a fascinating bit of history that the author merged with a real-world, cold case. I would definitely check out more works by this author in the future! 3.5 stars.

It's 1945 and Ellie Morgan has just learned that her father has gone missing during the final months of WWII. With her mother now ensconced in her bedroom taking pills, it is up to Ellie to find out how, where and what happened to him. Now 6 weeks later, she finally receives a box from the military with his last remaining effects. In this box is a bunch of love letters from another woman, who has another family. How can this be? How can she even tell her mother? As a would be reporter Ellie makes it her mission to find out whatever she could about her father, a missing pilot. It is positively unthinkable that this could happen to a man she thought she knew, to the father that she loved.

Ellie runs to her aunt Iris the only other person she could tell and show the letters to. But Iris already knows about this other woman, for in her past she was a a Ziegfeld showgirl, a secret Iris kept from her family in the 1920's along with other experiences she might have had, including the affair her bother-in-law was having. How many more secrets has she kept hidden? Together with her niece, Ellie, Iris goes on a cross-county mission to get to the bottom of the truth. What will find they find and how earth shattering will it be? How will it affect their lives and will they be able to solve this mystery?

This book was a page turner, my first ever read by this this author...it won't be my last. A well developed story, with an excellent plot, well fleshed out characters. It has history, intrigue and mystery as it takes you on a very worthwhile journey.

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.