In "The Golden Doves," Martha Hall Kelly tells another exciting WWII story with Josie (American) and Arlette (French) working together stealing many secrets from the Nazis. Through their amazing work they become well-known as “The Golden Doves.” Unfortunately, they are eventually caught and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp.

Since this story begins in 1952, the telling starts after Josie and Arlette are released from Ravensbruck at the end of the war, and the reader learns of their past through the memories of these two brave women. However, they again have an opportunity to work together to find several infamous Nazi doctors that have fled to South America, as well as looking for Arlette’s son who was taken from her during her time at the concentration camp.

It is an exhilarating tale of two courageous women who will do whatever it takes to help friends, family, and country.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Martha Hall Kelly, and Ballantine Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Post World War II is the setting for Martha Hall Kelly’s newest historical fiction. Two women, one American, one French and both spies for the French resistance are known as the Golden Doves. Josie Anderson and Arlette LaRue are captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp where horrible acts occur. “The Doves” swear to bring the Nazi doctor responsible for this torture to justice after the war ends.

Kelly’s story is well researched and based on actual historical events. The characters’ heroism and resilience is admirable. Told in alternate timelines of 1944 and 1952, the story is woven together to create a compelling plot and unexpected conclusion. Links are made to Kelly’s The Lilac Girls which referenced the Rabbit Girls, a group of women at Ravensbruck who were used as test subjects for medical experiments. The Golden Doves can still be read as a stand alone but readers will appreciate the nod to her previous novel. A wonderful story with aspects of a fast paced thriller that’s also a great audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the opportunity to review this title.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballentine Books for this advanced reader's copy.

Martha Hall Kelly does it again!

This book is a wonderfully researched story of The Golden Doves, Josie and Arlette, and their part in the Resistance in WWII.

This is a dual timeline book that is set in 1944-1945 and 1952. Josie moves on after WWII to become an officer in the US Army. Arlette is working in a cafe living day to day with little extra to get by.

Josie and her family are in Paris because her father is the US diplomate to France. He tries to get the family to leave, but Josie's Mimi is ill and can not travel. Josie and her mother are left to care for Mimi during the German occupation of Paris.

Arlette lives with her aunt in rural France. She is a member of the BDM and is a good solider for the Reich, She falls in love with Gunther and he leaves her with a gift as he leaves for war. Arlette is able to hide her pregnancy for almost the entire time, but her aunt finds her out as she is nearing the end. Arlette is quickly taken to a German facility to give her German descendant to a good family.

This is a wonderfully woven tale of both time lines. There is a lot of groundwork for a good strong plot in the first 1/3 and it is a bit of a slow start, but as things progress and you are in the 1952 timeline only it picks up quickly.

Finding the Easter Egg of the Lilac Girls character crossovers was fun!

I adore how in some way Martha Hall Kelly has managed to weave a gossamer fine thread throughout her novels linking each book together. The novel, Lilac Girls was inspired by a visit to the home of Caroline Ferriday, an American philanthropist who bought to light the experimentation on a group of women known as the 'Rabbit Girls' at Ravensbrück Concentration Camp during the Second World War. This novel keeps those links going, but please note you are absolutely fine to read this as a standalone novel.

Set in the 1950's, the novel follows the life of 2 women. Arlette, based in Paris, who after an affair with a young German soldier has a child. When we join the novel, we know that Arlette is separated from her child and desperate to find him.

Josie is living in the States and is involved in the covert recruitment of ex-Nazi scientists as part of the weapons race. If the scientists fail to be recruited for American efforts, they may fall into the hands of Russia. Every effort is made to recruit these men and women. Past crimes are erased, new identities formed and seemingly abhorrent actions forgotten. This does not seem to square with Josie, who has spent time in a Concentration Camp and witnessed first hand the appalling treatment.

But when Arlette is approached by an individual purporting to know the location for her son, and it coincides with a new potential recruit for Josie, the story begins to flash back to the actions of these 2 women during the war working for the resistance. It is here that Martha Hall Kelly's excellent research comes into its own. We learn about the baby farms, the work of the resistance and the great personal peril any operative faced should they be caught. Our gossamer fine, linking thread is the Rabbit Girls and their presence at the camp.

The action quickly moves to French Guiana, where Arlette is invited to a camp for children displaced by the war, but is there something sinister afoot here? Why do the boys become ill for no reason, and why is the Priest in charge so regimented and secretive. Is her son one of the group?

It is here that Martha Hall Kelly surprises us as this turns the novel into a rather excellent thriller. The action moves at quite a pace and I often found myself staying up late to read just one more chapter. Will Arlette be able to leave with her son? What is actually going on in the camp in French Guiana? And is there a hidden Nazi scientist in its midst?

Excellent research, wonderful story-telling with much empathy and an excellent thriller to boot. I am delighted to report that this is another cornerstone of a novel.

Thank you again to Ballantine for the opportunity to review this brilliant novel.

This was another wonderful book by Martha Hall Kelly. This book focuses on Josie, an American, and Arlette, a French girl of German descent. Josie and Arlette met in Paris during the War and ended up in Ravensbruck concentration camp together. It's now 1952 and Josie is doing undercover work for the American Army trying to hunt down former Nazi doctors and Arlette is still on a quest to find her son, who was lost during the war, while working at a coffee shop.

The book shifts back and forth from 1952 to 1943-1945 and also shifts places from Texas to Paris to Rome to French Guiana. I found each time and place to be well drawn out and detailed. I loved the characters of Josie and Arlette. Both were flawed, but likeable and believable.

This is definitely not an easy book to read if you are triggered by the Holocaust and the awful things that happened in the camps, particularly medical experiments. That said, it sheds light on some lesser known aspects (to me) of the post-war period and what happened to many Nazi higher ups during that time.

My main negative for the book is I found it a bit confusing at the end. There were so many people and countries involved that I had trouble keeping track of who was working for who and all the connections. But that may have just been because I was reading so fast because I was dying to find out what happened!

I found this book fascinating and engaging. Even though it's 500 pages, I was able to finish it in a weekend. If you liked Kelly's other books or are interested in WWII books, then this is a must-read! Thanks @netgalley for the ARC!

The Golden Doves is a captivating tale that follows the courageous journey of two remarkable women who served in the French Resistance during World War II. This novel is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous attention to detail, Kelly brings to life the harrowing experiences of these heroines, who risked everything to fight for their country's freedom. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in history, women's empowerment, and the triumph of the human spirit.

WOW. What an incredible story. I haven't read Martha Hall Kelly's previous books (they've been on my list!) but I'll be making sure to read them soon. The Golden Doves is truly a powerful story of two strong women during World War II and in the years after. While it's historical fiction, there's a mystery element too. This is certainly a story that would be easy to spoil, so I'll just say, read this. I couldn't put it down and it's easily one of the best historical fiction stories I've read.

Thank you Random House (Ballantine), NetGalley and Suzy Approved Book Tours for the eARC!

Seven years after the end of WWII, Josie Anderson worked for US Army Intelligence vetting former Nazi scientists who were arriving to work in America. Josie had been an agent during the war, working with Arlette LaRue. They were known as the Golden Doves. Josie was the daughter of an American diplomat who found herself trapped in occupied Paris with her Jewish French mother. Arlette was from a village on the German border. When she found herself pregnant by her German boyfriend she was taken to a home that would arrange for her child to be given to German parents. She escaped with her son Willie and settled in Paris. Introduced by an SOE agent, she worked with Josie and they became close friends. Arrested and sent to Ravensbruck, Josie was witness to the murder of her mother and Arlette was separated from Willie.

In 1952 Josie was given the mission to track down Dr. Snow, who had conducted experiments at Ravensbruck. In Paris, Arlette was contacted by Luc Minaus who, with his grandmother, runs a camp in French Guiana for children who had been separated from their families. It is possible that one of the boys is Willie. As Josie tracks Dr. Snow through Europe, Arlette heads to French Guiana, not realizing that their searches will reunite them and they will have to stop a plan that originated in Ravensbruck.

The end of WWII was only the beginning of a competition between nations to obtain the research done by Germany and to find surviving German scientists. As the end drew near it was also a time when Nazi fugitives fled Germany. In Rome, Josie discovers information on the rat lines, systems of contacts and support that provided new identities and finances for these fugitives. Martha Hall Kelly reveals the horrors of Ravensbruck and the physical and mental tolls it took on survivors. Her story of Arletta’s search for Willie is heartbreaking and will bring you to tears. Like Kelly’s earlier book The Lilac Girls, this story serves as a reminder of a period in history that must never be forgotten. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book for my review.

Inspired by actual events, Martha Hall Kelly's latest, THE GOLDEN DOVES —is a riveting story of two former female spies, bound together by their past, as they risk everything to hunt down a Nazi doctor in the aftermath of WWII.

Meticulously researched and richly told— a compelling and intriguing mystery. A literary work of art by the NYT bestselling author of The Lilac Girls of Ravensbrück.

Told from two POVs: Josie and Arlette.

American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue are thrilled to work in the French resistance, stealing Nazi secrets. They became known as the Golden Doves, renowned across France and hunted by the Gestapo. Their courage will cost them everything.

They are arrested and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, along with their loved ones. Terrible medical experiments were performed on women, they were starved, and no mercy was shown.

A reclusive Nazi doctor does unspeakable things to Josie's mother, a celebrated Jewish singer who joined her daughter in Paris. And Arlette's son is stolen from her, never seen again.

How will these women overcome the horrific experiences, horrors, and things they have witnessed with emotional, mental, and physical scars?

A decade later, the Doves fall into a dangerous dual mission: Josie works for U.S. Army intelligence and accepts an assignment to hunt down the infamous doctor. At the same time, a mysterious man tells Arlette he may have found her son.

The Golden Doves embark on an elaborate quest across Europe and ultimately to French Guiana, discovering a web of lies, secrets, and danger. Who can they trust?

They must put themselves in harm's way to secure justice and protect their loved ones.

Martha Hall Kelly writes brilliantly, with vivid settings, descriptions, well-developed research, and characters, with razor-sharp attention to detail. There are so many twists and much going on— from greed, politics, power, espionage, and murder.

Not only is the historical fiction impressive, with an intricate plot, but the mystery and intrigue, crossing moral lines, are engrossing as we follow these complex and courageous female spies. Action-packed, you will be guessing to the end.

I enjoyed reading the Author's Note and the fascinating articles on her blog regarding the inspiration behind the book. The author's previous novel, The Lilac Girls (5 stars) is optional to read before The Golden Doves; however, I highly recommend it.

Highly recommend THE GOLDEN DOVES for lovers of historical fiction and female spies.

Thank you to #RandomHouse for an ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins |#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: April 18, 2023
April 2023 Must-Read Books

This book grabbed my attention from the first chapter. Even though the story is about World War II, Martha Hall Kelly puts a different spin on this one and takes readers to two different timelines, one during the war and the other ten years later.

The story centers around two young women with very different backgrounds who were thrown together working for the resistance in France. Through their work, they become close friends, developing a successful working relationship.

Inevitably, they are discovered, though not for what they were actually doing. Sent to Ravensbruck, the two women became familiar with some of the infamous Nazi doctors. Thankfully they survive and ten years later are moving on with their lives.

Josie works for US Army Intelligence and Arlette is working in a cafe in France, when they each set out on separate paths for very different reasons. Arlettte is still trying to find her son and gets a good lead on where he might be and Josie is sent to Europe to hunt down one of the infamous Nazi doctors from Ravensbruck.

Eventually their paths collide and Josie and Arlette find themselves working together once again. The story moved at a brisk pace and I was continually engaged. I especially liked how Kelly included the Operation Paperclip program into the story.

Readers who love thrillers, history and spy novels will enjoy this story. Also there is a bit of a surprise in the ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to recommend this novel and give my honest review.

I started this book and was instantly pulled into the story. I love a historical fiction that leads me straight to google AND one that makes me want to flip through an author's backlist to look for characters I already know. The Golden Doves did both. While very intense and slower for me to read, I was hooked on the story and the twists and turns found in this WW2 romance. I think I have read it all, but then there is some piece of that era that is new to me and I am hooked once again.

This story of two friends from unlikely backgrounds who lived through the war and after together and with a common mission made hard things feel more relatable and their choices and personalities made me feel for them in ways that I wasn't ready for. It's not an easy read. Hall rarely is. But definitely one that historical fiction fans don't want to miss.

Historical fiction is my favorite genre and especially WW2 concentration camps. This book did not disappoint. Based on real people and events this was a page turner. It is very well researched and written. There are some sexual content issues including a lesbian relationship. They are real life circumstances. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Based on true events this story centers around two women who gather Nazi secrets for the French resistance. Josie and Arlette are part of the Golden Doves hunted by the Gestapo, and are eventually arrested and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where Arlette is separated from her son.
Now a decade later Josie is working for US Intelligence and teams up with her old friend and fellow dove to bring down Nazi fugitives, particularly one Mengele-like doctor, and being them to justice.
This latest book by one of my favorite historical fiction writers is phenomenal. She has a style of writing that keeps me engrossed in the story and still learning something new. I like how the chapters alternate between characters and the past and present, piecing together the story a little bit at a time. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes WWII fiction.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

With her latest novel, The Golden Doves, Martha Hall Kelly takes her readers back to WWII and follows two former female spies who are willing to risk everything to bring a fugitive Nazi scientist to justice.

American Josie Anderson and a Parisian named Arlette LaRue are two young women working in the French resistance during the war. They are so good at stealing Nazi secrets that they earn the title “Golden Doves” and are hailed by Allied Forces while being hunted by the Gestapo. Eventually their luck runs out and they are arrested and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. Josie and Arlette witness unbelievably horrific events on a regular basis at the camp and they also both experience devastating personal losses that will haunt them long after they are released from the camp – Josie’s mother is cruelly experimented on by a Nazi scientist and dies there, while Arlette’s infant son is stolen from her. A decade later, the opportunity presents itself for Josie to exact revenge on the scientist who tortured her mother, and Arlette suddenly has a fresh lead on where her son might have been taken.

I was completely engrossed in Josie’s and Arlette’s mission to finally hold this scientist accountable and to hopefully find Arlette’s son. Their adventure read like a thriller, filled with endless twists and turns and danger around every corner and I zoomed through the book, rooting for them to get justice for Josie’s mother and all the other women who were victimized at Ravensbruck.

As always though, what continually draws me to WWII historical fiction is my desire to learn everything that I wasn’t taught in history class. In this case, Martha Hall Kelly, through her extensive research, taught me how so many Nazi fugitives, particularly scientists, were allowed to escape justice and how my own country played an active role in their escape because they were so desperate to keep the knowledge and expertise the Nazi scientists possessed from getting into the hands of the Russians. I was shocked and truly appalled to learn this and don’t even get me started on what I learned about the Catholic Church’s involvement.

Inspired by true events, The Golden Doves is both a gripping and moving survivor’s tale and an eye opening lesson in WWII and post WWII history.

This book had a great start and a great hook. I was definitely all in.

But once I got into the story, I found the narrative of both main characters to be entirely implausible. Neither acted in an intelligent, responsible way, either during the war when they were hot shot spies (who got caught and sent to Ravensbruck) or afterwards when they were hunting down a Nazi war criminal. The plot relied on luck rather than human ingenuity and spy craft. I guess I just don’t like reading about women who are in responsible positions acting stupidly.

Flip flopping the storyline from 1944-1952 was bad enough, but then adding multiple disparate elements and eventually moving the story into a science fiction genre in South America was just too much for me. I closed the book at just over 50%.

I appreciate this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Ballentine Books, in exchange for an honest review.

I need everyone to run out and buy this book ASAP. Martha Hall Kelly makes historical fiction thrilling without feeling trite. Every single one of her books has only gotten better and better.

The Golden Doves is a much more thrilling escapade than her previous novels and it was hard to put down. We meet two women Arlette and Josie, who met as teenagers and worked together as France's Golden Doves in the resistance. While the book does go back and forth between their past work and present, I was much more drawn to the action in the present day (1952 post-War). The book took me in unexpected places, twisting and turning and trusting no one. If historical fiction feels a little boring to you but you're still interested, I highly recommend Kelly's The Golden Doves.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for this early copy of The Golden Doves. I adored it!

Arlette and Josie. Two young women from different countries, and different walks of life. Arlette is young woman living in the farmland of Europe. Josie, is a young American/Jewish woman living in Paris with her mother and diplomatic father. When Arlette's parents die she is forced to live with an abusive aunt. While living with her aunt, Arlette becomes pregnant and is sent to a home for unwed mothers, where she is expected to have and give up her baby. While in the home, Arlette is befriended by a nurse and is able to flee the home with her newborn son. The only caveat, she must help the resistance. So begins the Golden Doves.

The two girls are eventually captured and sent to Ravensbruck where they must endure hardships, illness and even the loss of Arlette's son and Josie's mother. Once the war is over the two women go their separate ways. Arlette to a cafe in Paris, Josie to the US to become part of the military. But for these two women, forgetting their time in Ravensbruck is hard to do. Josie is on the hunt for the elusive Dr. Snow and Arlette is a desperate mother just trying to find her long lost son.

This book alternates not only between two distinct time lines but also between the two women. It is a high intense and powerfully moving book. It brings the reader into resistance movement leaving them holding their breath every time a member of the Nazi forces is mentioned. The reader will also feel the pains of hurt, hunger and despair in the camp, and feel the hope of finding a child and the determination of catching a wanted criminal.

I have read, and loved, everything that Martha Hall Kelly has written and this book is no exception. It is a wild ride from the first to the last page. If you like historical fiction that takes you from one part of the world to another, and from emotion to emotion, then pick this book up.

I can't wait to see what Kelly writes next.

The book is written in two time periods. Just before Josie and Arlette are sent to Ravensbruck and after the war has ended.

At 528 pages this was my longest vacation read, but between the flights to Alaska and 14 hours on a ferry day trip, consuming this novel made the hours fly by. Having enjoyed her previous novels immensely, I have to say this is my favorite of hers so far.

Josie and Arlette are unforgettable characters, and the novel alternates chapters between each woman’s perspective with dual timelines in the 40s and 50s, starting when they were recruited as spies for the underground resistance in WWII to their time in Ravensbruk concentration camp. Several years later their lives reconnect as they hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor who escaped with many Nazis along the Ratline, Arlette simultaneously searching for her son taken from her at the camp and Josie working undercover for the U.S. Army intelligence. Based on true events and superb research, the pacing of this story grips you from the start and doesn’t let go and I learned so many things from this time period I had never heard of before. Pub date is Tuesday so preorder now or pop into your local Indie bookstore and grab yourself a copy next week!

Historical fiction is not my usual genre but I was intrigued by the description and the espionage aspects of this book. When I started, I was expecting to maybe force myself through this 529 page book but was shocked when the story grabbed me in the first chapter and I read straight through in one day! Great characters, a fast paced plot, and several twists that kept me guessing to the very end. Told from two different perspectives, over two separate timelines, I learned a lot of things I didn't know about the atrocities in Ravensbruck concentration camp for women during WWII as well as continued atrocities by the U.S., the Vatican, and others following the war that allowed Nazi doctors and scientists to avoid any accountability. This is not only a great read but an important read. Highly recommended

Many readers have read enough WEII books to last them awhile, However these two women are in search of a Nazi doctor that did tests on female patients at Ravensbruk Camp. Even historical fiction books haven about this all female camp and I am glad someone finally did. The hunt is fascinating taking place mostly in South American and keeps you turning the page. The book also includes the Nazi attempt of birthing the perfect race and what terrible thinks that involved during the war and how some French sided with the Nazi whether for their own protection or belief.
Highly recommend a completely new look at another aspect of WWII.