I so enjoyed reading my third Martha Hall Kelly book. I loved her debut Lilac Girls and then Lost Roses, they were both so amazing. This book is definitely a story that you'll be unable to put down. The author does a wonderful job in writing the closing sentences in each chapter that makes you have to turn the page to see what will happen next. It is written in two timelines, the 1940's during WW2 and then during the 1950's after the Nuremberg Trials.

Josie Anderson an American and Arlette LaRue a Parisian are both young and are brought together to work in the French resistance.
You are taken through how the girls become known as the Golden Doves 🕊️ and how they are brought into Ravensbrück concentration camp. You'll read what they go through and see what horrors befalls them in the camp.
In the 1950's they both have their agendas, Josie is trying to locate the doctor that ended her mother's life, Dr. Snow, and Arlette is searching for her son Willie. You are taken to French Guiana, and there you find lies, secrets, and unthinkable things happening to the children there.

The surprise ending is brought together so perfectly, you will love it. The authors note is very informative and enlightening bringing fact and fiction to the reader. A 5+⭐ read. Enjoy ❤️.

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of Martha Hall Kelly's The Golden Doves, and Random House Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review & opinion.

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Extraordinary historical fiction. Once I started this one I couldn’t put it down, and finished it over a weekend. No regrets, because this was such a wonderfully gripping novel.

Told in two distinct voices, both kept my interest, The Golden Doves is serious how-fast-can-I-turn-the-page reading. Recommended.

Historical fiction is not for the lighthearted. It is not the easiest genre to write or read. However, Martha Hall Kelly just keeps writing excellent historical fiction novels. I went into this with no expectations whatsoever and was blown away. I love the atmosphere and how she wrote the story. It felt real and the book itself it difficult to put down once you start. I would recommend this to any historical fiction lover, you will not be disappointed!

Wow. The Golden Doves is Martha Hall Kelly back on the horse. While her last couple of books have fallen flat for me, this book had everything I loved about The Lilac Girls: great story, fascinating historical detail, fast-paced plot. The book opens with Josie, who is working for Operation Paperclip. It continues, flashing back and forth in time between occupied France, Ravensbruck, and 1952 in America and Europe. As a World War II specialist, I know about as much as you *can* know about Paperclip, at least outside of a government archivist. Kelly excelled in making me *angry* about it. She pulled me out of my spirit of resignation over it to ask why. To ask why this was ever permitted and why we have not made amends about it. This book also wraps in something in the vein of Colonia Dignidad. It is really a full view of the worst of the Nazis postwar and the havoc they wreaked, because we could not be bothered to bring them to justice. Highly recommend.

The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly is the story of two women in France working for the French Resistance in WWII. They were so successful that they were dubbed "The Golden Doves". Josie and Arlette are eventually captured and sent to Ravensbrück, the Nazi concentration camp for women where they witnessed Nazi atrocities firsthand. Told in alternating timelines of the 1940s - before and during their time in Ravensbrück - and then in the 1950s after the war.
1952 - Josie was working for the American Government in tracking down Nazi war criminals. She stumbles upon Operation Paperclip, the secret intelligence program that brought Nazi scientists to America after the war. She is determined to find a specific doctor that was in Ravensbrück that she believes was guilty of hundreds of deaths and the disfigurement of so many women and responsible for children that went missing from the camp. This particular doctor was also believed to be involved in Josies mother’s disappearance. At the same time, Arlette, is living in Paris, and she just wants to find her son who was taken from her before the liberation of the camp. This is an amazing story which tells how some Nazi criminals were able to escape prosecution for crimes against humanity in exchange for their scientific knowledge and were brought to the United States to work in secret government programs. Arlette and Josie are brave women that encounter impossible and challenging situations – their time in Ravensbrück was difficult to read about, but this is history and all really happened. I also love how the author twists and turns the story and so you can’t guess what is going to happen next.
I really enjoyed this book. Even through the horror of what the Nazi criminal doctors did to the women and babies was tough to read, this is historical fiction at its absolute best by an incredible author and I highly recommend The Golden Doves!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The book begins in 1952 and the aftermath of WWII , when America was bringing Nazi scientists to the US to thwart the Russians getting them. The book made me very angry, and the character of Josie and her dilemma of helping them come even though she had been a prisoner at Ravensbruck helped assuage my anger somewhat.
Back and forth in time as well as chapters seen through the eyes of several characters, Kelly brings both the time periods to life in a somewhat terrifying way. This is more of a thriller than her previous books and the villains are sometimes a surprise. Knowing that some if the historical characters "got away with" little punishment is what provokes anger in the reader. There are several good twists and the ending implies a future story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC..

The Golden Doves is a story of two women, Arlette and Josie, who are resistance fighters and survivors of Ravensbrück.

I really appreciated the details of Ravensbrück. I hadn't read about this camp exclusively, and the details are heartbreaking. I also had never heard of Operation Paperclip, which was a program to bring Nazi scientists to the US to work and keep them from working for the Russians. I found the moral ramifications of this program to be very thought provoking.

I have read other books by Martha Hall Kelly, so I knew that I was going in to. However, this one was just a bit too gritty for me. I found that I felt very little connection with Josie or Arlette. Their actions after the war just don't match their personalities or personal beliefs. It just didn't seem likely that their characters would behave the way they did. I also struggled with the dual timelines until about a third of the way into the book, when things cleared up a bit.

The research and the information in this book were fascinating, I just wasn't a fan of the characters or their actions.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine, NetGalley, and Martha Hall Kelly for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

A historical thriller novel set during WWII, yes sign me up!

Truly thrilling. Many brave men and women truly risked everything during this war. Although this is mainly fiction, the author did her research and paints a picture of what many were willing to do to help others. This risks taken were truly astounding .

Loved this one and highly recommend.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

Josie and Arlette were partners during Germany's occupation of France and are still best friends, despite living an ocean apart. Both has emotional scars from the war and scores to settle and they may just get their chance.

The Golden Doves
Martha Hall Kelly
Ballantine Books
April 18, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! Where to begin? This book is a must-read for historical fiction lovers. It’s long, but it NEEDS to be long. It tells the story of two women, Josie and Arlette, who work as spies in the anti-Nazi underground. They are so good at their jobs, they are dubbed the “golden doves.”

With an international web of intrigue, Kelly weaves a story that has to be told. The horrors of the concentration camps, the escape of Nazis to the US and South America, the children starved in their mothers’ arms, the horror of it all is dealt with honesty and respect (where deserved). Kelly did her research and it makes the novel work.

I highly recommend this book. It’s important to remember.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an incredible and heart wrenching story. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves to read about WW2 historical fiction. Great story and believable characters.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.I read a LOT of historical fiction, but this is the first book based on the Nazi doctors who basically escaped punishment after WWII. A fascinating story about real life scary events. The POV is two young women who both helped the Resistance during the war.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Having read the author’s previous book, The Lilac Girls (Part 1), I had great expectations for this book. While the author’s writing remains superb and the book is well-researched, this one was a bit of a miss for me.

If you have never heard of Operation Paperclip or Ravensbrück, I would suggest you read up on those subjects first. Operation Paperclip is beyond believable, and Ravensbrück is heartbreaking.

The plot of The Golden Doves touches on both subjects, but not as masterfully as The Lilac Girls. The Golden Doves are the two main characters, Josie and Arlette. Working together as spies for the resistance during World War II, they are captured and imprisoned at Ravensbrück. The story is told from their perspectives, from both time in the camp and in 1952, when they are again involved with hunting Nazis who escaped justice. The author’s writing moves seamlessly from one character and timeline to the next.

So, why wasn’t I particularly drawn into the story? First, both characters are strong, but Josie’s personality traits just didn’t ring true with her objectives. Josie is working for the United States as part of Operation Paperclip, which stretched my imagination from the opening pages of the book. She is in charge of intake interviews, etc. for the scientists involved in the operation, yet with every fiber of her being she wants to kill them with her bare hands. Although she does it with disdain and animosity, could someone really do that job day in and day out? Perhaps that is why she drinks, a lot. Josie is inexperienced and is sloppy at her job even when sober. When she returns to the field, her inability to control her emotions or listen to reason renders her incapable of completing her tasks. For someone the author wants us to believe is strong and capable, she ends up the damsel in distress with a man to save her too many times. Second, the plot devolves into science fiction which just seemed to devalue the actual history. I debated about this point as the whole Nazi regime and final solution seems far-fetched, yet it happened. Who am I to say that this part of the plot could never happen? Or didn’t happen? I have a hard time processing the atrocities that one group of people inflicted on others. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the number of people involved in such abominations. But it happened. So, maybe truth could be stranger than fiction and it is a possibility, and that is why it was so unsettling to me.

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Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: April 18, 2023

This was an amazing read and so full of historical details! As someone who has read a lot of WW2 novels, I love finding books that focus on other main events within the historical genre. I loved that this book focused on the years right after WW2 and Operation Paperclip.

Kelly's book really gave me everything I wanted within a historical novel- heroines that try to work through their issues, mystery/unknown, and so much historical details.

The only thing that hindered this for me as a reader was that there were parts where we are expected to know the past. It felt as if this book was a sequel and I missed important parts. It felt a little jarring but didn't take away from the storyline.

Mark your calendars if you're ready for an amazing historical novel that takes place right after WW2!

I find myself drawn to books which are both enlightening and provide a learning experience. I have found author, Martha Hall Kelly, to be unbeatable in her story telling. Previous works, beginning with The Lilac Girls , revealed the atrocities of WWII and the inhumanity of the Nazi regime. History informs, but sadly, there are omissions, falsehoods, misrepresentations and incomplete stories. The Golden Doves, a pair of determined women brought together under unusual circumstances, shed a brilliant light upon their tenacity. The story began as most WWII fiction does, presenting and defining the European theater, the harshness and dangers of daily life of the 1940s. Further reading by this baby boomer brought me to my knees. One blithely assumes VJ Day was synonymous with resumption of normality. The clandestine efforts to continue the manipulations and extinction of a single ethnicity. I had no idea that into the 1950s, experimentation on humans including young children still happened. I was oblivious to the gross number of German expats who escaped punishment by resettling in South America and whose descendants may still be devoted to the same criminality.. The Golden Doves is a brilliantly written novel, telling a most difficult story. Extremely informative and highly recommended.

Unlike the previous books by Kelly, this one was a bit slower for me to get into. Maybe it was the characters, or maybe it was the fact that I went into the book expecting them to be at Ravensbrück. This book was, in fact, more about the two main characters outside of the prison camp. In the present day, looking for people; and then in the pas, leading up to their imprisonment. I think that it was a good thing that the book was set up this way in the end, because we had already had a lot of the camp from the Lilac Girls. It still didn't stop me from waiting for a crossover.

Once I accepted that the bulk of the story would take place outside Ravensbrück, I was able to settle in for a good and interesting read about two characters who took a stand and tried to do what was right. The whole situation in French Guiana stank of something underhanded, so it surprised me that the two main characters were not as savvy as me, the reader, in figuring things out sooner. And there were definitely some loose ends, not only with the cliffhanger ending, because we didn't find out a few things about main characters that I felt would have helped round out the story better.

Ok. But those were nit picking things. The book as a whole was excellent and a great addition to the the previous series. The Golden Doves can certainly stand alone, but I do think that it would be better read with The Lilac Girls in some way (before or after) to round out the whole Ravensbrück picture. The action moved quickly; the characters were interesting; and the surprises at the end were, well, surprising.

I loved every minute of reading this book. The suspense, twists and moving between timelines really keeps you engaged and wanting to know what happens next. I was so caught up in the
storyline that I couldn't stop reading but also never wanted it to end!
This book is the perfect companion to Lilac Girls and I loved the call backs to characters, though sometimes brief, that really pulls this whole world together post-WWIl. I hope Martha Hall
Kelly continues to explore Arlette and Josie's story in future books, it was hard to leave them after the final chapter!

American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue became known as the Golden Doves with their work in the French Resistance against the Nazi invasion in WWII. A decade later they are reunited on a mission that leads them across Europe and to French Guinea.
This historical fiction by the author of The Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly, is inspired by true events.
A must read.

I read and loved Lilac Girls so I was very excited to get to read The Golden Doves. I loved this book just as much. The story alternates between Josie and Arlette's points of view. Josie and Arlette become female spies to help the French resistance. They become known as the Golden Doves and are wanted by the Gestapo. Eventually, they are arrested and sent to a concentration camp. While at the camp, Josie's mother is experimented on by a Nazi doctor and Arelette's son disappears. Years later, Arlette is still looking for her son and meets someone who says he might have found her son. At the same time, Josie is working for the U.S. Army Intelligence and is trying to hunt down the Nazi doctor who experimented on her mother. The stories weave together and both women face their traumatic pasts. This was a book that I couldn't put down!

I have read and loved all of Martha Hall Kelly’s novels. They have all been page turners and The Golden Doves is no exception. It is action packed from the first page to the last and you won’t be able to put it down.

Once again she has taken a little explored area of history and created a story that explores this time period and will leave you wanting to do your own research. It is 1952, seven years after World War II and Josie and Arlette are still trying to recover from their time in Ravensbruck. Arlette is trying to find her son and Josie is trying to come to terms with the death of her mother. Their searching brings them face to face with unimaginable danger and circumstances that will keep the reader engrossed from start to finish.

If you have never read one of Ms. Kelly’s novels, this is a great one to start with. You will be hooked from the first page, so be prepared to sit, relax and get lost in the story. Once you have finished, you will also want to pick up all her other novels.

I requested and received this book for review from NetGalley.