Review: A Secret Courage by Tricia Goyer

Too Many Mistakes

Tricia Goyer has written over fifty novels, but I think this is the first I’ve read. The big-picture historical background was new to me, and fascinating. I’ve heard of the codebreaking work that went on at Bletchley Park in World War II England, but I’d never heard of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at Dansefield House near Henley, England. Reading about the work these men and women did was fascinating, and was the novel's greatest strength.

The details were less strong—tea with cream, a fried egg for breakfast (rationing, anyone?), references to sidewalks, signposts, the United Nations, and majoring in history in college (a Brit would read history at university).

There was unintentional comedy in the references to British efficiency (if we’re talking national stereotypes, Germans are efficient. The British are bureaucratic). And while I’d like to think the typos in my review copy were all were corrected in the final published version, I don’t think that’s the case. I was able to search the Kindle Look Inside and find Blenheim Place (should be Palace), and American accident (should be accent). Awkward …

In terms of the plot, I found the first quarter confusing. While it was obvious Will was a double agent, it was less obvious where his true allegiance lay. This made it difficult to engage in the developing romance as I didn’t know whether I was supposed to like Will or loathe him. This made it impossible to engage in what was supposed to be a romance. The middle of the novel often dragged to the point where I considered giving up several times, and I didn’t feel the suspense aspect of the plot really kick in until the last quarter.

This is the first book in The London Chronicles series, but I can’t say I’m interested enough to follow the rest of the series, even though World War II is one of my favourite historical fiction genres.

Thanks to Harvest House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can read the introduction to A Secret Courage below: