Thank you to Kensington Publishing for a copy of this book.

You know the kind of story that once you start it you just can’t put it down, until suddenly it’s 3 am and you’re a complete zombie? Yeah, this book is exactly like that - once I started I just could not stop!

The Long Flight Home is a fascinating look into an aspect of WWII I wasn’t familiar with: the use of pigeons to transport military intelligence across enemy lines. It’s inspired by a true story; in 2012 a pigeon skeleton was discovered in a chimney in England. The message it carried was coded, and has not been deciphered to this day. With that small seed, Hlad has created a story that is beautiful, and at times, heartbreaking.

What really stood out for me was Hlad’s writing style; the narrative is straightforward and spare. It reminded me a bit of Hemingway’s writing - I quite enjoyed it, and I’m pretty sure that’s how the book hooked me so fast. Only one part kind of threw me and pulled me out of the story - the ending. It featured an abrupt jump forward in time, and felt a bit rushed. I found it harder to connect with the fate of the characters because of it. But, I don’t feel like that affects my overall rating all that much, because everything else was brilliant.