#BookReview China Blue by Madalyn Morgan #20BooksofSummer23

About the Book

At the beginning of World War II Claire Dudley joins the WAAF. She excels in languages and is recruited by the Special Operations Executive to work in German occupied France with Captain Alain Mitchell, of the RCAF, and the French Resistance.

Against SOE rules Claire falls in love. The affair has to be kept secret. Even after her lover falls into the hands of the Gestapo, Claire cannot tell anyone they are more than comrades.

As the war reaches its climax, Claire fears she will never again see the man she loves.

Format: Paperback (356 pages) Publisher:
Publication date: 21st May 2015 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

China Blue is the third book in the Dudley Sisters series but can be read as a standalone. (It has since been republished by Storm Publishing with the title Betrayal.)

In the first part of the book the reader gets an insight, through Claire’s eyes, into the meticulous process for assessing suitability to join the Special Operations Executive and the training to prepare agents for active service: physical tests, parachute training, interrogation techniques and agent tradecraft. Claire is also given her code name – China Blue. Being close to her sisters and her friend, Eddie, Claire finds it difficult not being able to confide in them the role she is about to undertake, or the risks it involves.

It’s during Claire’s training that she first encounters Captain Alain ‘Mitch’ Mitchell. In shades of Pride & Prejudice, they don’t hit it off to begin with but it’s not long before that changes.

I found Claire’s transformation from assured, competent, fearless young woman to lovelorn girl a little sudden. She throws caution to the wind (with, I’m afraid, rather predictable consequences) and disregards everything she’s been told about what to do if a fellow agent is captured. The fact personal considerations seemed to take precedence over her role I thought risked her becoming more of a liability than an asset.

The author creates a believable sense of jeopardy with Resistance members ever mindful of the possibility of discovery or betrayal and the population at risk of being on the receiving end of random acts of violence by German soldiers. Personally I would have loved more detail about Claire’s work with the Resistance and less of the romantic storyline but I know other readers may think differently.

China Blue is an engaging wartime love story with moments of real drama.

In three words: Romantic, dramatic, emotional

Try something similar: Daughters of War by Dinah Jefferies

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About the Author

Madalyn Morgan was an actress for more than thirty years working in Repertory theatre, the West End, film and television. She is a radio presenter and journalist, writing articles for newspapers and magazines.

Madalyn was brought up in Lutterworth, at the Fox Inn. The pub was a great place for an aspiring actress and writer to live, as there were so many different characters to study and accents to learn. At twenty-four, Madalyn gave up a successful hairdressing salon and wig-hire business for a place at East 15 Drama College, and a career as an actress.

In 2000, with fewer parts available for older actresses, Madalyn taught herself to touch type, completed a two-year correspondence course with The Writer’s Bureau and started writing. After living in London for thirty-six years, she has returned to her home town of Lutterworth, swapping two window boxes and a mortgage, for a garden and the freedom to write. (Photo: Twitter profile)

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