Far Side of the Sea by Kate Breslin

Summary

In spring 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life--a woman he believed to be dead. Traveling to France to answer her urgent summons, he desperately hopes this mission will ease his guilt and restore the courage he lost on the battlefield.

Colin is stunned, however, to discover the message came from Jewel's half sister, Johanna. Johanna, who works at a dovecote for French Army Intelligence, found Jewel's diary and believes her sister is alive in the custody of a German agent. With spies everywhere, Colin is skeptical of Johanna, but as they travel across France and Spain, a tentative trust begins to grow between them.

When their pursuit leads them straight into the midst of a treacherous plot, danger and deception turn their search for answers into a battle for their lives.

Positives

The inclusion of Colin’s disability was very interesting. I really only noticed it when Colin did—when he brought up his gloved hand, it was like “Oh, right, he has a prosthetic hand.” While some of the plot was his struggle to overcome his injury, it was also nice to see a disability not treated as an oddity or something to be overcome. The portrayal of his PTSD was so well done, showing how it really is while also showing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I liked Joanna from the very first scene. (Come on! She rides a motorcycle! How often does that happen in historical fiction?) Her interest in motorcycles, pigeons, and her inability to be completely put together helped her stand out from the mold and caught my attention.

This espionage story had so many twists and turns. It had me suspecting every character that came along, wondering if Colin and Joanna could really trust them or not. The characters I expected to be allies betrayed them. The characters I thought were evil turncoats turned out to be their closest allies. And a few characters here and there were exactly what they were supposed to be, to throw me off the trail. Colin and Joanna faced both success and fallbacks in their journey to find Jewel.

Negatives

None.

Conclusion

This spy story was definitely worth it—unique characters, spies, plot twists, and pigeons. I mean, who could ask for more?