The Night Flyers

Kliatt, Nov, 2003 by Pat Dole

Elizabeth McDavid Jones. 1999/2003. Read by Stina Nielsen. Recorded Books. 1-4025-4155-4. $29.00. Vinyl; plot notes. J *

Set on the Currituck Sound in North Carolina in 1918, this wholesome mystery centers on 12-year-old Pare Lowder, whose father is fighting in France. Pam is restless and unhappy in school but supremely confident when she is working with animals and birds. She and her father have been raising unique homing pigeons that have been trained, against their natural instincts, to fly at night. Then a stranger with a foreign accent (could he be a German spy?) comes to town and offers Pare a great deal of money for her best breeding pairs. But Pare loves her birds too much to part with any of them. When several pigeons are stolen from her loft, she embarks on what might be a dangerous search for the thief. Character portrayal is good; the geography and animal life of the area are superbly pictured. An instructive afterword describes briefly living conditions at the time, the circumstances of WW I, and the use of carrier pigeons during battle.

In her pleasantly and clearly spoken, semi-voiced narration, Nielsen uses her dramatic skills well to heighten the suspense and develop the characters of this historical novel, a part of the American Girl series and 2000 winner of the Best Children's Mystery Edgar Award. Pat Dole, Richmond, VA