READING IDEAS FOR THE WEEK

Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park by Molly Green, Avon, £7.99

Iam always enthused by any novel set within this period, and this uplifting new wartime romance from Molly Green did not disappoint. Dulcie Treadwell, a young journalist, has her world turned upside down when she meets American Glenn Reeves in blackout London in 1939.

Knowing he will soon be leaving for Berlin, the two agree to meet up and spend Reeves’ last evening in the capital together – but Dulcie is forlorn when he fails to show up.

Longing for something to take her mind off her broken heart, she is offered a job to help with the war effort – a role at Bletchley Park where she will be tasked with breaking the infamous German Enigma codes, a secret coding system that could change the outcome of the war dramatically.

Sworn to secrecy, Dulcie cannot divulge her new job to anyone, including her family. The hours are long and the conditions are tough, and she gets little recognition from the bosses – until she breaks her first code.

She is welcomed into the new world of Enigma by Eddie, another young coder who befriends Dulcie and falls in love with her.

Faced with a new romantic dilemma, things get worse when the young woman is unfairly dismissed in a spiteful act of jealousy.

Now Dulcie must fight to clear her name and keep the job she has grown to love.

Molly Green has created something special with this gripping novel.

Dulcie is written with complexity, and, given the fascinating subject matter, her character is the perfect protagonist to take the reader through the highs and lows of falling in love in wartime.

The author manages to bring an originality and freshness to a well-worn genre, and the secret world of the undercover war effort is utterly fascinating.

All is brought to life through the eyes and perspective of a young woman caught in the centre of the action.

Green’s clever writing, combined with an engaging plot that is packed full of drama and suspense makes this new release in this historical Second World War series the perfect form of escapism this summer.