The Physicists' Daughter is quite a break from author Mary Anna Evans' Faye Longchamp series about an archaeologist in Florida, and she handles the World War II setting with aplomb. Justine and her newly found best friend Georgette Broussard give readers a taste of what Rosie the Riveter had to contend with in war-time factory work, but it's not all work and no play. Justine, whose life has always centered on education and the mind, learns how to jitterbug and how to deal with the men buzzing around her like bees-- with the help of Georgette, that is.
Other characters, like Mavis, whose job doesn't begin to cover the loss of her husband's wages now that he's fighting in the war; Georgette, my favorite character who comes from a poverty-stricken background out in the bayous of Louisiana; and Justine's Aunt Gloria (is she or is she not paranoid?) keep the story moving as the reader tries to guess the identity of the spy in their midst.
An extremely dangerous scene at the end is compelling, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my deductions weren't entirely correct. All in all, The Physicists' Daughter is a fast-paced tale filled with plenty of interesting characters and World War II flavor.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
Other characters, like Mavis, whose job doesn't begin to cover the loss of her husband's wages now that he's fighting in the war; Georgette, my favorite character who comes from a poverty-stricken background out in the bayous of Louisiana; and Justine's Aunt Gloria (is she or is she not paranoid?) keep the story moving as the reader tries to guess the identity of the spy in their midst.
An extremely dangerous scene at the end is compelling, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my deductions weren't entirely correct. All in all, The Physicists' Daughter is a fast-paced tale filled with plenty of interesting characters and World War II flavor.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
