Novels

THE INVISIBLE PIPER

Book Review

'Linda M James writes real and touching characters going through exciting, testing times during WWII; if you're interested in the past, you'll love this book.'

Maggie Gee, Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature.

England. 1941. The book opens with a dramatic question: does Rob Adams, a 20 year Spitfire pilot who is parachuting out of a burning Spitfire survive? We have to wait until the climax at the end of the book to discover the truth. In flashback, we explore Rob’s home life; his life in the RAF and the people he learns to love: Kate, his best friend’s sister and a ten year old boy, Charlie.

Charlie, a 10 year old London evacuee, brings with him a traumatic background, a perceptive personality and a disarming ability to make people care about him deeply. He totally changes Rob's family's perception of themselves and the world.

In fact, the developing relationship between Rob and 10 year old Charlie is the pivot on which the book turns.  Rob gives Charlie the love and security which has always been missing from his life. However, as we follow their friendship, we gradually realise that it is not Rob, but Charlie, traumatised, but lionhearted, who is the stronger person; it is Charlie who ultimately teaches Rob about real love and courage.

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I am fascinated by history and research is so important when writing about historical events. (So important that I went to Los Angeles to take my Private Pilot’s Licence. I wanted to experience what it was like to fly a plane.)
While researching for this book, I spent many hours in the Imperial War Museum Library in London reading documents, diaries and books from WW II and also in Sussex University reading the Mass Observation Diaries so that I could make my readers walk around in that time with me.

One of the delights of writing is to find yourself surprised by your characters. My disarming, but vulnerable ten-year-old Charlie Slater, certainly kept surprising me by everything he did and said.

This book can be bought from all good book stores, from the publishers Pegasus Elliot McKenkie and on the Internet.

ISBN: 978184 3865087