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REVIEWS: THE WOMAN IN THE WING

Reviewed by Alice Lynn, author Wrenn and Volunteer for Glory

I'm a recent fan of Jean Sheldon, so obtaining a copy of A Woman In the Wing was a treat. I found myself stealing time out of my busy day to read just one more chapter. The historical background of this WW II mystery is well done, as are the details of flying and airplane construction. The authenticity of background combined with engaging characters bring you directly into war time. Char, a member of the WASP pilot training program, teams up with Ellie, an FBI agent, in an effort to discover who is sabotaging the production of military aircraft. While we get insights into one of the chief saboteurs and her evil schemes, it isn't until the end that her assumed identity is revealed. The fairly large cast of characters adds to the "red herrings" of detective novels as well as providing sub-plots. I highly recommend this novel for mystery lovers as well as military or aviation buffs.

Reviewed by Haven's Pen "Dar" (Reno, NV)

Where's Part Two? Not my usual genre; I enjoyed it just the same. Jean Sheldon sends the reader back to a time when women were becoming more than housewives. The unfortunate truth shows that for all the ground we thought we had gained, much has fallen away.

The story has a build up of excitement and intrigue. Trying to figure out who the bad guys/women are, the reader is caught up in mystery.

My reason for giving it less than four stars is the dialogue. It seemed awkward at times. And maybe it was just me, but I found keeping track of who's who confusing all the way to the end. Maybe that is due to the lack of military training on my part. I need to understand ranking. So someone who has studied that may have better luck in reading this. Even still, the story kept me interested.

Reviewed by Betty Gelean ReviewTheBook.com 

I am so excited by this book and very pleased to recommend it. It is well-written, intense, and true to itself. Jean Sheldon really knows how to tell a story. Taking place after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is a work of fiction in a very realistic presentation. Based on the work of women in the United States during wartime, it centers around the work of the "Rosie the Riveters" as they came to be known, and the women pilots in the WASP. Jean Sheldon has given us an insight into the personal and work lives of these women, reflecting the attitudes of the time, and giving us a good dose of sabotage and espionage as well.

"The Woman in the Wing" grabbed my attention and held it until even after I finished the book. I think this is the longest I ever sat with one book trying to read it all at once.  If it weren't for requiring nourishment and sleep, I'm sure I would have done just that. This is not something I say often. 

There are not many works of fiction that feature the women, although the author gives some references on-line for non-fiction resources at the back of the book. I even found myself looking up some of the planes mentioned after reading the descriptions!  The story primarily follows the paths of two very good friends and neighbours who want to fly and manage to get the training for it. But Char, our chief protagonist, has run into the male-domination theme so prevalent in the this era, and she is told she will not get her wings because of something distasteful to her which she flat out refuses. I, being a child of the 1940s, applaud Ms. Sheldon for incorporating this imbalance of humanity that was very current at that time and still persists in some ways today.

Enter the FBI searching for Nazi spies in the warehouses and hangars. There appear to be a number of them sabotaging the planes being built and those in use. Since Char is being "punished" for her refusal of the Major's proposal, she has been sent to be a riveter, along with her friend Max.  They are soon required to watch out for suspicious behaviour and report it to the FBI. They know there are FBI agents working in the facility too, but they don't know who they are.

Accidents have increased in the facility over the past 3 months and are becoming more personal than just slowing production. It soon escalates to planes crashing, equipment falling, and murder, with deaths and injuries piling up, building from fear to terror for the women. Character-driven, the plot accelerates through the whole book until the reader may find he/she is out of breath. I highly recommend this book for its research, subject matter, characterizations, and its exciting, suspenseful finish.

Audio Book Reviewed by Nancy Eaton BESTSELLERSWORLD.COM

During WWII, women in the military faced many prejudices. The last thing many men thought women should be doing is flying an airplane. One woman, Charlotte Mercer, even had a difficult time trying to convince her own father why she wanted to fly an airplane.

Everyone knew that Char would pass with flying colors and get her wings. However, there was an obstacle in her way. Major Deavers made Char a proposition in order to get his approval for the military to grant her wings. You can just imagine what he wanted in exchange for his recommendation. Well, Char would have no part of Major Deavers.

The Major then decided to assign Char to a defense plant where she worked as a riveter. Her main purpose was to help the FBI. There were suspicions that a number of German spies had infiltrated the plant. An FBI agent, Dave, and his sister worked with Char in order to capture the spies. The spies had an agenda of their own including putting oversized rivets in the fuselage and hiding a bomb in the plant where it would explode and do much harm.

Are Char and the FBI successful at finding the spies and stopping them before it is too late?

Clearly, Jean Sheldon has done much research in order to write this book. There is plenty of suspense and twists and turns to keep the reader on edge. Jean does an excellent job with her character portrayal, as they are well defined. The author also does an outstanding job of bringing to light the many prejudices against women, especially in the military, at this point in history. Many readers, especially Baby Boomers, have heard stories from their parents about the riveters in the defense plants. This story is special to me. My mother was one of the “Rosie the Riveters”. I often heard her speak about her work as a riveter. I must commend the reader of this audio book, Judith “Sparky” Roberts. She just amazed me with the many different voices she portrayed. I am told there are 45 different voices in this audio book. In fact, I thought there were several people doing the reading and was surprised to find out the different voices were all done by Sparky. Quite a feat. I don’t know how she kept it all straight! This is a good fiction read about an important time in our history and the best part is the mystery involving the spies. You are in for a double treat – the creative writing of Jean Sheldon and the many voices of the very talented reader, Judith “Sparky” Roberts. These two individuals make this a very worthwhile audio book that you will truly enjoy.

Reviewed by April Hanson ReviewTheBook.com 

Set in Chicago during WWII and focusing on the female contribution to the war effort, ‘The Woman in the Wing’ is a finely crafted suspense thriller that had me turning the pages at a furious pace.

It’s the summer of 1944 and Char is getting ready to graduate from Woman Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) training when she gets reassigned because she won’t sleep with the Major. She finds out she will be working undercover at a defense plant with FBI agent Eleanor Frazier in an effort to locate some German spies that may be working at the plant. There has been an increase in “accidents” at the plant and the FBI believes the Germans may be trying to sabotage the war planes being built there. Char and Ellie become riveters at the plant alongside many other women, one of whom may be the ringleader of the German spies. Will they uncover the identities of the spies before it is too late and, if they do, will Char finally get her wings?

Author Jean Sheldon has written a well-researched story set in a period of US history that many people probably know very little about. The participation of women in the war effort during World War II wasn’t often acknowledged but their support made it possible for the US to intervene in Germany and Japan and ultimately put an end to the war. I love that Ms. Sheldon uses this information as the framework for her novel and, in doing so not only entertains, but teaches us a bit of history. The story is fast paced and the characters are interesting and well-developed. I truly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical suspense.

Reviewed by Darcy Odden ReviewTheBook.com

History, mystery and a little romance combine in Jean Sheldon's "The Woman in the Wing." It's 1940 and young Charlotte Mercer and her best friend Maxine enroll in a civilian flight training program at Northwestern University in Chicago. The two complete their training and in 1942 are invited to apply to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) to fly military airplanes. As accomplished pilots, Char and Maxi are welcomed into the WASP training program where they soon become two of the WASP's best pilots. Char finishes her testing first in her class, but is denied her wings by the base commander when she refuses his advances. The commander instead orders her to work as a riveter at the Douglas Aircraft plant to assist the FBI in investigating possible spies at the airfield and plant.

Dave Frazier is the FBI agent Char works with on the investigation. Dave's sister, Ellie, also an agent, is assigned as Char's partner in the assembly plant. WASP pilots are going down in sabotaged planes and deadly accidents and murders are occurring at the plant. To uncover the saboteurs, Char and Ellie snoop into the lives of their fellow riveters.

"The Woman in the Wing," though fiction, contains much history of the WASP program and World War II. Author Sheldon keeps readers guessing as to the identity of the saboteurs. Her characters are engaging and Sheldon's story gives readers an inside look into the daily life of Americans at home during World War II. There are a few instances where sentences are repeated and a few scene transitions that come abruptly, but overall this is a great read for anyone who loves a mystery and is interested in the World War II era.

Reviewed by Janice Hidey ReviewTheBook.com

As a young girl I was fascinated with stories about pilot Amelia Earhart and read every book in my elementary school library about her. I then found out about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and read about their role in World War II. When I heard that Jane Sheldon’s book The Woman in the Wing centered around some WASP I had to read it.

Reviewed by Tara GOODREADS.com

This is a historical whodunit and an enjoyable mystery very similiar to the Nancy Drew books I read as a kid. In this case, "Nancy Drew" is Char, a WASP in training getting her wings clipped due to her refusual to sleep with the Major. Her sidekicks (somewhat like George and Bess) are her longtime friend and fellow WASP, Maxi and an FBI agent, Ellie. Char and Ellie go to work at an aircraft factory riveting the wings of the C-54 Skymasters in hopes of apprehending suspected German spies that are causing mishaps within the factory. Some of these mishaps are costing lives. Meanwhile, Maxi is mistaken for another pilot and her life is almost ended prematurely when her plane goes down in a corn field. Another case of mistaken identity robs a fellow riveter of her life when she attains a screwdriver in her back meant for Ellie.

Can Ellie and Char discover the Nazi spies before one or both of them ends up with a screwdriver in their backs? If Char can succeed in this mission, will she be able to graduate with her fellow WASP and start working in a cockpit again rather than a wing?

Intriguing tale, but not quite 5 stars. There was a lot of repititon. An example would be when Ellie's brother Dave, an FBI agent himself finds out information, it all must repeated later (almost word for word) to Char and Ellie. There was no need to read it all twice. There were times it felt like the game of Clue. It had a "Hannah Brown in the hangar with a wrench".. kind of feel. It is a mystery, however.

Great attention to detail on the riveting process! The women working on the aircraft were just as important as the ones that flew them. I like how this novel shows us the women in the wings (literally IN the wings holding bucking bars!) as well as the women in the cockpits.

I recommend this to war and aviation buffs as well as young adults with similar interests. The novel is very clean and somewhat educational.

Reviewed by Ann K. D. Myers Historical Novel Society

The United States has entered World War II and needs all the help it can get in the war effort. Charlotte Mercer is a Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) trainee eager to fly for her country. But when an inappropriate proposition from a superior results in her removal from the training program, her future career looks bleak. Misfortune turns to opportunity when she is reassigned to an FBI investigation into a ring of German spies. Working undercover as a riveter putting together the airplanes she hopes to fly, Char must identify the Nazi imposter before it is too late.

Sheldon has created a suspenseful mystery with ample historical detail about how women were viewed and treated as participants in the war effort. At times her portrayal of the disrespect and scorn shown to women overshadows the plot, but Sheldon’s exploration of the wide variety of backgrounds of the main characters and their different motivations for getting involved in the war effort provides insight into what that period of American history was like for its citizens. In addition to the social commentary, there are fascinating details about the mechanics of the planes being flown and worked on and the different flying maneuvers practiced by the trainees.

The Woman in the Wing has plenty of action and excitement, and readers will enjoy trying to identify the German spy along with Char and her fellow agents. This book would appeal to those interested in World War II or women’s history and anyone who loves a good mystery.

Reviewed by Cy B. Hilterman  BESTSELLERSWORLD.COM

This is a fictional story but has a storyline that no doubt occurred many times during World War II wherever military bases and/or factories were located where women ferried airplanes to areas of the United States where they were needed, or worked in a factory to help produce our nations airplanes. It is a story depicting how hard the women worked and the prejudice of many types they endured. Far too many felt women should not fly and should not work in a factory producing airplanes or weapons. The factory work was really mandated with the military taking most of the available and able-bodied men. This group of women was known as the "WASP" which stood for "Women Airforce Service Pilots." Their steady and valuable effort to help build airplanes, ships, and various other weapons and machinery greatly enhanced the war effort.

Women in the Wing tells the story of several women that volunteered their time and low-paying service to the WASP and the defense plants around the nation, in this story mostly the mid-west. Charlotte Mercer loved to fly but she had to fight her father first to convince him that she belonged in a cockpit to fly to help her nations war effort. Charlotte's friend, Maxine, also wanted to fly and eventually they both talked their families into letting that occur. Their trek began when they appeared before the training commander at the Douglas Aircraft Factory where they given a hard interview with the woman in charge. Their past flying experience got them accepted into the training program. A male officer, Major Deavers, had the final say as to who got their WASP wings after training but when he interviewed Charlotte (Char) he told her he would not allow her to receive her wings unless she went to bed with him! As ludicrous as this sounds, in those days many men got away with this and actually got the results they wanted with women. Not Char. Deavers assigned Char to another job working in the airplane factory, but not including flying.

Enter David Frazier, an FBI agent and brother of three sisters, one of who, Eleanor, an FBI agent, became a worker with a very surprised Char turned FBI agent, in the factory. Dave worked as their liaison and was never too far away. The girls blended right in with other workers and became riveters, a job they discovered was a very hard and demanding job that left them completely worn out after each shift. Once they learned how to rivet they figured they would have more time to look around to see anything suspicious.

Things became very interesting when several bad accidents occurred, some in the plant and some while a WASP was ferrying or flight testing an airplane. At first it was very hard to see anything wrong occurring but eventually the girls saw and heard things that they were suspicious of and gave the information to Dave. But instead of sabotage decreasing it increased and became more dangerous. The girls got better at seeking out suspects as more got injured. The reader can sense the danger that German spies caused in our defense during WWII, seemingly unconcerned if they hurt or killed their fellow workers that they had gotten to know quite well. Char and Eleanor were in danger when some spies suspected they, as well as some other girls, were agents and they had to watch each others backs carefully.

The Woman in the Wing is an easy but good read. Jean Sheldon writes in a way that you can understand what is going on and why. I have never read any of her books before but this makes me want to try another. Thanks Jean.

Reviewed by Sandie Kirkland for RebeccasReads

The Woman In The Wing is a mystery that follows the adventures of Charlotte Mercer and other members of the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) during World War II. This organization, made up entirely of women, was loosely attached to the Air Force and did routine flying missions within the United States, such as delivering planes to new locations, or towing targets for gun practice, so that male pilots in the Air Force would be freed for fighting missions overseas. The women in the WASP were not considered full service people, and had no benefits such as medical insurance or even money to cover funerals when a woman died during a mission. Still, women flocked to serve as opportunities to fly and serve the country were rare. Charlotte, know as Char is crushed when weeks from getting her wings, she encounters a Air Force Major who refuses to pass her for graduation unless she performs sexual favors for him.

When Char refuses, she is taken off the flying rotation and given an alternate assignment. She is assigned to work undercover in a plant that builds aircraft, and that has been experiencing sabotage and accidents. Char is to room with an FBI agent named Ellie, and they work at riveting plane wings while trying to discover the spy responsible for the problems. People start to die, both plant employees and women pilots, and the book revolves around the investigation until the spy is captured at the book's climax.

This book is recommended, both for mystery fans and for those interested in World War II history. While I'd heard of the stereotype of Rosie the Riveter and the work these women performed, I had never heard of the WASP, and the women who served their country in this fashion. I found the history as interesting as the plotline and welcomed the chance to learn more about a time that helped lay the groundwork for the women's liberation movement in the next generation.

Reviewed by: Kay Spang, author of ‘Away Games’

Jean Sheldon’s, ‘The Women in the Wing’, aptly depicts the role of women pilots and factory machinists during WWII, who worked backstage and without social recognition. Insightfully, Sheldon utilizes the ambitious and dedicated characters of her book to set a metamorphic stage for the role of women today.

…I found the story to be well crafted, layered in mystery and suspense and the characters were believable and likeable. 

…I thoroughly enjoyed the pictorial creations of the characters, their antics, personal demeanor and clothing styles.

…I could easily relate to the struggle of the women to make contributions and to the passion of the women pilots to explore flight.

…I welcome the inclusion of the book to libraries, where young children can round out their pursuit of historical events. ( i.e. WASP and women in the workforce.)

Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb BESTSELLERSWORLD.COM