Wings Over Valletta by Tracy CookSynopsis: “Malta, 1941. The Germans blitz Malta and Kitty Campbell is determined to find the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption, before it’s too late. But finding the trail to her child is complicated by her father’s secretive past and a mysterious stranger on the island. As Kitty searches, she meets reconnaissance pilot Bill Hamilton and joins Fighter Command in Valletta as an Aircraft Plotter, surrounded by military secrets at the very heart of Malta’s defences and that of the entire Mediterranean. As she plots the aircraft battles fiercely fought in the skies above and invasion threatens, Kitty’s search for her little girl will force her to choose between loyalty to her country and to her child…“

My Review

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Tracy Cook, set in Malta during world War Two.

As the above synopsis states the story is about Kitty Campbell, the disgraced daughter of an Royal Navy Admiral living on the island of Malta. Kitty was forced by her parents to give up her baby daughter Alice, before the war, and now she desperately wants to find out anything to do with her whereabouts. As she tries to find her she meets a lovely RAF pilot, Bill Hamilton, who encourages her to join Fighter Command in Valletta as an Aircraft Plotter. She loves being involved in the war effort, especially playing an important part when Malta is continuously under attack from the Italians and the Nazis. 

I really liked Kitty, she was a strong independent woman in a difficult time, who had to fight to find her daughter, and uncover other family secrets. She was frightened, but had to overcome her fear like all the Maltese residents, in what was like a horrific time for them as an island.There was a good mixture of tension and drama, but also romance as well which worked perfectly together as the story unfolded.

I loved the Maltese setting, and Googled the island a few times as I was reading, to discover more about what happened, and was also glad of the author’s note at the end of the book.

Highly recommended if you enjoy WW2 books set in Europe

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for my digital copy.