“A Code Developer Uncovers a Japanese Spy Ring
FBI cryptographer Eloise Marshall is grieving the death of her brother, who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor, when she is assigned to investigate a seemingly innocent letter about dolls. Agent Phillip Clayton is ready to enlist and head oversees when asked to work one more FBI job. A case of coded defense coordinates related to dolls should be easy, but not so when the Japanese Consulate gets involved, hearts get entangled, and Phillip goes missing. Can Eloise risk loving and losing again?”
Series: Part of the series “Heroines of WWII”, but is not connected to any other book.
Spiritual Content- Jeremiah 23:24 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are mentioned & quoted; Prayers; Talks about God, trusting Him, & grace; 'H's are capital when referring to God; It’s said that Eloise “was strong in her own doctrinal beliefs” but enjoys the opportunity to worship in a variety of cathedrals and historic churches; Eloise prays that God will never leave her side while she’s on a dangerous path; A man says that the traitors “got what they deserved in this life [execution], and it’s up to God to judge them in the next”; Mentions of God, His will, trusting Him, having faith, & grace; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, worship, hymns, & sermons; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of angels (random strangers that were helpful which cause Eloise and Phillip to wonder if they were angels in disguse); A couple mentions of the book “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers; A mention of Heaven; A mention of a Christian magazine; A mention of a monk; A mention of a group of men being called ‘heathens’.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘hot as the dickens’, a ‘ticked-off’, and two ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling; A nightmare (barely-above-not-detailed); Pain, Injuries, Being kidnapped, Being held at gunpoint, & Being shot at (up to semi-detailed); The Doll Woman hits a man and causes him to be unconscious and bleed (up to semi-detailed); Set during & all about with many mentions of World War II, bombings, fighting overseas, battles, injuries, deaths, the death penalty, traitors/treason, threats, arrests, & prisons (up to semi-detailed); Phillip struggles with traitors getting the death penalty and knows they deserve it, but it still bothers him; At the beginning, Phillip is upset/bitter because he couldn’t join the Air Force due to his colorblindness; Eloise has to tell a couple white lies when talking to witnesses and feels guilty; Eloise is grieving the death of her brother; Eloise’s father abandoned their family when she was young and she’s always wondered about him, being hurt by his actions; Phillip says that if he was a drinking man, he’d go to the bar and drink a lot after hard news (he takes a walk instead); The Doll Woman adds a bit of whiskey to her tea to calm her nerves; Mentions of suicides (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (mothers for their sons, wives for their husbands, for a brother); Mentions of a kidnapping; Mentions of prejudice & internment camps; Mentions of guns, shooting, gunfire, being shot at, injuries, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of criminals, thieves, stolen items, & robberies; Mentions of lies, lying, & deception (Eloise is taught deception because of their undercover mission); Mentions of alcohol, drinking, moonshiners, & bars; Mentions of cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, & smoking; Mentions of divorces; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of World War I; A few mentions of the Great Depression; A few mentions of hatred; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of torture; A couple mentions of Bonnie and Clyde and their robberies, kidnappings, & murders; A couple mentions of a tragic accident & death (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a death from tuberculosis; A couple mentions of an incurable brain tumor; A couple mentions of businesses cheating their customers; A couple mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of poker; A mention of an ocean hiding corpses; A mention of a possible plane crash; A mention of counterfeit money; A mention of a woman saying her husband lost her when he came home smelling like alcohol too many times; A mention of vomiting;
*Note: A man tells another man to give his wife a sleeping pill if she can’t control her emotions (Eloise notes this as wrong); Mentions of some people (mostly men) believing that woman should only work as a teacher, nurse, or secretary (Eloise faces this a few times and thinks that “the war that took away the men also prompted the women to step out of their traditional roles”); Mentions of movies, actors, & singers (Clark Gable, Lou Gehrig, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple, Betty Grable, It Happened One Night, Pride of the Yankees, The Three Stooges, The Postman Didn’t Ring, & Perry Como); Mentions of fiction characters, books, & authors (Moby Dick, Sherlock Holmes, Hardy Boys, James Cain, & Agatha Christie); Mentions of historical criminals (Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Mata Hari); A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of Halloween; A couple mentions of a man deserving a kick to the behind; A mention of Superman; A mention of a brand name (Coke).
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss and two semi-detailed kisses; Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Warmth, & Butterflies (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Eloise and Phillip are alone in a hotel room together (nothing sexual happens, just a mention of Eloise knowing what her mother would said and Phillip teases about her traveling with a single man); Eloise and Phillip have to share a sleeper cabin in a train (bunk beds) and after she has a nightmare, Phillip is tempted to slip into her bed to comfort her, but does not (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of Eloise catching red-blooded male’s eyes, unwanted advances, flirting, & handsy men (no details, Eloise adds that she feels like it’s often her fault for a man’s unwanted attentions and feels apologetic towards them); Mentions of dates, dating, & boyfriends/girlfriends; A few mentions of kisses (including a married couple kissing); A couple mentions of a receptionist having a job because the men in the office thinking she has “other attributes that make up for her failings” (including a comment on her legs); A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of making sure there’s no marital problems between a couple (due to his work); A mention of Phillip thinking “what red-blooded American male didn’t enjoy the company of a good-looking gal who turned the heads of other guys?”; A mention of a man liking women “too much”; A mention of reputations; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A couple mentions of a man possibly being a bigamist; A couple mentions of an unmarried couple sharing a bed and having a clothesline and blanket between them (in a movie); A mention of making sure no one gets too amorous; A mention of girding one’s loins.
-Eloise Marshall
-Phillip Clayton
P.O.V. switches between them, The Doll Woman, & someone else
Set in 1942
256 pages
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My personal Rating-
I don’t read many books set around World War II because of the sadness that comes from that time in history, but I decided to take a chance on this book and I’m really glad I did! The codes, the secrets, the historical FBI, and just the setting itself completely captivated me. It was all so fascinating, and I really appreciate the light romance. What romance was there, though, was so sweet and cute, I just enjoyed it so much!
They get off on the wrong foot, but I really liked them together and how their friendship developed first before any feelings happened. (Some might say it was still rushed, but this book was less than 300 pages, so it didn’t bother me.) I would honestly read a series featuring these two with different FBI cases because I really enjoyed the two of them together and seeing their strengths together. I really liked seeing the historical side of the FBI as I typically mostly read contemporary suspense books about characters in that field, so this was an interesting difference. Lots of historical cases and details which I enjoyed hearing about (similar to Elizabeth Camden’s books, but not quite the same).
Another element I really liked in this book was how it didn’t paint the Germans or the Japanese as 100% villains, we see Phillip wrestle with death sentences of traitors and the fact that if he was sent overseas to cause havoc in Germany, he would do it for loyalty to his country and I appreciate that honesty.
There was a decent amount of humor too because of Phillip being so witty, which was fun. He has four sisters and it shows with how he interacts and talks to Eloise. I loved that really. I would have loved to see Eloise meeting his family and the sibling dynamic, so the ending was a touch disappointing, but still very good overall.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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