What (am I currently reading)?

I’m currently reading the historical fiction novel V2 by Robert Harris. 

It was published by Hutchinson (an imprint of Penguin) in September 2020.

Blurb (taken from:  https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1116208/v2/9781787460980.html   )

Victory is close. Vengeance is closer.

On the brink of defeat, Hitler commissioned 10,000 V2s – ballistic rockets that carried a one-ton warhead at three times the speed of sound, which he believed would win the war.

Dr Rudi Graf who, along with his friend Werner von Braun, had once dreamt of sending a rocket to the moon, now finds himself in November 1944 in a bleak seaside town in Occupied Holland, launching V2s against London. No one understands the volatile, deadly machine better than Graf, but his disillusionment with the war leads to him being investigated for sabotage.

Kay Caton-Walsh, an officer in the WAAF, has experienced first-hand the horror of a V2 strike. When 160 Londoners, mostly women and children, are killed by a single missile, the government decides to send a team of WAAFs to newly-liberated Belgium in the hope of discovering the location of the launch sites. But not all the Germans have left and Kay finds herself in mortal danger.

As the war reaches its desperate end, their twin stories play out, interlocked and separate, until their destinies are finally forced together.

Why (have I chosen to read it)?

Because its by Robert Harris!  I do have to say that I find this author’s books can be a little heavy going, but right now I have the time to devote to reading this book in large chunks and am enjoying it immensely, both for the story and the historical detail.  

It is also interesting to me because the character Kay starts off working at RAF Medmenham, which is between Henley-on-Thames and Marlow in the Thames Valley, England.  This is an area I lived and worked in for many years, so that always adds extra interest for me. 

And my husband read it (I gave it to him as a birthday present), and loved it.

While (I  am reading it) 

Now that we have plenty of snow (with more falling as I write this) the cross country skiing tracks have opened up – so I’ve been out for the first time this year.  So peaceful and beautiful, and also hassle free in that cross country ski boots are comfortable to wear, and the skis are light to carry.   Obviously with no tourists here, not as many routes are open as usual, but still plenty enough for me 😊  So here is a picture from my first outing of 2021. 

If you would like to tell me What you are reading, Why you are reading that book, and what you’re doing While you’re reading it, then let me know via   the Guest Blog Page on EmmabBooks.com   and maybe I’ll blog about it. 

All the best, Emma