The Amber Shadows by Lucy Ribchester

The Amber Shadows, Lucy Ribchester’s sophomore novel, is a fantastic mystery set in Bletchley Park in 1942.  Honey Dechamps is a Type X Machine worker in Hut 6, transcribing decrypted signals from the Germans.  Walking home one night, she meets Felix and his greyhound; he gives her a package with Russian postmarks and the branding of two censors.  Inside in a piece of amber.  Honey continues to receive these packages, and tries to piece together the puzzle, figure out who Felix is, and protect her job in Hut 6.  Her quest involves friends, family, co-workers, and a cryptic puzzle for this reader as I tried to solve the mystery before Honey.

I really enjoyed The Amber Shadows.  It flew under my upcoming releases radar, and was the last book I unpacked from a Baker and Taylor order at the library.  If it had been the first book, we might still be waiting for the rest of those books!  I liked the look into Bletchley Park, and found my curiosity nurtured.  My last glimpse was when The Bletchley Circle aired on PBS a few years ago.  I liked the detail, the pace, and the ending of that series.  The Amber Shadows sent me on a search for more information about Bletchley-images of the huts, the decoding machines, the people who worked there-as well as more stories featuring these British code-breakers.  I think I will need to watch The Imitation Game, starring Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch.  I hope you will give The Amber Shadows a try!

BletchleyPark.org.uk says:

Bletchley Park is a place of exceptional historical importance. It remains highly relevant to our lives today and for the future. It is the home of British code-breaking and a birthplace of modern information technology. It played a major role in World War Two, producing secret intelligence which had a direct and profound influence on the outcome of the conflict.

Some Bletchley images…

from www.visitengland.com

from www.bbc.com

from www.bbc.com

For more information, see www.bletchleypark.uk.org