A Wing and a Prayer

by M W Arnold

A Wing and a Prayer (Broken Wings Book 1)

When Betty Palmer’s sister dies under suspicious circumstances whilst landing her Tiger Moth, Betty and three other women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary in WWII England unite to discover who killed her and why.

Estranged from her family, Penny Blake wants simply to belong. American Doris Winter, running from a personal tragedy, yearns for a new start. Naturally shy Mary Whitworth-Baines struggles to fit in. Together though, they are a force to be reckoned with as they face the mystery that confronts them.

Against the backdrop of war, when ties of friendship are exceptionally strong, they strive to unravel the puzzle’s complex threads, risking their lives as they seek justice for Betty’s sister.

Purchase Links 

Amazon UK- http://tinyurl.com/y2xhx4d4

Amazon US- http://tinyurl.com/y446pzgv

Amazon Aus- http://tinyurl.com/y5bqqtta

iBooks- http://tinyurl.com/y63fmdol

Nook – tinyurl.com/y324xdku

Historical Fiction? World War II? England? Brave women? This book is my cup of tea!

Unfortunately, my reading (and vacation!) schedule did not allow me time to read A Wing and a Prayer for the Tour. However, I am delighted to be able to introduce you to this story and I have an extract from the book to share with you. As you will see, humor and excitement blend with some likable characters in this scene from the book.

I wish author M W Arnold much success as he presents his new book, first in a planned saga. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for including me on the Book Tour and for providing the excellent resources to showcase this book.

Extract

This extract is taken just after two of the main characters have resolved a long-held misconception which had led one to believe the other had been responsible for the death of the other’s sister.

This certainly wasn’t the place for this conversation, Penny decided, and was about to speak up and tell her so when they were rudely interrupted by a loud barking from outside.

“That’s sounds like Bobby!” Betty said, getting to her feet in surprise and running to the door. “What on earth’s he doing here?” She leant down to fuss the dog, who was now pawing at the mess door and then, upon seeing Betty’s face, started to run around and around in circles, all the time barking his little head off. She knelt down beside him, trying to calm him down. “You know, I haven’t known him to behave like this before, to be so boisterous. He’s certainly never come onto base before.”

Mary joined Betty in trying to calm Bobby down. “Shouldn’t he be with Ruth?”

Betty shrugged as the door opened again and Ralph poked his head outside. “Cook wants to know what all the noise’s for.”

That was when the air raid siren started to wail its haunting melody. People rushed out of the mess as doors all over the base crashed open and people flung themselves into the slit trenches that dotted the edges of buildings. Betty grabbed Bobby and, as fast as she could, ran to a trench to find it already occupied by her friends and Ralph. Panting, she huddled down as far into the ground as she could, tin helmet crammed down as tightly as possible and clutching Bobby to her breast to prevent him running off. After a minute or so, nothing had happened, and she wasn’t the only one whose eyes were now scanning the sky for signs of incoming enemy aircraft.

And that’s when all hell broke loose!

A high-pitched whine started behind them, from the north, a direction in which no one’s eyes had been looking. Everyone was expecting an attack would come from the south, from the direction of the Solent. Before anyone could even shout a warning, the whine grew to a deafening roar as two single-engine aircraft swept overhead at treetop height, noses pointing towards the airfield. Unable to prevent herself, Betty kept her eyes above the parapet and saw two large black objects, one from beneath the fuselage of each, fall ominously to the ground. There were two massive blasts, mounds of earth were thrown into the air, and Betty’s helmet was blown from her head, knocking her onto her back in the trench, her hands still in a vise-like grip on the now whining Bobby. The two enemy fighters were nowhere in sight by the time the noise from the blasts had died down, their pilot’s thoughts undoubtedly already turning towards their lunch.

They were lucky, with only Betty being slightly injured in the sneak attack. Apart from a ringing headache, a small cut to her forehead where her helmet had crashed into her as it flew off, and a slight redness around her chin from the strap, the only thing really hurt had been her dignity.

Flight Captain Jane Howell, Betty’s commanding officer, stopped by to visit whilst the station doctor patched her up and then insisted she go home for the rest of the day. They’d been very lucky, Jane explained. The two raiders had missed the airfield entirely and had instead blown up an acre of potatoes. They’d probably mistaken this airfield for an operational one and, not wanting to hang around and risk being intercepted by the RAF, had dumped their bombs and run for home. From the headache Betty was nursing, she personally didn’t feel the raid had been a failure.

The hero of the hour had to be honored, too, and it seemed nearly the whole of the station’s personnel made a point in searching him out.

“Who’s a good boy, then?”

“How’s old Radar Ears?”

“Maybe we should ask Ruth if we could have him as the base mascot.”

“I think he’d be quite happy with some treats, myself,” Betty shouted once they got her home, rubbing the dog’s ears as he lay on his back, legs akimbo and enjoying being the center of attention.

“Do you think we should tell her she’s shouting?” asked Doris, struggling to keep a straight face.