The Dark of the Moon - by Fiona Valpy (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the bestselling author of The Dressmaker's Gift comes an unforgettable story of wartime courage, enduring love, and a decades-long search for the truth...

In 1943, Philly Delaney would do anything to help win the war. As one of the brave "Attagirls" ferrying military aircraft across Britain, she never expected to fall in love with Ben, a dashing Spitfire pilot. But their whirlwind romance is interrupted when her talent for solving cryptic crosswords leads her to Bletchley Park's legendary codebreakers.

Soon, Philly's skills make her the perfect candidate for a perilous mission into Nazi-occupied France. But when Ben's plane vanishes during a similar covert flight, her world shatters. Despite searching for decades, she's never discovered what happened to the only man she ever loved.

Now in her nineties and staying on the beautiful Île de Ré, Philly has all but given up hope. But in young Finn, her hosts' mathematically brilliant but struggling son, she finds an unexpected ally. As she shares her extraordinary story, they discover that some lost things are waiting to be found - and that love's power to heal never dims with time.

A wonderfully immersive, atmospheric and moving story of wartime resilience, hope, loss--and the enduring power of love.

Review Quotes

'The Dark of the Moon is an involving and very touching read. It offers readers a fascinating exploration of a too-little-known element of Bletchley Park history and a moving personal story. The present day narrative interweaves cleverly with the past and I was gripped throughout.' --Anna Stuart, author of The Midwife of Auschwitz

'The Dark of the Moon is a dazzling and tremendously moving story about love, courage, and the importance of finding answers. Told from the points of view of ATA pilot and Bletchley Park codebreaker Philly Delaney and Finn, her friends' young son who helps Philly as she tries to locate her husband's final resting place, this gorgeous novel is both a tale of wartime daring and bravery as well as a tender exploration of grief. Fiona's beautiful prose brings the characters and their struggles into vivid perspective and the settings in Britain and on sunny Île de Ré off the coast of France are wonderfully immersive. Atmospheric and thoroughly captivating, I couldn't put it down!' --Linda Wilgus, author of The Sea Child

'The Dark of the Moon is a poignant, compelling and charming novel, taking us back to wartime France and immersing us in the work of the women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary and the codebreakers of Bletchley Park. Told through two distinct voices, and with a dual timeframe, I felt empathy for both narrators and willed Philly to find her much-needed "closure". Well-researched and sensitively told, Fiona Valpy celebrates women's courage and the behind-the-scenes heroes of wartime, while also giving us a tender and touching portrait of an intergenerational friendship.' --Caroline Scott, author of The Photographer of the Lost

'Fiona Valpy has written yet another captivating WWII novel, showing us the war through the eyes of a woman in her 90s. Cleverly weaving the past with the present, The Dark of the Moon is a thought-provoking and beautifully written historical story that I thoroughly enjoyed.' --Soraya M. Lane

'A captivating and poignant story of wartime bravery and enduring love, told with warmth and heart. Unforgettable.' --Imogen Clark, bestselling author of In a Single Moment