Roseanna's reply

by: Frank Johnson

Published by: Central Coast Press

Roseanna’s Reply is a brisk heart-stopping WWII thriller that sparks with fast-paced suspense, witty dialogue and the mark of every good thriller wonderful believable characters.

Roseanna Kendell is an accomplished pilot, flying experimental planes from her father’s Aviation company. She has the makings of a great fighter pilot during WWII with the slight drawback that she is a woman. By chance, she meets Waldo, a veteran of several aerial battles and hiding from his dark past. She schemes her way into her father offering Waldo a job and mentoring her. All is well and good until Waldo gets involved in an accident that injures himself and Roseanna’s brother, Jeremy. Enter, Marion Spencer, a former FBI agent and love interest for Roseanna, as well as several Nazi agents who want to use Kendell’s technologies for their own purposes.

Roseanna’s Reply is a book that is epic in plot and setting. This is one of those historical novels where a parade of real people coexists with the fictional characters. Roseanna and co. attend a party hosted by W.R. Hearst and his mistress actress, Marion Davies. Ronald Reagan, then a military operative, appears and gives advice to Spencer. Howard Hughes appears in a pivotal suspenseful scene. The good news is the real people don’t overshadow the fictional elements around them instead they become interested participants in the story and a boon for history buffs.

Johnson also gives his fictional characters real depth. Roseanna in particular stands out as a strong memorable lead. She begins the book as an impulsive and at times spoiled girl wanting to live for the thrills that her status as a woman won’t allow, such as fighting in combat. The plot of the book gives her more than she bargains for and she emerges with strength, wit, and just as much courage and survival instincts as her male counterparts. Waldo and Spencer are also memorable in their resourcefulness and in-depth characterizations making them top male leads to the story.

The history of WWII aviation blends well into the story. Johnson, an engineer and private pilot, knows his stuff as he writes about the Mustang planes and the people who fly them, pilots who seem to live off the thrill of dogfights and the adrenaline rush that flying provides for them. It is a perfect world to visit and enjoy the ride.