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Publisher's Weekly
Kennedy ( Toy Soldiers ) floats this war story on the plausibly relayed theory that Churchill's Admiralty tricked the Germans into attacking the Lusitania in order to sink America's neutrality and draw her into WW I. To smuggle badly needed munitions past the Germans' deadly U-boats, Sir Peter Beecham and his aide, Commander William Day, assign the contraband onto refitted passenger ships, which are off-limits to submarine attack under the Rules of Encounter. When Day and Beecham's daughter Jennifer begin a romance, Sir Peter, deeming the alliance inappropriate, has the young commander reassigned to the Irish coast. Unbeknownst to Beecham, however, Churchill's spy at this station is sending information to the Germans that will precipitate the attack on the Lusitania . Stumbling on the plan, Day tries desperately to abort it when he learns that Jennifer has sailed on the Lusitania in order to join him. At his best in the Irish segments and early submarine details, Kennedy captures the atmosphere of a world abandoning chivalric codes of conduct for wholesale brutality and ever more deadly war machines. The romantic notes don't ring as true, however, and the superficial characterizations detract from an otherwise racing read.
Library Journal
The sinking of the Lusitania : a tragic culmination of poor judgment and coincidence or a highly placed British plot to draw in the United States and an ally? Kennedy takes the latter position to explore the widely accepted ''rules of encounter'' (maritime, diplomatic, business, and cultural) that were broken during 1914-15. British naval hero and commoner William Day is transferred by his boss Sir Beecham from New York to an Irish coastal radio station when he and Beecham's daughter Jennifer fall in love. There he oversees a fishermen's flotilla meant to discourage U-boats in the shipping lanes off the coast. Day suspects that vital military messages are being relayed to the Germans; yet his efforts to find the agent are blocked by his superiors. Meanwhile, Jennifer wins over her parents and sails on the Lusitania to join Day. The actual Lusitania story is mysterious and riveting. No fictional value is added here with these portrayals of historical figures or with the stock characters and predictable outcomes.-- V. Louise Saylor, East ern Washington Univ. Lib., Cheney
School Library Journal
YA-- The sinking of the Lusitania is the focal point of this fast-paced novel. Set in London, Ireland, and New York, from autumn 1914 to that fatal day in 1915, the wartime action is relayed through young British Commander William Day; Jennifer Beecham, the headstrong daughter of an attache to the U. S.; and Shiela McDevitt, an Irishwoman. Woven into the plot are several real life characters such as Winston Churchill and Alfred Vanderbilt. Intrigue, adventure, suspense, and romance spice this thought-provoking book that will lead readers to question the circumstances behind this tragedy.-- Roberta Lisker, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Genre: Historical
Kennedy ( Toy Soldiers ) floats this war story on the plausibly relayed theory that Churchill's Admiralty tricked the Germans into attacking the Lusitania in order to sink America's neutrality and draw her into WW I. To smuggle badly needed munitions past the Germans' deadly U-boats, Sir Peter Beecham and his aide, Commander William Day, assign the contraband onto refitted passenger ships, which are off-limits to submarine attack under the Rules of Encounter. When Day and Beecham's daughter Jennifer begin a romance, Sir Peter, deeming the alliance inappropriate, has the young commander reassigned to the Irish coast. Unbeknownst to Beecham, however, Churchill's spy at this station is sending information to the Germans that will precipitate the attack on the Lusitania . Stumbling on the plan, Day tries desperately to abort it when he learns that Jennifer has sailed on the Lusitania in order to join him. At his best in the Irish segments and early submarine details, Kennedy captures the atmosphere of a world abandoning chivalric codes of conduct for wholesale brutality and ever more deadly war machines. The romantic notes don't ring as true, however, and the superficial characterizations detract from an otherwise racing read.
Library Journal
The sinking of the Lusitania : a tragic culmination of poor judgment and coincidence or a highly placed British plot to draw in the United States and an ally? Kennedy takes the latter position to explore the widely accepted ''rules of encounter'' (maritime, diplomatic, business, and cultural) that were broken during 1914-15. British naval hero and commoner William Day is transferred by his boss Sir Beecham from New York to an Irish coastal radio station when he and Beecham's daughter Jennifer fall in love. There he oversees a fishermen's flotilla meant to discourage U-boats in the shipping lanes off the coast. Day suspects that vital military messages are being relayed to the Germans; yet his efforts to find the agent are blocked by his superiors. Meanwhile, Jennifer wins over her parents and sails on the Lusitania to join Day. The actual Lusitania story is mysterious and riveting. No fictional value is added here with these portrayals of historical figures or with the stock characters and predictable outcomes.-- V. Louise Saylor, East ern Washington Univ. Lib., Cheney
School Library Journal
YA-- The sinking of the Lusitania is the focal point of this fast-paced novel. Set in London, Ireland, and New York, from autumn 1914 to that fatal day in 1915, the wartime action is relayed through young British Commander William Day; Jennifer Beecham, the headstrong daughter of an attache to the U. S.; and Shiela McDevitt, an Irishwoman. Woven into the plot are several real life characters such as Winston Churchill and Alfred Vanderbilt. Intrigue, adventure, suspense, and romance spice this thought-provoking book that will lead readers to question the circumstances behind this tragedy.-- Roberta Lisker, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Genre: Historical
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