01942cam a2200325 i 4500001001300000003000400013005001700017008004100034010001700075020001800092020001500110040000800125050002500133082001500158100002600173245003900199250004000238264006700278300002300345336002600368337002800394338002700422500004700449520097000496650003501466650003801501650002901539650001701568650003101585sky295338268SKY20190802135812.0190423s2019    nyu           000 1 eng d  abl2019012203  a9781496721679  a1496721675  cAJM14aPS3608.L33bL66 201904a813/.62231 aHlad, Alan ,eauthor.14aThe long flight home /cAlan Hlad.  aFirst Kensington hardcover edition. 1aNew York :bJohn Scognamiglio Books, Kensington Books ,c2019.  a376 pages ;c22 cm  atextbtxt2rdacontent  aunmediatedbn2rdamedia  avolumebnc2rdacarrier  aSubtitle taken from the book jacket cover.  aSeptember 1940, as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Since losing her parents as a child, Susan Shepherd has raised homing pigeons with her grandfather, Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan, but none more so than Duchess, with whom she shares a special bond. When a young pilot named Ollie Evans travels to Britain to join the Royal Air Force, his quest brings him to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert assignment. The mission aims to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do make the journey home can convey crucial information on German troop movements. The friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens as the mission date draws near. When Ollie's plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess's devotion and her singular sense of duty will become an unexpected lifeline. 0aWorld War, 1939-1945vFiction. 0aMan-woman relationshipsvFiction. 0aHoming pigeonsvFiction. 0aWar stories. 0aAnimalsxWar usevFiction.