Summer Secrets at Bletchley Park
September 1939, and Dulcie—known as Dale—Treadwell is a junior reporter on the Kensington Evening Post. She longs to write about ‘real’ news, but her editor believes her female brain is good only for garden fêtes, children’s parties, and church jumble sales.
When Hitler invades Poland, she stands on Westminster Bridge and witnesses the lights go out across London. Here she meets dashing American journalist, Glenn Reeves.
While dreaming of her American, Dale, a crossword enthusiast, receives a mysterious invitation, informing her she has won a competition. She is required to sign the Official Secrets Act, and despatched to Bletchley Park. At Bletchley, Dale makes new friends—and enemies—
and undergoes a series of adventures, difficulties, and successes.
The book is very easy to read, and I enjoyed learning about Dale’s code-breaking work at Bletchley. However, the story is predominantly one in which Mr Darcy-like characters behave in unrealistically romantic ways. Dale’s problems are often swiftly solved by the support of a friend and a cup of tea. The war touches Dale, but doesn’t really hurt her. Recommended for readers who like romances peopled by fantastic men, ever-supportive girlfriends, and a nostalgic war setting largely sanitised of pain and death.
