The Deadly Life of Diana Penn
Successful MI6 agent Diana Penn retires to the Northumberland village of Cheviot Hills – the same village she’d been billeted to with the Women’s Land Army during WWII. She’s a reserved woman who experienced life as an outsider and expects the same in retirement. But that changes when she watches council workers demolish a nearby playground and uncover unexploded bombs. Instead of dying in the explosion, Diana is transported to the Cheviot Hills of December 1944. She’s young again and the cows need milking. Diana is about to relive her life with the wisdom and experience of an older woman.
The Deadly Life of Diana Penn is a Middle Falls Universe novel, and this means that Diana is given a second chance in life. With guidance from the Watchers at the Universal Life Center, Diana needs to address what was missing in her first life, set a few things right, and prevent some disasters from occurring. Each time Diana fails, she meets with a deadly accident and her life is again reset.
Diana Penn is an easy character to like – mostly because she’s applying the thoughtfulness of age to the experiences of a young adult. I enjoyed the foreshadowing of major historical events and Diana’s constant care to not appear like someone with second sight. The book includes some well-drawn descriptions of London in the Blitz and country life in the 1940s, though I felt that some of the material about 1940s farming life fell flat, and I didn’t always trust the consistency of descriptions. Diana’s internal dialogue shows how she challenges and changes her original perceptions of herself and others. However, the book has one important mystery that is never resolved, and I felt it needed more reflection – even if the final message is that some things can’t be changed.
