Title: The Physicists' DaughterAuthor: Mary Anna Evans
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Jun. 7, 2022
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Poisoned Pen Press
Book Rating: 8/10
The Nazis are no match for the physicists’ daughter.
New Orleans, 1944
Sabotage. That’s the word on factory worker Justine Byrne’s mind as she is repeatedly called to weld machine parts that keep failing with no clear cause. Could someone inside the secretive Carbon Division be deliberately undermining the factory’s war efforts? Raised by her late parents to think logically, she also can’t help wondering just what the oddly shaped carbon gadgets she assembles day after day have to do with the boats the factory builds…
When a crane inexplicably crashes to the factory floor, leaving a woman dead, Justine can no longer ignore her nagging fear that German spies are at work within the building, trying to put the factory and its workers out of commission. Unable to trust anyone—not the charming men vying for her attention, not her unpleasant boss, and not even the women who work beside her—Justine draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.
Review:
Fascinating, informative, and pacey!
The Physicists’ Daughter is an intriguing tale that sweeps you away to New Orleans in the final days of WWII and into the carbon division of Higgins Industries’ where strange equipment malfunctions tend to be occurring a little too often and the daughter of two physicists’, Justine Byrne, decides to investigate whether these are purely accidents of chance or whether someone is specifically trying to sabotage the factory and the weapons and machinery it’s producing.
The prose is descriptive and rich. The characters are intelligent, driven, and inquisitive. And the plot is an engaging tale about life, loss, friendship, tragedy, war, romance, loyalty, subterfuge, suspicious behaviours, and malicious intentions.
Overall, The Physicists’ Daughter is a well-written, unique, menacing tale by Evans that does a wonderful job of blending historical facts with fiction that is both enlightening and compelling.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Mary Anna Evans
Mary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her new book, The Physicists' Daughter. Set in WWII-era New Orleans, The Physicists' Daughter introduces Justine Byrne, whom Mary Anna describes as "a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker."
When Justine, the daughter of two physicists who taught her things girls weren't expected to know in 1944, realizes that her boss isn't telling her the truth about the work she does in her factory job, she draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.
Her crime fiction has earned recognition that includes the Oklahoma Book Award, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, the Mississippi Author Award, a spot on Voice of Young America’s (VOYA) list of “Adult Mysteries with Young Adult Appeal,” a writer’s residency from The Studios of Key West, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Florida Historical Society’s Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals.
In addition to writing crime fiction, she writes about crime fiction, as evidenced by the upcoming Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, which she coedited with J.D Bernthal.
For the incurably curious, Mary Anna’s first published work, her master’s thesis, was entitled A Modeling Study of the NH3-NO-O2 Reaction Under the Operating Conditions of a Fluidized Bed Combustor. Like her mysteries, it was a factually based page-turner but, no, it’s not available online.
Photo courtesy of Author's Website.