The Woman in the Wing

by Jean Sheldon

Book Overview

In The Woman in the Wing, a suspense thriller, Charlotte Mercer is a WASP trainee who hopes to fly for her country. Charlotte's career nearly ends before it begins when an army major removes her from... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972354166
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: WellWorth Publishing
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.7" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Amazing book and even better Audiobook version

I'm completely stunned how I was captivated by this audiobook. The reader, Sparky Roberts, gave a stellar performance giving each character their own voice. I love her accent when portraying Alessandra Muller the German spy and I will forever smile each time I think of the voice she gave Maxi. If you love audiobooks, mystery and appreciate a reader who gives attention to detail in all the characters of a book, you'll love this. Buy it today.

WWII story of women's dedication to our nation

This is a fictional story but has a storyline that no doubt occurred many times during World War II wherever military bases and/or factories were located where women ferried airplanes to areas of the United States where they were needed, or worked in a factory to help produce our nations airplanes. It is a story depicting how hard the women worked and the prejudice of many types they endured. Far too many felt women should not fly and should not work in a factory producing airplanes or weapons. The factory work was really mandated with the military taking most of the available and able-bodied men. This group of women was known as the "WASP" which stood for "Women Airforce Service Pilots." Their steady and valuable effort to help build airplanes, ships, and various other weapons and machinery greatly enhanced the war effort. Women in the Wing tells the story of several women that volunteered their time and low-paying service to the WASP and the defense plants around the nation, in this story mostly the mid-west. Charlotte Mercer loved to fly but she had to fight her father first to convince him that she belonged in a cockpit to fly to help her nations war effort. Charlotte's friend, Maxine, also wanted to fly and eventually they both talked their families into letting that occur. Their trek began when they appeared before the training commander at the Douglas Aircraft Factory where they given a hard interview with the woman in charge. Their past flying experience got them accepted into the training program. A male officer, Major Deavers, had the final say as to who got their WASP wings after training but when he interviewed Charlotte (Char) he told her he would not allow her to receive her wings unless she went to bed with him! As ludicrous as this sounds, in those days many men got away with this and actually got the results they wanted with women. Not Char. Deavers assigned Char to another job working in the airplane factory, but not including flying. Enter David Frazier, an FBI agent and brother of three sisters, one of who, Eleanor, an FBI agent, became a worker with a very surprised Char turned FBI agent, in the factory. Dave worked as their liaison and was never too far away. The girls blended right in with other workers and became riveters, a job they discovered was a very hard and demanding job that left them completely worn out after each shift. Once they learned how to rivet they figured they would have more time to look around to see anything suspicious. Things became very interesting when several bad accidents occurred, some in the plant and some while a WASP was ferrying or flight testing an airplane. At first it was very hard to see anything wrong occurring but eventually the girls saw and heard things that they were suspicious of and gave the information to Dave. But instead of sabotage decreasing it increased and became more dangerous. The girls got better at seeking out suspects as more got injured. The

Interesting mystery and historical fiction

Reviewed by Sandie Kirkland for RebeccasReads (1/09) The Woman In The Wing is a mystery that follows the adventures of Charlotte Mercer and other members of the WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilots) during World War II. This organization, made up entirely of women, was loosely attached to the Air Force and did routine flying missions within the United States, such as delivering planes to new locations, or towing targets for gun practice, so that male pilots in the Air Force would be freed for fighting missions overseas. The women in the WASP were not considered full service people, and had no benefits such as medical insurance or even money to cover funerals when a woman died during a mission. Still, women flocked to serve, as opportunities to fly and serve the country were rare. Charlotte, know as Char, is crushed when weeks from getting her wings, she encounters an Air Force Major who refuses to pass her for graduation unless she performs sexual favors for him. When Char refuses, she is taken off the flying rotation and given an alternate assignment. She is assigned to work undercover in a plant that builds aircraft and has been experiencing sabotage and accidents. Char is to room with an FBI agent named Ellie, and they work at riveting plane wings while trying to discover the spy responsible for the problems. People start to die, both plant employees and women pilots, and the book revolves around the investigation until the spy is captured at the book's climax. This book is recommended, both for mystery fans and for those interested in World War II history. While I'd heard of the stereotype of Rosie the Riveter, and the work these women performed, I had never heard of the WASP, and the women who served their country in this fashion. I found the history as interesting as the plotline, and welcomed the chance to learn more about a time that helped lay the groundwork for the women's liberation movement in the next generation.

'The Women In The Wing' By: Jean Sheldon

Reviewer: Kay Spang, Author of 'Away Games' www.beardancebooks.com Jean Sheldon's, 'The Women In the Wing', aptly depicts the role of women pilots and factory machinists during WWII, who worked backstage and without social recognition. Insightfully, Sheldon utilizes the ambitious and dedicated characters of her book to set a metamorphic stage for the role of women today. ...I found the story to be well crafted, layered in mystery and suspense and the characters were believable and likeable. ...I thoroughly enjoyed the pictorial creations of the characters, their antics, personal demeanor and clothing styles. ...I could easily relate to the struggle of the women to make contributions and to the passion of the women pilots to explore flight. ...I welcome the inclusion of the book to libraries, where young children can round out their pursiot of historical events.(i.e. WASP and women in the workforce.) An Excellent Read!

A High-Flying Mystery

Like reading high-flying WWII novels of adventure and mystery? Then Jean Sheldon's excellent page-turning book The Woman In The Wing is a novel you're sure to enjoy! Sheldon, the author of the popular mystery series featuring Chicago police Detective Kerry Grant, sets this book also in Chicago, but during the WWII era. The contributions women made to the war effort are often overlooked, but they made many crucial contributions and sacrifices that greatly aided the Allies in their defeat of Nazi Germany under Hitler. The Woman In The Wing chronicles the emergence of the brave, gutsy, and determined women flyers who flew and transported planes as the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and the countless numbers of "Rosie the Riveters" who worked building planes. Also, the main character, Charlene (Char) Mercer, working at the fictional WASP airfield near Douglas Aircraft (where O'Hare Airport is today), has to contend with ruthless Nazi spies and the misogynist Major Deavers on her way to earning her Silver Wings. You might reasonably ask, "What does the title The Woman In The Wing refer to?" After all, pilots fly the planes, one might reason, so shouldn't the title be more like, say, The Woman In The Cockpit? I'm glad you asked that question. Char, prevented from getting her Silver Wings (at least, temporarily) by Major Deavers because she won't show how much she wants to fly by having sex with him, instead is given the mission to work at Douglas Aircraft as a riveter. Neither one knows that what she's really being asked to do is to work with her partner, FBI Agent Ellie Frazier, posing as a riveter to stop Nazi saboteurs bent on hampering the United States and its allies from defeating Germany. Riveters worked as teams of two, one outside of the wing with a riveting gun and one inside known as a "bucker" because she'd hold something called a "buck board" against the holes where the rivets would go in. The one inside would, literally, be a woman in the wing of a plane. Also, the title likely refers to the fact that women had begun to play a larger role in the war, rather than being relegated to being "in the wings." The camaraderie that develops between Char and her fellow flight trainees and, later, with her co-workers at Douglas Aircraft, helps give her and the other characters in the novel an added amount of three-dimensionality that makes whoever reads the books care for the characters more, and root for them to succeed despite the many difficulties that confront them. Char applied to be a WASP with her best friend, Maxine (Maxi) Davies, who shares her interest in flying. A lot of men at the time wanted to see the WASP program fall on its face, thinking unjustly that wars and flying airplanes are not ladylike pursuits, and that women should not and weren't meant to be active participants in such previously male-dominated arenas. However, not all men were unenlightened Neanderthals, and some believed that a woman could do and be anything sh