OLIVE BRIGHT, PIGEONEER

Narrator Rachael Beresford engagingly introduces the English village of Pipley in 1941. Residents --including the Bright family--want to do their part for the war, so they raise pigeons. Listeners meet daughter Olive, who is delighted when Captain Jameson Aldrich comes to evaluate their pigeons as possible messengers. Lively descriptions of the countryside and concerns about food shortages for the birds add to the unusual atmosphere. Beresford's Olive, an Agatha Christie fan, is a mix of innocence and persistence as she prepares the pigeons for their essential work while searching, Poirot-like, for the murderer of Miss Husslebee, a village busybody. Olive's budding romance with Aldrich, meeting the diverse and memorably rendered townsfolk, and learning about pigeon care and training make for a pleasurable listening experience. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2021]