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A Relative Invasion #2
Infiltration
The invasion intensifies . . .
September 1940. Relentless bombing in London and evacuated once again, Billy is dismayed that manipulative cousin Kenneth is coming too. At least he isn’t billeted in the same home where Billy settles happily with an elderly couple. Kenneth continues to invade Billy’s psychological space for he’s billeted beside Billy's mother and sister, and to haunt his life. The imaginary power Billy gains from the precious Cossack sabre now comes only from its photograph.
A family catastrophe brings a new invasive threat from Kenneth. This one will affect both their futures permanently. What's more, the precious photograph goes missing. Can Billy become a hero when his parents are not?
Infiltration is a tale of rivalry, challenges and conflict. It follows a boy's growth into personal responsibility.
September 1940. Relentless bombing in London and evacuated once again, Billy is dismayed that manipulative cousin Kenneth is coming too. At least he isn’t billeted in the same home where Billy settles happily with an elderly couple. Kenneth continues to invade Billy’s psychological space for he’s billeted beside Billy's mother and sister, and to haunt his life. The imaginary power Billy gains from the precious Cossack sabre now comes only from its photograph.
A family catastrophe brings a new invasive threat from Kenneth. This one will affect both their futures permanently. What's more, the precious photograph goes missing. Can Billy become a hero when his parents are not?
Infiltration is a tale of rivalry, challenges and conflict. It follows a boy's growth into personal responsibility.
- GenresFictionHistorical
255 pages, ebook
Published May 21, 2015
38 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Rosalind Minett
25 books52 followersA chartered psychologist in my other life, I enjoy writing about ordinary people in unusual situations, or unusual people struggling to fit in. My style is light, but even in humorous stories, there is always a dark edge.
Historical fiction: a trilogy set in WWII told from the perspective of a young boy. A Relative Invasion. Book 1, Intrusion, Book 2 Infiltration out in paperback and ebooks. Amazon Ratings 4.8 and 5.0 . Book 3 Impact to follow late 2016.
My collection of ironic short stories, Me-Time Tales: Tea-breaks for mature women and curious men, is available in paperback and e books. New edition, April 28th 2016.
Crime Shorts, a series. No. 1, updated, new cover. A boy with potential, no. 2, Homed, no. 3 Not Her Fault. Kindle only.
Two other novels (psychological dramas) are in the editing stage.
My other interests are Fine Art, Architecture, Dance and my hobby is sculpture. There's a similarity between creating characters in writing and creating forms in three dimensions or ‘cutting them down to size’.
The avatar stands instead of an author headshot. It saucily re-works Picasso's girl to show a word processor rather than a mirror. The two faces represent my serious and irreverent sides, the observer/recorder and the internal/external selves.
On Amazon I review literary and historical fiction, world literature in translation, children's books and some non-fiction. No dystopia, vampire, chicklit. When I like something, I take trouble to promote it.
I have two blogs: the quirky Me-Time Tales, and characterfulwriter, about the process of writing, where I also review.
http://fictionalcharacterswriting.blo... and http://characterfulwriter.com
Historical fiction: a trilogy set in WWII told from the perspective of a young boy. A Relative Invasion. Book 1, Intrusion, Book 2 Infiltration out in paperback and ebooks. Amazon Ratings 4.8 and 5.0 . Book 3 Impact to follow late 2016.
My collection of ironic short stories, Me-Time Tales: Tea-breaks for mature women and curious men, is available in paperback and e books. New edition, April 28th 2016.
Crime Shorts, a series. No. 1, updated, new cover. A boy with potential, no. 2, Homed, no. 3 Not Her Fault. Kindle only.
Two other novels (psychological dramas) are in the editing stage.
My other interests are Fine Art, Architecture, Dance and my hobby is sculpture. There's a similarity between creating characters in writing and creating forms in three dimensions or ‘cutting them down to size’.
The avatar stands instead of an author headshot. It saucily re-works Picasso's girl to show a word processor rather than a mirror. The two faces represent my serious and irreverent sides, the observer/recorder and the internal/external selves.
On Amazon I review literary and historical fiction, world literature in translation, children's books and some non-fiction. No dystopia, vampire, chicklit. When I like something, I take trouble to promote it.
I have two blogs: the quirky Me-Time Tales, and characterfulwriter, about the process of writing, where I also review.
http://fictionalcharacterswriting.blo... and http://characterfulwriter.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 25, 2020
Great. I chose this book for the historical fiction. It is also a great family drama, as Billy and his cousin Kenneth fight over validation from Billy's emotionally closed-off mother. Billy is an evacuee happily staying at Mr and Mrs Pawsey's farm with their pigs and generosity. After an upsetting family incident. dynamics change between Billy and Kenneth. The story follows Billy to the end of the war, which makes for a great story about children overcoming bullies.
August 11, 2015
Infiltration chronicles a boy’s billet, or displacement during World War II. Billy is lucky to be moved to a farm where the Pawsey’s have lost a son and are consistently warm towards him. He gets used to feeding their pigs and then he gets used to the idea that a pet pig becomes pork, almost in the same way that he accepts the tragedy of men in the war. The author stays with a boy’s perspective in that it is hard for him to accept that his talented cousin Kenneth is a favorite with his mother. Visiting, she expects Billy to bear up and when she seems cold. When Kenneth’s father dies in an explosion, Kenneth becomes the son of Billy’s father. That splintering and splicing of Billy’s family becomes his own war injury.
There is much colorful detail about rural England during this difficult time. Billy has a friend Alan who is not so fortunate in his billet, and he comes to know the country children. He saves a girl from drowning and is celebrated when he knows his own negligence in their river play. He enjoys the American GI’s and even attempts to give his widowed aunty a good time with one of them which much angers Kenneth. Kenneth steals Billy’s treasured photograph of a saber as Billy comprehends violence and heroism.
This is a strongly written believable portrayal of loss and loyalties as it parallels the larger panorama. Billy’s Uncle Ted, returned from the war and suffering war fatigue, drives the reluctant boy back to London. A book that I liked coming back to.
There is much colorful detail about rural England during this difficult time. Billy has a friend Alan who is not so fortunate in his billet, and he comes to know the country children. He saves a girl from drowning and is celebrated when he knows his own negligence in their river play. He enjoys the American GI’s and even attempts to give his widowed aunty a good time with one of them which much angers Kenneth. Kenneth steals Billy’s treasured photograph of a saber as Billy comprehends violence and heroism.
This is a strongly written believable portrayal of loss and loyalties as it parallels the larger panorama. Billy’s Uncle Ted, returned from the war and suffering war fatigue, drives the reluctant boy back to London. A book that I liked coming back to.
June 14, 2015
How often have you read a story about children, uprooted from their homes in a time of war, and relocated miles away from a city under daily attack from the air? I have read a few of them, and Rosalind Minett's sequel to her first book about Billy and his sinister cousin Kenneth is one of the best. Reading it was like being there with these two boys as they enter adolescence. As the war ends, they return to their London homes, but things have changed, and not all of the changes are pleasant. I'm looking forward to the final volume in this trilogy to see how the story ends. . . or does it? That's the way with a story like this -- even when it ends, it continues on in our imaginations, and that is masterful storytelling indeed.
July 18, 2016
A nice sequel, though it really feels as if it is just the same story split into two books. I really enjoyed the evacuation setting and getting to know the two families where Billy was billeted. There are some poignant moments here, and you feel as if you get to know many of the characters quite deeply. The story felt so real that it made me wonder if the author had lived through this herself, or at least had heard much of it directly from those who had done so. I've always loved reading about WWII, but I never before read in detail about the homefront life in England during the war. It was fascinating and very worthwhile.
August 17, 2015
The second of three stories, with Billy and his unpleasant cousin, raised the bar, in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed Intrusion (A Relative Invasion 1) by Rosalind Minett, but the subtle tension within Infiltration carried me along with earnest. It is masterful when the plot takes its time in the most natural way while becoming compulsively un-put-down-able. The author elicited my sympathies for Billy artfully while her storytelling remained credible. I look forward to the next episode of this trilogy. Kudos to Ms Minett.
February 8, 2021
I really enjoyed this second book in the series. Billy has once more been billeted to the country after the Germans started bombing London. He is billeted in the same town as before, but is with a different family; an older couple who run a small farm raising pigs and chickens as well as a vegetable garden. Billy's mother and younger sister are once again billeted in a different town in the vicarage and this time his nasty cousin Kenneth and Kenneth's mother are billeted near Billy's mother and sister.
Billy does really well on the farm and comes to really love it there. Early on, Kenneth's father (Uncle Frank) is killed during a bombing raid in London. Billy feels guilty for not being sad about the death of the uncle who was cruel to him just because he was jealous of Billy's physical superiority to Kenneth(at least that's why I think he was so awful toward young Billy). Kenneth does not change after his father's death and continues to be cruel to Billy when he can get away with doing it with no witnesses. The last straw was when after Uncle Frank's death, Billy's father informs him that Kenneth and his mother will be moving in with them after the war and Billy will be sharing his bedroom and apparently his father with Kenneth, since Kenneth has been asked to call Billy's father "Dad". How Billy's parents can be so oblivious as to how their favoritism toward Kenneth affects Billy is a mystery to me. His mother in particular I found to be wanting, since she has more opportunity to interact with Billy. Mr. and Mrs Pawsey, the farm couple who take care of Billy are far better in their treatment of Billy. In fact, they treat him like a son. Billy really thrives under their care and is much more mature by the time he has to leave the farm town.
Billy does really well on the farm and comes to really love it there. Early on, Kenneth's father (Uncle Frank) is killed during a bombing raid in London. Billy feels guilty for not being sad about the death of the uncle who was cruel to him just because he was jealous of Billy's physical superiority to Kenneth(at least that's why I think he was so awful toward young Billy). Kenneth does not change after his father's death and continues to be cruel to Billy when he can get away with doing it with no witnesses. The last straw was when after Uncle Frank's death, Billy's father informs him that Kenneth and his mother will be moving in with them after the war and Billy will be sharing his bedroom and apparently his father with Kenneth, since Kenneth has been asked to call Billy's father "Dad". How Billy's parents can be so oblivious as to how their favoritism toward Kenneth affects Billy is a mystery to me. His mother in particular I found to be wanting, since she has more opportunity to interact with Billy. Mr. and Mrs Pawsey, the farm couple who take care of Billy are far better in their treatment of Billy. In fact, they treat him like a son. Billy really thrives under their care and is much more mature by the time he has to leave the farm town.
May 23, 2021
Set during the darkest days of World War II, Rosalind Minett writes about the emotions and subtleties of people within families. It is done with such skill to create a wonderful book. With Intrusion, book one of this series, the author shows us the inner workings of a family that has many members trying to be seen as the best, even if it means putting others down. With Infiltration we see this family pulled apart as they are evacuated or sent to war. Billy, the young son evacuated to the country, gets to see a way of life very different from his own not only in terms of lifestyle but in terms of affection and emotional support. It’s meticulously researched with the inclusion of many details of life from the 1940’s such speech patterns and food brands. It’s as close as you can get to being there while reading a book. It’s a compelling story that I found I simply could not put down. Naturally I’m extremely keen to read the third and final part of the trilogy.
April 17, 2019
Kenneth the Cunning
It's bad enough that there is a war on and bombings in London. But then Billy has to deal with the death of his uncle and his father's adoption of his cousin Kenneth as another son. Kenneth the sneaking manipulator that he is. Add to that a self-absorbed, Mother and an evacuation to the countryside. Luckily Billy ends up in a decent, loving home on a small pig farm. Luckily for him, the war eventually ends and he must go back to London - with Kenneth.
It's bad enough that there is a war on and bombings in London. But then Billy has to deal with the death of his uncle and his father's adoption of his cousin Kenneth as another son. Kenneth the sneaking manipulator that he is. Add to that a self-absorbed, Mother and an evacuation to the countryside. Luckily Billy ends up in a decent, loving home on a small pig farm. Luckily for him, the war eventually ends and he must go back to London - with Kenneth.
August 28, 2018
Poignant, lovely writing
I read this book so fast, because not only was the plot fascinating, but the character of Billy is so full of sentiment. Beautiful, lyrical writing. strongly evocative of a difficult period in history thru the eyes of a child. I plan to read the other books in this series as well.
I read this book so fast, because not only was the plot fascinating, but the character of Billy is so full of sentiment. Beautiful, lyrical writing. strongly evocative of a difficult period in history thru the eyes of a child. I plan to read the other books in this series as well.
September 3, 2018
A "Just for Fun" Read For Me!
Recently I have been reading such serious books that it has been fun to pick up this fascinating WWII story. I am a post-WWII child so this truly is history for me. But a necessary and good read!
Recently I have been reading such serious books that it has been fun to pick up this fascinating WWII story. I am a post-WWII child so this truly is history for me. But a necessary and good read!
June 22, 2015
Infiltration is the second book in Rosalind Minett’s trilogy ‘A Relative Invasion’. In the first book, Intrusion, Billy’s cousin Kenneth comes into his life at the same time as rumblings of the Second World War. Kenneth has a similar effect on the then six-year-old Billy as Hitler does on Europe.
In Book Two, both boys are evacuated, Billy on his own to a farm and Kenneth with his mother to a billet not far from where Billy’s own mother and sister are staying. The sly, spiteful Kenneth has now infiltrated Billy’s life completely, seeming to steal Billy’s place in his family. Billy is happy at the farm and the couple who are looking after him treat him like their own son but Billy suffers the same desire for his mother’s attention and love as in the first book.
Through various sources, we hear of the progress of the war. Billy applies his growing knowledge to the different situations in his life. His talisman is still the sabre he was shown by his friend Mr Durban back home and he draws strength from the story that goes with it. Even when Kenneth commits the (in Billy’s mind) worst act of treachery yet, Billy finds a way to hold strong.
Rosalind Minett writes from the perspective of a growing boy with astonishing acuity, taking us right inside Billy’s mind. She writes so smoothly that I hardly realise I’m actually reading, and with this novel, as well as with the first, I was jolted to an abrupt stop with the closing pages. Minett understands what it means to leave the reader wanting more. Roll on Book Three.
In Book Two, both boys are evacuated, Billy on his own to a farm and Kenneth with his mother to a billet not far from where Billy’s own mother and sister are staying. The sly, spiteful Kenneth has now infiltrated Billy’s life completely, seeming to steal Billy’s place in his family. Billy is happy at the farm and the couple who are looking after him treat him like their own son but Billy suffers the same desire for his mother’s attention and love as in the first book.
Through various sources, we hear of the progress of the war. Billy applies his growing knowledge to the different situations in his life. His talisman is still the sabre he was shown by his friend Mr Durban back home and he draws strength from the story that goes with it. Even when Kenneth commits the (in Billy’s mind) worst act of treachery yet, Billy finds a way to hold strong.
Rosalind Minett writes from the perspective of a growing boy with astonishing acuity, taking us right inside Billy’s mind. She writes so smoothly that I hardly realise I’m actually reading, and with this novel, as well as with the first, I was jolted to an abrupt stop with the closing pages. Minett understands what it means to leave the reader wanting more. Roll on Book Three.
January 17, 2016
There is an inherent charm to Minett's writing. A real sense of place and feeling without indulging in sentimentality. It's impossible not to feel for Billy and the acuity with which we see the changing world through a young boy's eyes is uncanny. The continuing distance between Billy and his aloof mother feels very authentic and as with the first book, the historical detail is richly woven in. This is an absolute treat for fans of Michelle Magorian's Goodnight Mr Tom. Utterly spell binding.
May 1, 2017
Infiltration is an engaging work of historical fiction, set in England during WWII and related from the point of view of Billy, a child evacuated from London to the country. Although it is the second book in the trilogy, significant events of book 1, Intrusion, are recalled clearly enough that Infiltration can be enjoyed on its own. (I read part of an early version of book 1 several years ago on Authonomy.com. I imagine most readers will be happy to start at the beginning and read the books in order.)
Although told from a child's point of view, this is not a children's book; at least, not a book for children the age of the protagonist at the beginning of the book. I hope the child's perspective does not put off adult and teen readers, because Billy is a complex and interesting character with a unique take on the era he is living through. This volume covers September 1940–summer 1945 and really gets inside the evacuee experience. Billy, age 8 and already somewhat traumatized by bombings in London, arrives at his billet with the Pawseys in the country, where he will spend the duration of the war, separated from his parents and little sister for most of that time. He has an incomplete understanding of the situation and fills in the gaps in his knowledge with kid logic. Many of his assumptions are incorrect but perfectly believable in a child his age. Minett does a good job of staying in Billy's perspective without looking down on him or pointing out where he's mistaken. Misunderstandings are allowed to play out organically.
One of the joys of this book is Billy finding his strengths and getting support from his foster family, who seem to understand him better than his own family. In the safety of the country, he delights in caring for livestock, excels at football, and discovers a talent for photography. He also has a great heart for people who are worse off than he is. Although he misses his family, he is relieved to be separated from his cousin Kenneth, a bully and a sneak from an early age. Away from Kenneth, Billy is freer to develop confidence; his own mother seems to prefer Kenneth and has little interest in Billy's pursuits. But events of this book mean that the two boys will be thrust closer together in book 3, Impact, which promises conflict with hope for resolution.
Although told from a child's point of view, this is not a children's book; at least, not a book for children the age of the protagonist at the beginning of the book. I hope the child's perspective does not put off adult and teen readers, because Billy is a complex and interesting character with a unique take on the era he is living through. This volume covers September 1940–summer 1945 and really gets inside the evacuee experience. Billy, age 8 and already somewhat traumatized by bombings in London, arrives at his billet with the Pawseys in the country, where he will spend the duration of the war, separated from his parents and little sister for most of that time. He has an incomplete understanding of the situation and fills in the gaps in his knowledge with kid logic. Many of his assumptions are incorrect but perfectly believable in a child his age. Minett does a good job of staying in Billy's perspective without looking down on him or pointing out where he's mistaken. Misunderstandings are allowed to play out organically.
One of the joys of this book is Billy finding his strengths and getting support from his foster family, who seem to understand him better than his own family. In the safety of the country, he delights in caring for livestock, excels at football, and discovers a talent for photography. He also has a great heart for people who are worse off than he is. Although he misses his family, he is relieved to be separated from his cousin Kenneth, a bully and a sneak from an early age. Away from Kenneth, Billy is freer to develop confidence; his own mother seems to prefer Kenneth and has little interest in Billy's pursuits. But events of this book mean that the two boys will be thrust closer together in book 3, Impact, which promises conflict with hope for resolution.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews