Meet Me at Lennon's

by Melanie Myers

As university student Olivia Wells sets out on her quest to find an unpublished manuscript by Gloria Graham – a now obscure mid-twentieth century feminist and writer – she unwittingly uncovers details about a young woman found murdered. Strangled with a nylon stocking in the mangroves on the banks of the river in wartime Brisbane, the case soon became known as the river girl murder. Olivia’s detective work exposes the sinister side of that city in 1943, flush with greenbacks and nylons, jealousy and violence brewing between the Australian and US soldiers, which eventually boiled over into the infamous Battle of Brisbane. Olivia soon discovers that the diggers didn’t just reserve their anger for the US forces – they also took it out on the women they perceived as traitors, the ones who dared to consort with US soldiers.
Can Olivia rewrite history to bring justice to the river girl whose life was so brutally taken? Even if the past can’t be changed, is it possible to undo history’s erasure?

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, War

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2019

About the author

Melanie is a Brisbane-based writer, editor and academic. She has a DCA in Creative Writing and teaches at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is the winner of the 2018 Queensland Literary Awards Emerging Writer Award for Meet Me at Lennon's (UQP, 2019), her debut novel. Her articles and short fiction have been published in Kill Your Darlings, Griffith Review, Arena Magazine, Overland, Hecate and other publications. She is the former artistic director of the nonfiction writers’ festival Reality Bites (2012 - 2014).

Reviews

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well researched, solidly written historic fiction set in Brisbane. The theme is a past/present mystery and the narrative veers between the 1940's when Brisbane was in the midst of WWII and hosting American soldiers to the vast detriment of social mores (though, one might argue, to the advancement of an open minded society), and 'the present'. Written in the third person the novel allegedly revolves around a 1940's murder of 'the river girl' exploring the mystery of a murdered girl where the crime may have been covered up by the American MPs.

The history of American GIs in Brisbane is one I had read a bit about before, this novel's research into the period was fascinating and more in depth than many others I had read. There is both sympathy and understanding in the descriptions of the way Australian girls reacted to the wartime situation, their new presence in the workforce and the way they reacted to the 'yanks'. There is a lot of subtle social analysis wound up in this fictionised story line and I have nothing but respect and admiration for the way that social narrative is bound up in the storyline. I enjoyed the way the situations of the various Australian women, the Australian diggers and the American forces (I nearly slipped up and called them 'occupying forces' there) all interacted. This work of fiction was an excellent platform for all of that.

While I did enjoy the novel while reading it, it was a mild pleasure, mostly at the social and historical detail and minutiae which were so detailed as to suggest that they were meticulously and lovingly researched. I have a lot of respect for the story, in addition to the details, it is very well edited, solidly constructed and exceptionally competent writing in many ways, it was a four star for a lot of the last third of the book. Despite all it's good points I could not like it nor emotionally bond to it, and the ending annoyed the hell out of me (no spoilers). In a way, it was kind of like that first date, where you know you should be interested in them, that your parents and grandparents even, would adore them, that you are just so compatible and the effort to like them leaves you exhausted as there is just no spark at all. That was this book, the date that went nowhere.

While I was intellectually impressed by the complexity of the first part of the book, I was not engaged, and kept wondering if I should make it a 'do not finish' as I was often reluctant to pick it up. The history kept me going and by about page 100 I was enjoying myself. Mind you, a major objection I had to this book is how many girls swarm it's pages: Not too many in the present day, but hordes in the past! Or so it seems, at least four main theme ones, lots of others who appear and disappear.... By page 100 I was only starting to figure out who mattered as part of the narrative and who didn't. This was a huge flaw in the reading enjoyment for me and while I get that the narrative was meant to draw all the themes together, it never really did well in that regard. Many chapters start with a girls name, either as the first word or in the first paragraph, and thank goodness since otherwise I would have had no chance at all of knowing where/when I was. But when on page 188 yet another 40's girl is introduced I almost wept as I was already struggling so badly to keep track of the different girls and narratives.

Other things that annoyed me were having too little time in 'the present' where I actually liked and remembered the characters, one had to wonder what the novel even bothered skipping at all? I know it is fashionable to go forwards/backwards in novels but I am not sure that this history would not have stood better on its own. Maybe an epilogue? But skipping back and forth was not a great idea for this book, I think. The blurb on the back is idiotic! Whoever wrote that - send them back to their day job at once. It makes you expect a book about a murder that is barely mentioned, it is a peripheral plot detail of no major importance to %90 of the book and I am irate about that, false advertising, false pretenses.

The third party point of view, that works pretty well through the book, especially for the 1940's but it also increased the detachment that I found impossible to shake and which made it impossible to feel any engagement with the characters and their experiences - and some of those experiences are pretty harrowing, it should be impossible to make them as detached as they were. Yet I somehow felt their experiences more vividly through Olivia in the 'present' reading archives than I did when those experiences were described directly *shakes head*.

Now, and this may seem contradictory, I did actually really like the modern part, its characters and the snippets of Brisbane as shown. I think anyone who lives in the city, or knows the city will be fascinated and absorbed by the slow reveals of West End, the state library, Paddington (awww you included the antique center - and to such excellent affect). I liked Olivia and Travis and Clio, they felt real to me and I was interested in them, so it is a shame there was relatively little of their story. I felt indignation at Olivia's abusive boyfriend, I wanted to know more about her thesis.

I was intrigued by the historic part; I felt that the history was lovingly researched, meticulously presented. Many, many good things about that part. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions, the often lyrical writing. BUT! But way too many girls swarming around.

For the last section it was all set to be a four star read, the plots came together, the stories meshed the murdered girl came back on the scene after having been absent for most of the book, but then I had a hard and nasty shock at the end. The book ends in the present with a throwaway one liner as Olivia thinks that 'she has heard a name somewhere'. No spoilers, I actually CANT spoiler it, even if I wanted to, because, like Olivia, I am pretty sure I have heard that name somewhere in the narrative but I have no idea where or what it means. Too many girls, too many names, too many stores that went nowhere, too many disconnected names that come and go.

So the final line of the book made it all not worth it. Sure, I could skip back through the book through all the realms of names until I came to the right one (If I could find it) to figure out what the punch line was meant to tell me. Am I going to? Probably not, unless I get a major bout of insomnia. It was bad enough the first time. The author tried to be too clever, too complex and failed (at least for me).

If you like well researched history, exceptionally well written novels set in the past, read this, by all means. I recommend a pen and paper though so you can try to keep track of all the names. Maybe then you will understand the punch line. If you do so, please comment and let me know what it was.

[Theresa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel, Meet Me At Lennon’s. Looking through an altered lens of wartime Brisbane, it stripped away the romanticism that often typifies war fiction. Brisbane as a military town was quite an interesting place. The US soldiers were for the most part idle, flushed with cash and contraband (stockings, cigarettes, chocolate); while the Australian soldiers were battle weary and resentful, watching from the sidelines as their US counterparts dazzled the local girls and ‘sullied’ them in the process. This is not a story though about one set of soldiers being better behaved or more respectful than the other. Rather, it is a story about the women of Brisbane and how their safety was compromised from being surrounded by so many men; how their morality was questioned; how they were often subjected to harassment and assault, and then expected to shoulder the blame for their own mistreatment.

Meet Me At Lennon’s is a dual narrative, but it differs to most that I have read in the past. The historical narrative is presented more in the fashion of short stories about women living in Brisbane and their experiences with soldiers. The women are all connected in some way, and we do return to some of the women over the course of the novel, but it was a very different sort of narrative to what you usually find within this style. It was more implicit and with clearer intent on highlighting what being a woman and going about your business entailed. The encounters and propositions, the positives and the negatives – the experiences varied widely. I really liked the way this historical narrative read. It was intelligently offered and not bogged down with genre conventions. There was a lot exposed through this narrative that was rather eye opening, much in the way that murky, swept-under-the-rug history could be once it has been dusted off.

“She’d been assuming River Girl was a random victim, but sexual offences of the ‘closer to home’ variety…made up the bulk of the files. They also invariably involved ‘carnal knowledge of a girl under 17’. That the girls in these cases were, more often than not, described as being ‘backward in [her] mentality’ or having ‘the mentality of a child of 12’, probably said more about the Mariana Trench-depth sexism of the time than the girls themselves.”

The contemporary narrative of the novel was rather interesting as well. I liked the protagonist, Olivia Wells, and felt the authenticity of her struggles and focus with her PhD manuscript. The threads between the two timelines were more embedded than you are first given the impression of and again, there was this implicit nature to the narrative that I enjoyed. It relied on the reader closely paying attention and then relishing those moments of awareness and connection. Thematically, I appreciated how the author connected those safety issues for women across the two narratives, inadvertently posing the question of what has changed, if anything. Are women safer today? Or are they still facing the same dangers within an altered context? Again, these themes are explored implicitly, giving the reader plenty of space to consider within their own mindset. If I have any quibbles at all about the novel, it did contain many characters and at times, particularly in the historical narrative, I had to really think about who this person was, had I met them yet, or was this their first appearance. This was minor though, but if you were not reading closely, you could get a bit off track and not know who was who and whom they were connected to.

Meet Me At Lennon’s contains aspects of crime and mystery, but it is not a crime novel. The historical aspect offers a wealth of social history, and conjures Brisbane of the early 1940s with a sublime atmosphere. Anyone from Queensland will appreciate the rich detail of this setting. Meet Me At Lennon’s is highly recommended reading for fans of quality literary fiction. I’m looking forward to reading more novels by Melanie Myers in the future.

Thanks is extended to University of Queensland Press (UQP) for providing me with a copy of Meet Me At Lennon’s for review.

[Kali Napier · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5* An immensely enjoyable read and evocative of life for women in wartime Brisbane. In the present-day, PhD researcher Olivia uncovers an unsolved murder mystery of the River Girl during WWII. Piecing together anecdotes, letters, articles, and official records, she learns of the often violent conflict between the thousands of Yanks stationed in Brisbane and their Aussie counterparts, as well as the racism that pitted both Aussie soldiers and African American soldiers against white Americans. In parallel to this contemporary story are the lives and voices of several women who were affected positively and not-so-positively by the GIs' presence. Though it is not made explicit, Myers draws enough connections to indicate who the River Girl's murderer might have been. And she is finally given a name. Which is vitally important, because women were treated as objects, transacted for a pair of nylons or box of chocolates, to be owned. And the contemporary storyline shows that this still holds true today. I sometimes found the women's stories a little confusing as to who was who, as they were variously interrelated as sisters, room-mates, work colleagues, etc. However, these relationships also provide a flavour of how small Brisbane was back then, how everyone must have known somebody who'd known something. And just how huge an impact 60000 American GIs must have had on the population.

[Tundra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this weaving plot and the sense of place that Myers evoked of Brisbane during WW11. I did however think the writing was a bit stilted or stiff which may have been the way the research was included in the story. It didn’t really feel embedded or casual enough and perhaps there was too much included. It is a great first novel and clearly did involve a lot of research and hopefully Myer develops the skill of paring back how this information is transmitted in her writing.

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Me at Lennon’s (UQP 2019) is the debut novel by author and academic Melanie Myers, the recipient of the 2018 Glendower Award for an Emerging Author (for an unpublished manuscript) at the Queensland Literary Awards. I was fortunate enough to read this manuscript when it was entered into the QLA, and it is enormously satisfying to see it now as a published book, and to note the editorial changes but more importantly how much of the story has remained the same.
To paraphrase Churchill, I would say that Meet Me at Lennon’s is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Set in Brisbane during World War II, this historical novel blends 1940’s Brisbane with a twin narrative set in the modern day, with threads and connections joining the two through both the characters and the story, and at the centre, the violent and unsolved death of the River Girl, a young woman found strangled in the mangroves at the opening of the book. The novel moves back and forth in time, and the reader must be sharp-eyed to pick up the hints and connect the dots throughout; but the reward is a remarkable and satisfying resolution that forces you to rethink all you had previously read, and consider everything – the facts, the characters, the plot points – in the refocussed light of new information.
The modern thread focusses on Olivia Wells, an academic completing a PhD on the works of writer Gloria Graham. In Olivia’s orbit are her boyfriend Sam, her friends Cheryl, Tobias and Clio, and her estranged father, Trevor. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so won’t talk too much about the plot, but at the beginning, Olivia’s research uncovers the mysterious death of the River Girl in 1943, and she is determined to find out more.
This narrative is juxtaposed with events of 1942 and 1943, when Brisbane was flooded with American soldiers and feelings ran high regarding their behaviour, particularly towards young Aussie women. In the words of the QLA judges’ report, the book ‘exposes the turbulent melting pot of racism, sexism and patriotism that culminated in the ‘Battle of Brisbane’ between visiting US soldiers and Australian diggers in the 1940’s.’ The judges also noted that Myers’ manuscript was ambitious and ‘successfully combined complex storytelling, authentic characters, fine research and sophisticated writing’. And these sections of the book set in the past are very engaging: we meet Dolly, Alice, Rhia, Val, Edith and June, all of whom have complicated relationships and backstories. From the modern performance of the play Tie My Apron Strings, Would You?, originally written by Gloria Graham, to the famous landmarks of the Carver Club, City Hall and, of course, Lennon’s, the lives of these woman are braided together between the forties and the present day. We see the young women in their prime, and we see some of them as much older ladies. We witness the constraints and social mores of the forties against the relative freedoms of today. We are privy to the reminiscences of some of the women as they recall those heady and dangerous days in a time of war. And all of this is counterbalanced by Olivia’s story – her own conflicted and complex relationships, her doubts and insecurities, her ambitions and desires.
This is a book founded on extensive historical research of a particular time and place, and the emotions that flourished due to the circumstances. It is also a story about family, and friendship, and ancestry and our search for belonging. And of course it is a compelling mystery about one unsolved murder of one nameless girl, an act that has been lost to the archives of time and largely forgotten. But as the narrative progresses, and the disparate threads begin to knit together into some form of cohesive shape, we begin to see the pattern emerge, and pieces of the story that may have seemed unrelated begin to coalesce into a surprising – but somehow inevitable – conclusion, with a timely comment on the role and rights of women, then and now – both the hard-won achievements, and the aspects that seem little changed.

[Kate Cuthbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

In her novel, Melanie Myers delves into an under-explored area of Brisbane history: the influx of US soldiers during World War II, and how their presence affected the social conventions of the time. The titular Lennon’s refers to a popular social club, and the story alternates between World War II and a contemporary timeline. Hinging the two is Olivia, the main character who in the contemporary timeline is writing a doctorate on a playwright who features in the World War II timeline. As a conceit, this link is not wholly successful, the play and playwright not crucial enough to the plot to provide the anchor necessary with dual timelines. This lack of focus is an overarching problem within the novel: while the depiction of Brisbane during World War II and the emphasis on women’s experiences on the home front is well-realised and engaging, the contemporary timeline feels aimless in comparison. The best parts of this novel are the past and the women’s stories told, and I wonder if this novel would have been more successful as a work of historical fiction, rather than attempting to capitalise on the current popularity of a dual timeline narrative.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potentially a good story but far too many characters that didn't add to the story. In fact, so many names that I couldn't figure out the ending and couldn't be bothered going back to sort it out.
The book is well researched but content is full of fact and description of places in Brisbane to the point that sometimes I felt I was reading a history of Brisbane in WW2. Whilst this was of interest to me as a local reader, I'm not at all sure that non local readers would be engrossed by it.

Would be very interested to hear what a non local reader thought of this.

[Kate Elkington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully deceptive novel. Some historical fiction can be a simple, albeit well written and engaging, re-enactment of the past. But Meet Me at Lennon’s is much more than that. Melanie Myers has created a startlingly intelligent story that intertwines narratives of Queensland women in Brisbane during WWII and the present to create a rich tapestry of intrigue. She scatters clues like breadcrumbs throughout the stories that lead the careful reader to the heart of the river girl murder, but this book is not just another whodunnit.

It challenged me on many levels: to find and make the connections necessary to the plot, to acknowledge the violence towards women during that period, and to recognise the unsettling culture of misogyny and abuse that has rippled on through the decades and still shapes women’s lives today. It is meticulously researched and the characters are authentic, honest and witty. The writing is eloquent and the beautiful imagery from each individual story lingers even when the lens refocuses to a new scene.

It’s not always an easy read but that’s what makes it so rewarding. When the pieces fall into place, you realise the story was never just an historical crime novel about one murdered woman. It is an immersive and thoughtful journey into McCarthur-era Brisbane that left me questioning how we can reconsider the past with all its buried wrongs to more fully understand our present and work towards a safer and more equitable future for women. That’s an impressive achievement for a debut novel, and even better that I never saw it coming.

[Michelle Heeter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The parts of the story set in wartime were fascinating and well-written. I did wonder, though, about the fur coat bought by the naive young woman--there are descriptions of how the character burrows into the coat to escape the chill 'Arctic winds' of a Brisbane winter. Really? In subtropical Brisbane? The modern-day "chick lit" plot was uninteresting, with flat characters and dialogue that sounded "written." Unfortunately, this novel is no "Come In Spinner."

[Catherine Lutvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as I was reading it but by the time I finished the book I felt like I shouldn’t have kept reading it. There were too many minor characters and it became confusing at times to follow the storyline. I was intrigued by the murder mystery in the story but the ending was an anti climax. I was confused by the ending and had to flick back through the book to understand the significance which was frustrating. I felt like I was left hanging like some pages were missing in my book. The storyline of Oliva’s father did not seem to fit with the rest of the book and it would’ve been better left out. I was disappointed by the ending. I would give it 2.75 stars. I enjoyed the references to Brisbane places and people.

[Sally Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wartime Brisbane and the opportunities and freedoms war gave to women is vividly brought to life in this meticulously researched story, along with the exploitation and violence that newfound freedom allowed. But it is also a captivating mystery and a quest for justice for crimes committed in Brisbane in the 1940s and how the consequences of those crimes had reached into the lives of a family in the present day.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully researched book and a fascinating study of wartime Brisbane. I found I had to really pay attention to the 1940s characters as there seem to be a lot of them, this caused a little confusion for me but by the end of the book, it all fell into place. Except for one little thing...! Now I am investigating that 'one little thing'. I thoroughly recommend this book.

[Glenn Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. It was fascinating looking through the lens of women's experiences in Brisbane during the war.

[Alexandra Daw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been meaning to read this book for a long time. Let me say that again ...a loooong time. When I worked at Gold Coast Libraries there was an author talk which I would have loved to have attended and I think that was last year. Yes, this book was published in 2019. Isn't the cover great? Yes, I am very shallow and always judge a book by its cover. Sorry. But all hail to the marketing people. I reckon they got this right.

I finally borrowed it from Brisbane City Council Library service and it came in reasonably quickly. I wanted to read it so I could make a sensible vote in the Queensland Literary Awards which are on again very soon if I haven't missed them already. Drat! I haven't missed them, but I have missed out on voting for the People's Choice. Sorry, Melanie! I hope you win :)

So as you've probably guessed from the cover, this book is set in WWII Brisbane and was a real delight for me to read. I grew up down south with vivid stories of the sub coming into the Harbour in Sydney. Brisbane's experience of the war was a whole other story. Any of you who have been to the Macarthur Museum smack bang in the middle of the city have some appreciation of what it must have been like. Exciting but scary, all rolled into one.

We can only imagine what it must have been like to live through a World War. The author has taken a kind of "Sliding Doors" approach to telling the story, weaving a contemporary story of a student completing a doctoral thesis researching women's experiences of WWII in Brisbane with the stories of the women she is researching. As a family history researcher, I found it as mesmerizing as the research itself.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a mystery but also a historical novel grounded in great research and with compassion for the challenges young women faced then and now. What more could a family historian ask for?

The book comes in at 260pp which is the perfect length as far as I'm concerned.

If there were any criticisms, it would just be that sometimes the transition from the past to the present was sometimes rather jarring. I would have read a couple of paragraphs and then say to myself "Hang on, they didn't have DVDs in the 1940s" and realise that I was back in contemporary times. But I think that's my fault rather than the author's fault. I was so engrossed in the tale-telling that I lost track of time literally.

Oh and one annoying spelling mistake- Macarthur's hoards rather than hordes on Page 159.

This was more than made up for by Myers description of Edith's visceral response to the violence during the Battle of the Canteens two pages later.

I loved how Myers captured contemporary Brisbane - the cafe in Paddington and the Antique Centre and an excellent description of the reading room at the State Archives. There is a bit of me that does wonder if other readers who weren't so interested in research would find this as interesting though.

This book should come with a warning. Much of the subject matter is about sexual assault so you might want to give this a wide berth if that disturbs you. It's not to the point of gruesomeness but it should probably just be flagged in this day and age.

I have to say that I think Myers has done an excellent job dovetailing these kind of issues into the contemporary side of her story. Something that we wish we could say is buried and gone forever, still rings true today. Just today on the news we had another story confirming that some things never seem to change.

Despite the grim matter, I liked this book so much that I want to read it all over again and that is VERY rare for me.

I also want to put together a map of all the places that Myers talked about so that I can go and check them out for myself: the hostels, the dance halls, the munitions factories etc.

8/10

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Me at Lennon's is a surprisingly clever historical fiction. Well-written and strongly evocative of the Brisbane I've known for 30 years now, it also brings to life the WW2 history here I knew little about.

At times I found it hard to follow because there are so many female characters - and I was tempted to feel there were too many. But about halfway through I realised the literary choice being made with all these characters. This is, in effect, the literary commentary that this book is making: in wartime Brisbane there were SO many women - TOO many women to keep track of - who fell prey to the charms, sexual intentions, and sometimes vicious attack of servicemen stationed here - be they American or Australian, that it is impossible to remember them all. The sexualisation of women, the abuse of whom went mostly 'swept under the carpet' by police, the military, and even their own families, is an atrocity that had generational ramifications for many. The more positive side is, of course, that many women found good, honest, and dedicated American husbands among the visitors, or were supported by their magnificent home-coming Australian ones.

I am not surprised this book won the Queensland Literary Awards for emerging writers: it is literature in the sense that it makes an important social commentary on a specific time period, and it's a great story that uses the dual-timeline historical fiction mode expertly as a means to uncovering the past in an engaging manner.

Great writing, Melanie Myers, and I'm more than a little envious of your gloriously publishable, roll-off-the-tongue, alliterative name!

[Kylie Purdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meet Me Lennons is set in Brisbane, switching between modern day Brisbane and a Brisbane playing host to American troops during World War 2.
Olivia is researching a feminist writer from the 40's and stumbles across an unsolved murder from the era. As her research continues she hunts across the years to identify her murderer and what really happened to her.
Meet Me at Lennons is meticulously researched with that research put to good use in the story. Myers concentrates on the reactions of the local girls and women to the visiting GI's while acknowledging the resentment towards the Americans from the Australian troops. The writing was technically flawless and I never felt I was being lectured to, but I also never truly felt connected to the story. In particular the parts set in the 40's I found it hard to follow the different characters, who was who and how they were linked together. I also found the listing of Brisbane City landmarks in the opening scene baffling and strange. It was almost like the author was desperate to show she knows Brisbane and it's landscape. However, I do think Myers is an author worth watching.
I'm not a long time resident of Brisbane and that may be where I've lost the connection to this book. If you are interested in Brisbane during World War 2, Meet Me at Lennons is worth checking out.

[Kerry Swinnerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting insight into the “Yankee” invasion of wartime Brisbane

Over paid, over sexed, and over here. The common description of the “Yankee” invasion of Australia , or more particularly of Brisbane. This work of fiction is well researched for the absolute facts that support this story.
The Battle of Brisbane, when a great mob of disgruntled Australian soldiers took on a huge group of American soldiers, in the attempt to reclaim the attention and interest of Australian women. The background to this story.......the truth that was as ugly about Australian soldiers as it was about the American soldiers. The inbred racism within the American services, the fact that the Americans were better paid than their Australian counterparts, the sudden flocking of young, sometimes under aged, girls to the places where they could meet up with the Americans, all combine their facts to make this a very interesting read. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Heather Slutzkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been a student in Brisbane in the seventies, I enjoyed this book a lot! However there were a few reading frustrations with it. A large cast of characters was both a plus and a minus. I should have made a list of who was who right from the start. The different time periods were reasonably easy to keep track of. Sometimes 'driving the Yanks' felt like convenient in a literary sense. And the ending was a little confusing. "William Clancy, for some reason, rang a bell." What was that supposed to mean? Is it leading into another book? Was it another character I hadn't kept track of? Regardless of this quibble I did enjoy the way it allowed some of the women's stories of that time to be told. Based on my mother's stories of that time it did seem that the War was much more a real part of day to day life than in the areas of Australia further south.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learnt a lot from the book. My previous knowledge of Brisbane during WWII was: Brisbane line...something something... McArthur.

However, I think this should've been two separate books within the WWII Brisbane setting:
1. Historical fiction murder mystery
2. Non-fiction book including extracts from letters, journals, newspapers, telegrams.

If #2 has already been written, I'll have to check it out.

(And as others have commented, I had trouble keeping track of who the characters were. I literally ended up drawing a chart. And I come from a childhood of sweeping fantasy series' with pages of character names for reference, but somehow couldn't keep the 6 or so women straight)

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice had the kind of face – ordinary as grass, she always supposed, but likewise appreciated when needed – that reminded some older officers of their daughters back home.”

I loved this story and made parts of Brisbane make more sense to me, but I think you would struggle with the book of you didn't know Brisbane.

The documenting of these types of stories are so important before they die out, so many men and women never passed these stories on and it wasn't something most of my generation thought of until after they died.

[Mary Mckennalong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 in my mind. Page turner but I felt there were too many storylines, some of which were unnecessary and didn’t round out. But I liked the obvious tireless research into Brisbane during WW2 and the characters developed within that. Kept me reading but I was incredibly disappointed with the ending. In fact, I went to turn to the next chapter only to find it was the end of the book. All in all, interesting read but felt like it was a few drafts too soon to be published.

[Steven Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't need to write a review it has been done perfectly by https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4...

As a resident of Brisbane I loved the history but I just couldn't follow the stories, too many girls. I didn't understand the end. I was going to go back to try and work it out but as the days have passed I've lost interest. Maybe I should have read it over a shorter time and made notes.

[Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually 2.5 stars. Amazing research, some excellent writing, great attention to detail. Loved how Brisbane in the 1940s was brought to life but I struggled to keep track of the characters. Also the modern story just added another level of confusion. The big name reveal at the end meant nothing! Perhaps this would have been better as a book of short stories.

[Denita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well researched book set in Brisbane during the time the Americans came during WWII. I found it difficult at times to work out who was what or where at the start of each new chapter but I worked it out eventually. One had to concentrate as the story jumped around a lot but all in all it was a great read. I especially liked the ending which I didn't expect at all.

[Jo Budden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be an amazing book, but alas it was not! It only receives 3 ⭐ because I loved reading about Brisbane, a city I like but don't really know, from the historical aspect; and because I love WWII fiction.

I feel like this was more an information dump than a novel & reinforces my thoughts that literary critics/judges, like fashion designers, have no idea.

[Mary Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

What sparked my interest in my grandmothers stories of wartime - and a love of my 90’s hang out Lennons Hotel … led to Melanie’s book. Loved it ! Clever storyline and twists I never imagined! Congratulations Melanie Myers - this is my fav book of all time. Hoping there is a sequel !

[Chee Chee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Learnt a lot about a time in history I knew nothing about previously. I did get a bit lost with all the characters, and was confused by the ending (had to flick through the entire book to figure out the significance of the final words).

[Brent Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book but I just found it too hard to keep track of the various characters, their plot lines and how they crossed over.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Julie Tait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful description of Brisbane for that time. Having lived in Brisbane till early seventies brought back memories forgotten