A great story with lots of smaller stories running along together. Loved the characters at BP and the story of the war and the code breakers. Julia's story added a more modern twist and after I put the book down after a reading session my husband was keen to know how the story was progressing. The authors note at the end also gave some interesting information. I was sad to reach the end as I had enjoyed the journey with Pamela. I would recommend this book for all ages of reader and would say its one of the better reads of this year for me. .

This is the first Kathleen McGurl book that I've read, but my hopes were high having seen the beautifully designed cover, the captivating title, and read the spellbinding blurb. And I was not to be disappointed. I do love a duel-timeline story, especially one that is set during or around WWI or WWII.

The story takes place in 1942 - 1945 and 2019. The protagonists are Pamela, the grandmother, and Julia, her granddaughter. Julia is uncovering information about her grandmother's time at Bletchley Park, something she did not know about, because Pamela never spoke of what she did during the war. Pamela's life-long friend, and fellow Wren based at Bletchley Park, wrote a diary before she died which Julia is now reading. Julia is intrigued by the mention of an incident involving Pamela, and hopes that the diary will reveal all.

In her own timeline, Julia is a busy working mother whose life is upended when she finds out that people she trusted have deceived her.

I loved this one! I thought it had a compelling plotline, believable and likeable main characters, moved along at a good pace, and had me totally absorbed from the start. I very much enjoyed the Bletchley Park connection, and loved the historical details that were dropped into Pamela's story.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Girl from Bletchley Park and the history behind the story has me wanting to jump on a plane and visit this historic place.

Pam is recruited to work for Bletchley Park where they all sign the Official Secrets Act and are working tirelessly to end the war.

The locals know its more than it appears to be but no one really knows what they are doing.

I cheered with Pam and her friend Clarissa, laughed with them and cried with them.

I tried warning Pam to no avail when she gets in over her head.

This book is a dual story line and Julia, the granddaughter of Pam, is just finding out what her grandmother did during the war and at the same time her life is being derailed.

Julia must have got her strength from her grandmother.

I loved the tour her and her sons did of Bletchley Park.

Kathleen McGurl draws you in from the first to the final page. I certainly will be looking up her books for future reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ, HQ digital for an informative enjoyable read.

My rating:

Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Writing: 5 out of 5 stars
Character development: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Historical Fiction

Review:

This book tells the story about two women Pam and Julia whose lives have a lot of similarities both women have trust issues and relationship problems with their partners. Written over a dual time line, Pam story takes place in England during the war years from 1942 and Julia’s story is set in present day England. Pam’s story also gave an interesting insight into the war years and the code breaking work that went on at Bletchley Park.

Overall:

This book is beautifully written. It is captivating, and has the right mixture of suspense, mystery and intrigue. The characters are well developed this made them interesting and gave their actions a natural feel to it. The story flows well this makes for a very enjoyable read that captures you from the start. Both time lines are nicely interwoven and concluded at the end of the book.

Review copy provided by Netgalley at no cost to me.

Friends visited Bletchley Park last year so I decided to read this book to see if it came close to their awe of the work that had taken place here.

It truly does. We may all have heard of Alan Turing and the enigma codes but the important work of BP was going on all around them.

Hundreds of the most intelligent young women in the country were plucked from families and friends. They signed the Official Secrets Act and were told they could never tell anyone about the work they were doing.

They didn't. So mothers and grandmothers have lived their lives knowing they shortened WW II by years but telling people, if anyone asked, that they did secretarial work for the MOD.

I loved the way this book was set out with Bletchley Park of the 1940s giving us the story of life then and an insight into some of the work going on, and what life was like for the young people billeted there and at nearby Woburn Abbey.

Alongside we had current day family life with granddaughter trying to piece together the early lives of her deceased grandparents starting with a few old photographs.

A surprisingly (for me) good book.

I really enjoyed this book & the way it was written, splitting narrative between 1940s Pamela & present day Julia.

Julia runs her own business from home whilst looking after her husband (who is resentful for her success) and two teenage sons….. Julias story was a fairly straightforward family day to day struggles and challenges….. it was Pamela’s story that was interesting…..

Pamela is a mathematics genius who at 18 secures a role at Bletchley Park, her chapters were the ones that kept me turning the pages, I enjoyed the descriptions of BP, the work they did there, the dances they attended at Woburn and the relationships formed in the two years she was there.

I would recommend this book & I will read ‘The Lost Sister’ which there is an extract of at the end of This book.

Thank you to the publisher & netgalley for an ARC for an unbiased honest review of this book by Kathleen McGurl

I enjoyed this book but, I’ve only just recently read a book called The Secrets of Bletchley Park and I felt they were a little similar but is to be expected as they are in the same subject. Having said this I enjoyed the dual time-line and as I’m a big fan of Kathleen McGurl’s books this one was a pleasure to read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A dual time line story set in 2009 and the war period of 1942-1945.
It is 1942 and Pamela an extremely bright young woman who has won a place at Oxford to study Mathematics is approached to work at Bletchley Park assisting the war effort with deciphering codes.
It is 1990 and Julia a software developer who owns her own company is a mother and a wife and works from offices in her home. She becomes invested in her grandmother Pamela’s story after her brother finds a box material from their grandmother’s house.
The story takes a while to get into and I really enjoyed the Bletchley Park side of the story. Julia’s life was very predictable and frustrated me at times.
It is an easy read and once I got into it I became intrigued and had to finish the book in one sitting.

After reading the Rose Code earlier this year, I was excited for another book on the same topic. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much, and I think it will suffer for this comparison, but in general it was very good. It was fast paced and exciting, I couldn't put it down. The plot twists were a little obvious, and (mini spoiler alert) the bad guy is so inept he ends up not being all that scary. But the book really makes you feel like living in the WWII era, not just on the deprivation and scary/sad aspects of it but also more focused on the hopefulness of the work at BP and the opportunities for women. One note, although the title did draw my attention to the book, it's not a great title, since Pam is not FROM Bletchley Park.

This book is captivating. It brought tears to my eyes and should be a must read for anyone that loves historical fiction

This dual time line novel- set in 2019 and during WWII- is the story of. Pamela and her grand daughter Julia. Julia doesn't fully understand why her grandmother never talked about her war time service at Bletchley Park but now she's on a quest for details. Pam, who gave up her place at Oxford to work on the Colossus, is the more interesting character, as is so often the case with dual time lines. There are parallels-both women are talented with math and have relationships with men who are, well, not good to them or others. There have been a number of novels centered around the women who worked at Bletchley in recent years. Regrettably this doesn't plow new ground but it's a pleasant read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Absolutely loved this book which was told in two different time periods, One the war years of 1943-1945 and the other in the present. There was lots of suspense and intrigue in both stories and I couldn't wait to rush from one chapter to the next. The story is well written, it's the first book that I have read by this author but I quickly downloaded another two.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of The Girl From Bletchley Park in exchange for my honest review.

This story is set in England and told in dual time line. Julia is in 2019 and her grandmother Pam is in 1943. Julia owns a small company, has two boys, and a husband who is pretty much non existent and very self absorbed. Julia starts unraveling the truth and uncovering the secrets of her grandmothers past when she is bestowed a gift from her brother that belonged to her grandmother Pam.

When we meet Pam she is a gifted high school student. She is about to graduate and head to Oxford in the fall, when she is recruited to work at the highly secret Bletchley Park. I absolutely loved reading about Pam and her time at Bletchley, her life during the war, her friends and her job. I did feel that many of the things that happened and the events that unfolded with Pam were a bit predictable and obvious. I definitely wanted to know more about her and her experiences at Bletchley Park and that specific timeline. I loved the dynamic between Pam and her best friend Clarissa. They had such a sweet and loyal friendship. I was more engaged in Pam’s timeline than Julia’s. This is probably due to the fact that her story arc contained more of the excitement and intrigue. Although the book was a bit predictable it’s definitely an easy and enjoyable read with a little bit of suspense. I recommend this one if your looking for a lighter read in the historical fiction genre.

Pamela Jackson is about to finish school in 1942, she’s extremely smart and she receives an offer to attend Oxford University. She puts this on hold due to the war and Pamela’s interviewed to be a codebreaker at Bletchley Park and she joins the Wrens. Here she meets Clarissa Morton, Norah Clarke, Edwin Denham and Frank Miller. One of the men is extremely friendly and charming to Pamela, and then she begins to have second thoughts about him, his loyalty to England and has he been lying to her?

Julia has been married to Marc for fifteen years, they have two sons and she runs her own IT company. Julia’s busy juggling her work, two children, and their after school actives. Her husband Marc has always been negative about her career, he doesn’t help her with daily tasks at home, and he’s become very distant. Her brother Bob is cleaning out his house, he gives Julia photos of their grandmother and she worked at the English country house called Bletchley Park. Julia’s grandmother never spoke about what she did during the war years, with her being good a maths and languages, and it makes sense to Julia why her grandmother was given the opportunity.

Julia discovers what her grandmother did at Bletchley Park, from having to sign the official secrets act, not being able to speak to anyone about her work, using the huge digital electronic computer called Colossus, and how being able to decipher the German messages, reduced the length of the war by several years. Julia gains strength from her grandmother’s experiences, it helps her deal with the problems in her own life, to keep going during the tough times, and she defiantly takes after her grandmother.

The Girl from Bletchley Park is a dual timeline story about two intelligent women, and I found reading about Bletchley Park fascinating, I liked the two main female characters of Pamela and Julia, and I despised Marc's character. A slightly different writing style and story line to Kathleen McGurl's previous books, a nice change, thanks to NetGalley for my copy, and five stars from me.

The Girl From Bletchley Park by Kathleen McGurl is a marvellous timeslip novel that captivated me from the start.
The story is set in 1943 and present day as a granddaughter slowly uncovers her grandmother’s wartime experiences. A lifetime of keeping secrets means her granddaughter was surprised by her discovery.
Even without having to keep secrets, we see that many characters keep their own. What is hidden will have to surface sooner or later.
We witness betrayal in both time periods. Betrayal hurts especially when it appears as a bolt from the blue. The reader has their suspicions way before the characters do. As we read we can feel the tension rising within us.
Wartime is hard. Losses are felt not just by the characters but by the reader too – I did gasp out loud in one place. Kathleen McGurl is clearly a masterful story-teller as my emotions were completely invested in the book.
War brings a camaraderie. People band together today as tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Wealth and status do not always bring happiness. Family is important. When a family is together, they have riches beyond belief.
All the characters are well drawn and realistic. Most of them are easy to empathise with. The ones who are not are those we are not supposed to be drawn to.
As the novel alternates between the time periods, the reader can clearly see the parallel between the lives of the two main characters.
The Girl From Bletchley Park was a fabulous read. I always love Kathleen McGurl’s novels.
I will leave you with my favourite quote:
“We fight for tomorrow, but live for today.”
I received a free copy from Boldwood via Net Galley. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book and although it was a love story the historical theme was really interesting. The story was told of Pamela, who went to Bletchley Park during the war to help code breaking and her life during that time. It is alternated with the story of Julia, Pamela’s granddaughter, and her struggles in her life in the present day. Without giving any spoilers, we see the massive changes in both their lives. It was lovely to have the historical element to the story and gave a wonderful backdrop. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

The dual timeline of The Girl from Bletchley Park by Kathleen McGurl works well with modern-day Julia's story told against her grandmother Pam's. Pam is the eponymous heroine who worked at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Julia is a woman trying to have it all and wondering why.

I hesitated a few times during the opening chapters but eventually found the book's rhythm and finished it almost in one sitting. The author's style was a little tell-don't-show for my taste but the story moved along well. I found the writing quite stilted at times; it felt as though it might have been written by a non-native speaker of English, although I don't think that is, in fact, the case.

I really enjoyed this. I loved how it featured on one of the lesser known stories to come out of Bletchley and the work on Tunny. I really enjoyed the story and uncovering where it went.

This was a stay-up-late and get-up-early to finish it kind of book! The Girl from Bletchley Park is a dual timeline story which tells the story of Julia in 2019 and Pamela in 1943. Julia is Pamela's granddaughter who is learning - in the midst of a lot of upheaval in her own life - that her grandmother had worked at Bletchley Park as one of the codebreakers during WWII. Both women overcome obstacles and hardships and come out stronger at the end. Highly recommended! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this dual-narrative historical novel about Julia and her grandmother Pamela. Julia struck me as a capable woman juggling many hats: wife, mother, friend, small business owner. In her household, Julia seemed under-appreciated for her home-making, toiling away for little thanks from her two teenaged children and her lackluster husband. What I found immediately appealing about her work ethic and her general demeanour, her family didn't appreciate, and I found myself greatly disliking her husband in particular (who is one nasty, lying piece of work, let me tell you). At the climax of her story, I was in awe of her pride, self-worth and poise in the face of devastation, and I respected her so greatly for it.

On the flip side, I too enjoyed Pamela's narrative as an intelligent young woman chosen to work at Bletchley Park, though i was less inspired by Pamela's journey.

All in all, I felt it was a very solid historical fiction novel that told the story of two very inspiring women.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an early copy of this novel in return for an honest review.