WASP Sting

By: Lee A. Sweetapple

Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso

Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

WASPs, Women Airforce Service Pilots, are some of the unsung heroes of World War II. Few have heard their story...until now.

Thriller author and military veteran Lee A. Sweetapple blends historical research with heart-pounding intrigue in this stellar spy adventure.

Trudy Andrich, a brave WASP, has been instructed to sneak behind enemy lines and rescue a scientist and his world-changing research. Her bosses at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) just know she's the woman for the job. On her way to Lithuania, she meets Major Rod Jackson, a war hero of the Dieppe Raid. The two will face Gestapo agents and more-surprising opponents as they work to return the scientist into Allied territory.

Deep in the field, Trudy will need to call on all her aviation and OSS training for this difficult mission. But what far-reaching implications do her actions have for the battles ahead?

Trudy Andrich is doing all she can to help the war effort as the Allied and Axis powers clash across the Atlantic and Pacific. As a Woman Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), Trudy is one of the most knowledgeable flyers of the P-51 Mustang. She is in full command of one of the fastest airplanes ever made, but she is forbidden from going into combat because of her gender.

Trudy is shocked when her dream of going to the front lines is fulfilled. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) needs a pilot to sneak into German-occupied Lithuania and rescue a professor whose work could have international implications. But first, Trudy will have to get there.

As Trudy crosses the US and Canada with her handsome traveling partner, Major Rod Jackson, she sees the many different ways Americans and Canadians are helping on the home front. Her new base of operations in Duxford, England, will also give her a front-row seat to the violent, deadly aerial battles of the European theater.

Trudy is determined to fight to protect the Allies, but will she make it out of her first operation alive?

©2016 Lee A. Sweetapple (P)2018 Lee A. Sweetapple

AGreat Read!

It was a very thrilling story. Well narrarated! And intriguing. Many twists and surprises. A good read.

A historical education via an adventure story....

Wasp Sting is a historical fiction story based on actual organizations and events that occurred during the Second World War and the Women AirForce Service Pilots. These women, members of what's been called The Greatest Generation, not only did their part for the war effort but they did in in the hazardous field of flight!

This setting provides the background for the adventures of the female main character: Trudy Andrich, ace pilot and a trained "behind the lines" operative. You get a clear story, with good flow and supporting characters that give you a picture of the world in which Trudy and her peers of the time lived. Lee writes with first hand experience of what its like to be at the controls of a P-51 Mustang and one need only engage one's imagination but slightly to feel to be actually flying one!

The storyline keeps things moving, with nice descriptions of places and persons which help the listener picture events as Trudy did during the adventure. The twists and turns the story takes near the end will most likely surprise the listener, Lee Sweetapple tries and is definitely not predictable in terms of plot twists. All this adds up to a book that doesn't take long to enjoy, will entertain you and give you an idea of the women of the W.A.S.P during the second world war.

Average

This book was decent, possibly even historically accurate. However, I felt like the author was trying too hard to “subtly” teach the reader about WW2 aircraft and such. It made listening to the story difficult, especially when the listener/reader is familiar with it. The story also ends abruptly- I wanted to see what happened when she reunited with the guy she was going to date before she left the US for her mission. I was a bit sad to not hear about that. Also, I felt the narrator was holding her breath as she talked because she focused on enunciating so much. These are just my opinions... overall I would say the book is average. There are others I could read/listen to over and over again.