The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein

genre: historical fiction

Louisa is alone in a world at war.  With both of her parents gone and too young to join up, she takes a position helping an elderly woman make her way from England to Northern Scotland.  Once there, she settles in in a village near a RAF airbase and it isn't long before Louisa finds herself surrounded by young pilots who risk their lives to protect Britain and its citizens.  Soon, Louis is inadvertently caught up in an intelligence operation with a German operative and she falls in deep.  In a Scottish pub and on a Scottish airbase, the course of the war could change, if Louisa is brave enough to do what must be done.

I truly loved the two other books I've read in this series and this is a bit of a prequel, based on one of the ancillary characters.  I didn't like this one quite as much, but there are many tender and exciting bits, I did get a little teary at one point and the characters are interesting and complicated.  I wanted a tiny bit more romance and because I've already read a lot about the real enigma, I had to actively suspend my disbelief maybe more than other readers.  But the story really does work well in the historical context and I appreciated that Louisa is half-Jamacian, her color and life experience made her an intriguing character.  Elizabeth Wein really does a fine job.