Customer Reviews

Crossing By Night (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a refreshing change of pace both as to the historical setting and the main characters. I have to agree with a prior review that some parts do stretch credulity but that is the nature of fiction. However, historical innacuracies can be jarring: they alert the reader to read more carefully and thus detract from the fun of reading the story itself. One would not expect to see rumrunners off New York in July, 1935, nearly two years after repeal. And if George VI ascended the throne of Britain in late March, 1937, who filled in from December, 1936 when Edward VIII abdicated? Neither of these examples is essential to the story, but littering the story with this sort of thing does detract from it. Still, a good read.

I was not familiar with the story of Elizabeth Pack, so I was continually wondering how closely it followed history. Believability was stretched in the recruitment of Elizabeth, but overall, a good, solid read.

I'll tell you the saving grace of this book, and it is simply this: when you're finished with the book, you will find yourself thinking about Elizabeth Pack days afterward. The book isn't incredibly great, and you can tell that it's written by a man, but reading about bravery is always a great thing. I thought it was quite hilarious that the author insistently speaks about Elizabeth's "scent," if you know what I mean...I mean, I started to think the girl must be incredibly smelly. I also don't care much at all about history, and therefore got the names and titles of many of the officers and soldiers mixed up throughout the book, but luckily there was always enough love story going on throughout the book to keep me going. Hey, I finished it, and learned a bit in the process. I'd recommend it as a quirk read.

I enjoyed reading this book but kept expecting more from it. And I kept wondering where the title came from. There didn't seem to be any "Crossing by Night" that I found (unless it's the final train ride out of Poland?). I had never heard the story of Elizabeth Pack and did not know what to expect. The jacket descrption lead me to expect more that what was delivered. While there were some great scenes toward the end (smuggling the Bombe out of Poland) I had to wonder, like some of the other reviewers, how much was real and how much was fiction. Some of it seemed hard to believe that a women could or would do in the late 1930's. And running around the rail yard in Germany in a cocktail dress and heals just seemed down right fiction! Maybe she really did do that, but you can't tell because the author takes a lot of liberty with the facts.

It was a fun book to read and I would recommend it if you're not looking for historical facts. As others have pointed out, there are a few mistakes that do not make or break the story, but it makes you wonder how well the non-fiction portion of the story line was researched by the author. I'm glad I got the book from the library and didn't actually buy it.

This was not the blockbuster action book I was looking for. It is just another in the crowed field of World War Two historical fiction. With so many books out there this one just does not rise to the top of the class. I do questions some of the proposed facts, that they may be closer to the author's imagination. Don't get me wrong; the story was ok and different from the normal in the class. The writing was good and the author does keep the book moving for the most part. It just did not grab the reader.

Ok if I didn't read Aaron's other book I wouldn't have read another one after reading this. First his over drama with the heorine gets one to the point of thinking "Is this woman nuts?"
It makes the British SIS seem like a bunch of goofballs and it's a miracle then did anything. It would have been nice to have read the book without hearing how every male wanted to sleep with Mrs. Pack or how she wanted to vice-versa. If I didn't know better I would think she's a nympho.

SPOILER WARNING:
She has affairs left and right and meanwhile it gives her husbanda stroke. He writes about a German Lt. who angsts over his assignment and then kills him (but of course he's got to think how beautiful the heorine is). The use of Churchill was a waste and sterotypical.

"Crossing by Night" is David Aaron's best book. It tells the sotry of Elizabeth Pack, codenamed "Cynthia" by the British Secret Service. She becomes the American wife of a career-minded diplomat, and then she becomes a spy for her husband's country. Elizabeth makes some bad choices along the way, but eventually finds herself with a Polish count who could be the key to stopping the Germans. Soon, Elizabeht and the Count risk their lives to help crack the Enigma, while they become close in a forbidden love affair. Our heroine triumphs in the end, as she is honored by King George VI. The thrills don't stop once they start at page 50 or so.