Customer Reviews

Roseanna's Reply

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I was contacted by Frank Johnson and asked if I'd like to review his World War 2 historical novel, Roseanna's Reply. Since it's a genre I normally enjoy, I decided that it might be a good recreational read. As I believe this is his first novel (at least I didn't find any others on Amazon, but I could be wrong), I wasn't expecting great things. Add in the 566 pages of the book, and I wondered if I had perhaps made a mistake in accepting the book. But much to my surprise and amazement, Johnson pulled off an excellent writing job. And even though books of this length usually have me wishing the writing was a bit tighter, at no time was I tempted to start skimming material to get to the end.

The book takes place in 1942, when the air war between Germany and England is still very much up for grabs. The English and American commands are looking for a better fighter that can both perform in a dogfight *and* travel as escort to long-range bombers into Germany. Without the escort capabilities, the bombers are taking much more damage than they are able to inflict. North American Aviation, run by Dutch Kendall, is trying to create a new fighter by taking the body of the Mustang and fitting it with the Merlin engine for better performance. Their enemies aren't only the German spies, but other companies in the US who want their own piece of the fighter market.

Dutch's daughter, Roseanna Kendall, is a stellar, headstrong pilot who is ferrying aircraft around North America for the war effort. But what she *really* longs to do is to fly combat missions. Her life almost comes to an end when she's forced to ditch an aircraft in the snowy wilderness of Canada during a trip. But she's rescued by a equally competent and mysterious bush pilot named Waldo. Never having had much use for friends, Roseanna finds herself drawn to Waldo, in part because of his flying skills, and also because he seems to be hiding a background that hints of war time heroism and combat missions. She's able to convince her father to hire him at North American Aviation in California as a test pilot, and he also takes on the task of turning Roseanna from a stubborn flier into a top-notch combat pilot. Dutch feels this will benefit her as he grooms Roseanna to take over the company some day. But she is still harboring hope that somehow she can one day go head-to-head with enemy planes during real aerial engagements.

One day when Waldo and Dutch's son Jeremy are on their way to work, their car is deliberately run off the road in an attempt to kill Jeremy and slow down progress on the new fighters. Dutch is able to get a military investigator to look into the incident, and it quickly becomes apparent that there truly is an espionage element to the accident. But since they can't find an internal leak, it's hard to tell if this was a one-time incident or whether the rest of the Kendall family (including Roseanna) remains at risk. Roseanna is falling for Spencer, the investigator, and the two try and figure out what would be proper vs. what would make them both happy.

Without going into much more plot detail (to avoid giving out too much of the story-line), the story works its way through to the conclusion of the war and retribution for Jeremy's injury. Only in the last few pages do you find out exactly how the title fits into the story-line, but suffice it to say that it works out very well.

Aviation buffs will really get into this book. There is a ton of technical detail about planes and aviation, and I would assume that someone into World War 2 fighters would be unable to put the book down. What most impressed me about this book was the dialogue. Realistic interaction between characters is not an easy chore, and I find that first-time novelists usually don't do well with it. Roseanna's Reply is a major exception to the rule. The character development is solid, and *all* the characters carry their weight and contribute to the story. Yes, you could have done this book in 300 pages or so, but I certainly didn't see a need to trim it down. The plot and action flowed, the pacing was right, and I looked forward each night to picking it back up to see where things would go.

When this book makes it to Amazon or the local bookstore, it would be one that I'd definitely recommend. It's not something you'll finish in a day or two, but the time you spend with Roseanna and cast will be well-spent and enjoyable.

With ROSEANNA'S REPLY, author Frank Johnson has deftly crafted a story with a little bit of something for everyone: romance, espionage, aerial combat, murder, righteous retribution, airplane technology, aviation history, Hollywood glamour, a beautiful and strong-willed heroine, and a skilled and steadfast hero. And, if you're a war bird enthusiast, it is, above all, about one of the most iconic aircraft ever to fly - the P-51 Mustang.

In the free-wheeling style of an aerial dogfight, Johnson takes us from Canada to Southern California to England to Mexico to Germany in a storyline piloted by his heroine, Roseanna Kendall, the headstrong daughter of the (here) fictional president of North American Aviation, the company that (in fact) designed and built the P-51, and Waldo, the crack bush pilot that rescues Roseanna from a Canadian crash site and who ultimately accepts an offer to work for her Dad at company headquarters in Los Angeles, where the Mustang is being fine-tuned for its insertion into the air war over the Third Reich.

It should be noted here that, in the hands of Johnson, the Waldo character is an extrapolation of the one played by Robert Redford in a Big Screen production released in 1975 (and relatively unavailable for viewing today). As I understand it, Frank was unable to make the connection explicit in the absence of permission from the studio that owns the film. However, there are hints in the narrative that can be discovered with attentive reading.

A flyer himself, though he leisurely putters through the Central California air in a slow-moving biplane, Johnson's volume is a work of love dedicated to the sleek and deadly P-51. (One needs only to gaze upon a gleaming, restored Mustang to understand why.) As a debut novel, ROSEANNA'S REPLY is a notable achievement and a satisfying read involving a multitude of personae both fictional and real.

And I especially like, on the back of the dust jacket, the yellow swoosh added to the silhouette image of the female model to resemble a wind-blown flying scarf. Classy!

So, Frank, when are you penning a tale built around the B-17? This fan wants to know.

Frank Johnson's first novel, Roseanna's Reply, is a very engrossing World War II adventure/mystery. Without going into the details of this multi-dimensional story, Roseanna's Reply revolves around Dutch Kendall's North American Aviation company's efforts to develop a better performing aircraft, Kendall's strong-willed daughter, Roseanna, who shares her father's love of aviation and is determined to fly combat missions, and the mystery around the plot to disrupt the aircraft's production. For a first-time novelist Johnson expertly weaves the extensive research he did on aviation in general and the P-51 Mustang in particular into a story that is in part a story of WWII adventure, murder mystery, family, friendship and of a young woman with ambitions well beyond those of most women of her generation. Further, Johnson shows a strong ability to create very realistic, credible characters; and the character of Roseanna Kendall is likely to stay in your memory long after you finish the book. Not being a flying buff, the only criticism I had with Roseanna's Reply is that it was a little too heavy for my taste in the amount of detailed, technical information provided on aircraft and aviation. However, I expect those more heavily into flying will "eat up" this information and have it strengthen their enjoyment of the book. Johnson has written a very entertaining, attention-holding book that deserves a wide reader audience. Please don't let the fact that this book has been unpromoted to-date sway you from reading a tale that warrants the readership of discerning readers.

This novel is so incredibly complex that I scarcely know where to begin. The principal characters are Roseanna Kendell, Waldo Spicer and Marion Spencer, though there are numerous other significant characters that appear throughout the novel. As you might guess, Roseanna provides the basis for the title of the book.

The backbone of this novel is the development of the P-51 Mustang, which many people consider the best fighter of World War II (this aircraft performed so well that it saw action in military roles into the 1960's). Roseanna's father runs North American Aviation, the maker of the P-51. Waldo enters Roseanna's life when she crashes into a lake in Canada while performing fighter ferry duty.

Then there is Marion Spencer, a former FBI agent who just graduated from bomber flight school (technically with one week left to go - but he did graduate). General Hap Arnold drafts Spencer into performing an investigation for Dutch Kendell, Roseanna's father. General Arnold wants Spencer to find out whether a car wreck involving Roseanna's brother and Waldo was an accident, or deliberate. Initially, Spencer thinks it is likely that the car wreck was an accident; it takes Spencer little time to realize the "accident" was anything but.

Much of the book is devoted to the investigation. However, to focus on the investigation would shortchange the rest of this epic novel. Author Johnson connects activities at Rechlin, Germany to development of the P-51. Johnson treats us to visits at Hearst Castle and a Japanese internment camp. We visit numerous other locations in California, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, with a few other miscellaneous locations thrown in for good measure. There is a lot of flying of different aircraft. We also get a smattering of historical events to ground this novel in the era. I am probably missing a lot, but you get the general idea.

As a side note, look toward the end of the book to find out what "Roseanna's Reply" means.

Note that this novel is not really a war novel or military fiction as some people describe this genre. Yes, there are military elements in the story, but the focus is mostly on civilians and civilian activities.

I am tempted to compare Johnson to Tom Clancy because of the careful detail Johnson provides. However, Johnson focuses more on the story and less on detail than Clancy. While detail can help ground a novel, excessive focus on detail indicates a possible weakness in storytelling, and Johnson tells a good story.

I rarely talk about the quality of physical books, unless the quality is poor. I was amazed at the construction of "Roseanna's Reply." I do not know the various types of binding, but the binding seems top notch. The cover looks like the quality of a textbook. This book looks to me like it will last for generations.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a lot of detail about flying airplanes, especially the P-51 Mustang, and if you like mysteries, you will find that this book is well written and enjoyable. If you enjoy Tom Clancy's books and you like the P-51, I believe you will probably like this story. Put this story into a high quality product and you have a book to pass on to your children.

Enjoy!

Roseanna's Reply

I got this book by chance. I love historical fiction that is thouroghly researched. That Frank Johnson did a LOT of research is obvious. The story of the development of the P51 Mustang along side the story of the family of the owner of the company designing and building the aircraft is remarkable. It has many plots with twists and turns that are so exciting, I had a hard time setting it down. It is a great accomplishment, so very unlikely for a 1st time author.

I've spent a whole carreer in engineering and naval combat systems, and was truly impressed with the interesting way Frank wound the story of the P51 around the great and interesting lives of so many people involved in it's development. The great Waldo Pepper plays a key role, giving us a look into his 'lost years'.

There's international politics, espionage, history, technical details, murder, love, and high flying adventure all in one book.

Most highly recommended!

Reading Roseanna's Reply was best put by one of the critics on the back of the book itself. "Reading Roseanna's Reply is like taking a drink of water from a fire hydrant."-Jim Lovell That very much sums this novel up! My wife got this book for me for Christmas and from the time I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It is a fictional novel that takes place during WWII that takes you basically all over the world. The story revolves around North American Aviation and their development of the P-51 Mustang and the co-product between the U.S. and Britain that revolutionized that aircraft. With factual and fictional characters, the story line was nothing short of entertaining all the way to the end. I really liked the character who was based from the movie, The Great Waldo Pepper, I thought it was neat how the author of this novel took the ending of that movie and carried the character on through this book! I give a big Thumbs Up to the author and this is a must read for every aviation enthusiast.

Frank must have burned a lot of midnight oil in researching the material for this book, not to mention the time it took to write and publish it. Although it is not a true history book, it is based on a lot of factual information. The only suggestion I would have made would have been for a more descriptive title. I'm sure many airplane buffs would buy it and enjoy it if they knew more of what it is about. There is nothing in the title to suggest that it is a magnificent representation of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane all the way from concept to it's stellar performance in World War Two. This is in addition to the story of a female pilot that many lady pilots would love to read about.

Hopefully, Frank will publish it again under a title that gives more of a clue to the content.

They say, "You can't tell a book by it's cover", but people will try, so a little hint might help.

It is a great book.