Signal Moon

Set in Yorkshire in 1943, this WWII novella by Kate Quinn was exclusively written as an Amazon First Reads picks. I'm not a fan of short stories, but with Quinn's name on it, I snapped it up!

Signal Moon weaves in bits of WWII history about Y Stations (intelligence hot spots) and the role some women played in the war while adding an interesting time element between the two main characters. Lily Bains is a young petty officer and signal tracker in the Women's Royal Navy in England whose job is to listen to audio frequencies and messages in the hopes of hearing and relaying German intelligence to the Allies. When she hears a transmission from an American naval officer in trouble, she prepares to help Matt Jackson only to find out his message is coming from the year 2023. 

This novella has given me hope that I can enjoy novellas. With good pacing, a strong connection and banter between Lily and Matt, Quinn doesn't waste any time helping her reader bond with these two characters or learn about the interesting and important work of signal trackers. 

This is a unique concept that blends historical fiction with a touch of time travel. This is a one or two sitting kind of read and is great on its own or as a follow-up to Quinn's The Rose Code which focused on the women code breakers of Bletchley Park.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this title from Amazon.ca and it was given as an Amazon First Read in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Kate Quinn

Genre: Historical Fiction (WWII)

Type and Source: Short Story, eBook, Amazon First Reads

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories

First Published: August 1, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye comes a riveting short story about an impossible connection across two centuries that could make the difference between peace or war.

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.

One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s…2023.

Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link.