Book Title: Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphreys
Category: Adult Fiction, 320 pages
Genre: Historical/Women's Fiction/Mystery
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (This book contains f-bombs, profanity, sex scenes and violence)
Book Description:
Smuggler. Smoker. Aviatrix. Thief. The dynamic Roxy Loewen is all these things and more, in this riveting and gorgeous historical fiction novel for readers of Paula McLain, Roberta Rich, Kate Morton and Jacqueline Winspear.
You should never fall in love with a flyer. You should only fall in love with flight. That's what Roxy Loewen always thought, until she falls for fellow pilot Jocco Zomack as they run guns into Ethiopia. Jocco may be a godless commie, but his father is a leading art dealer and he's found the original of Bruegel's famous painting, the Fall of Icarus. The trouble is, it's in Spain, a country slipping fast into civil war. The money's better than good--if Roxy can just get the painting to Berlin and back out again before Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring and his Nazi pals get their hands on it...
But this is 1936, and Hitler's Olympics are in full swing. Not only that, but Göring has teamed up with Roxy's greatest enemy: Sydney Munroe, an American billionaire responsible for the death of her beloved dad seven years before. When the Nazis steal the painting, Roxy and Jocco decide that they are just going to have to steal it back. What happens when Icarus flies too close to the sun? Roxy is going to find out. From African skies to a cellar in Madrid, from the shadow cast by the swastika to the world above the clouds on the Hindenburg's last voyage, in the end Roxy will have just two choices left--but only one bullet.
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani
What an adventure this book was! With a title that aptly suits the story and a bold and courageous aviatrix heroine, there was not a dull moment. From New York City to Africa, Spain, Nazi-Berlin and finally the Hindenburg Zeppelin, we follow Roxy Loewen as she and her lover Jocco Zomack chase after Bruegel's famous painting, the Fall of Icarus. The stakes are high, and Roxy discovers just how high as she plunges forward into a dangerous game with dangerous people.
Roxy is a compelling character. She's rough around the edges. She smokes like a chimney, swears like a sailor, smuggles guns and takes dangerous risks. She pushes herself to the limit. Deep down, she is in pain, suffering from the loss of her father who died because of Sydney Munroe, an American billionaire to whom her father owed debts. So when her paths cross Munroe's over and over and she has the opportunity to outwit him, she doesn't hesitate. There's a soft side to her, however, a kindness and vulnerability, and it's this that balances out her character to make her quite unforgettable, as I'm sure real pilot women like her of the 30s were.
This novel is well-written, and easily transported me to the WWII time period. It's evident the author researched well. The whole time I was reading this book, I could see it as a movie in my mind. The story has the feel of a noir fiction. If you're looking for a romantic book, this is not it. If you love historical fiction set in the 30s with strong female characters and a plot that doesn't shy away from high risks and consequences for its players, then this one will not disappoint.
Filled with vivid flying scenes, lust for adventure, Nazi fervor and the Hindenburg disaster, Chasing the Wind explores one woman's life as she chooses to follow her heart even if it leads her to places from which she can never return.
Disclosure: Thanks to HFVBT for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
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| This is the Canadian cover which I like better than the American version, although both suit the story quite well. |
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Praise for Chasing the Wind
"A barrel-rolling barn-burner of a book! Roxy's got a tender heart with a steel jacket, and the skill and courage to bring her in on a wing and a prayer. A good thing, because this girl doesn't pack a parachute." —Diana Gabaldon
"Chasing the Wind has everything a historical fiction reader could want. The suspense is wonderful; the writing is sure and confident; and the dialogue is witty and fast paced. I was completely engrossed from the very beginning." —Roberta Rich, author of The Midwife of Venice
"Flying on the wings of Humphreys's vivid imagination, spunky aviatrix Roxy Loewen soars from Ethiopia to Madrid as the Spanish Civil War rages, and to Berlin and Hitler's Olympics, where she contends against the Nazi elite in a struggle to retrieve a stolen sixteenth century painting. A hold-on-to-your-seats aerial display with the throttle open all the way." —William Deverell, author of the Arthur Beauchamp series
About the Author:
Chris (C.C.) Humphreys was born in Toronto, lived till he was seven in Los Angeles, then grew up in the UK. All four grandparents were actors, and since his father was an actor as well, it was inevitable he would follow the bloodline. Chris has performed on stages from London’s West End to Hollywood in roles including Hamlet, Caleb the gladiator in NBC's AD-Anno Domini', Clive Parnell in ‘Coronation Street’, PC Richard Turnham in 'The Bill', the Immortal Graham Ashe in ‘Highlander’, Jack Absolute in 'The Rivals' (This performance led to him writing the Jack Absolute novels – and they say acting doesn’t pay!). Bizarrely, he was also the voice of Salem the cat in ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’.
A playwright, fight choreographer and novelist, he has written eleven adult novels including ‘The French Executioner’, runner up for the CWA Steel Dagger for Thrillers; ‘The Jack Absolute Trilogy’; ‘A Place Called Armageddon’; ‘Shakespeare’s Rebel’ and the international bestseller, ‘Vlad – The Last Confession’. He also writes for young adults, with a trilogy called The Runestone Saga and ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’. The sequel, ‘The Hunt of the Dragon’, was published Fall 2016. His recent novel ‘Plague’ won Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. The sequel, ‘Fire’ is a thriller set during the Great Fire, published Summer 2016. Both novels spent five weeks in the top ten on 2016’s Globe and Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller lists.
His new novel is ‘Chasing the Wind’ about 1930’s aviatrix – and thief! – Roxy Loewen, will be published in Canada and the USA in June 2018. Several of his novels are available as Audiobooks - read by himself! Find him here at
Audible. He is translated into thirteen languages. In 2015 he earned his Masters in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of British Columbia. Chris now lives on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, with his wife, son and cat, Dickon (who keeps making it into his books!).
Connect with C.C. Humphrey: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads
Giveaway:
ends at 11:59pm EST on June 26, 2018
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a copy of the short story, The Birth of Jack Absolute by C.C. Humphreys! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
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Chasing the Wind
