The Flight of Flamingo

Set between the years 1920 and 1945, this is the saga of the Kirkland family, the manufacturers of the first flying boat. Leone Kirkland, who inherits the business from her father, finds herself caught in the middle of a family feud involving her lover, which will only be resolved by World War II. Elizabeth Darrell has also written "The Jade Alliance", "The Gathering Wolves", "At the Going Down of the Sun" and "And in the Morning".

The lives of three strong-willed protagonists are intertwined in this thickly plotted romance that begins in pre-WW II England. Leone Kirkland, 13, initially is aghast when her dynamic, arrogant father, head of Kirkland Marine Aviation, announces that orphaned teenager Kit Anson, the son of an alcoholic former employee, will henceforth be part of their wealthy family. Leone instantly falls in love with the intelligent and fearless Kit, who becomes a test pilot for the firm. When Leone's malevolent brother dies, Warren Grant replaces him as the firm's chief designer, and the trio of Leone, Warren and Kit weave through a series of emotionally charged relationships that are never satisfactorily resolved because the original mystery--Why was Kit taken into the family?--becomes more pressing as time goes on. The seaplane Flamingo is the firm's stellar creation, and its potential for both military and commercial use keeps Kit, Leone and Warren in a continued skirmish of goals and ambitions. Although the chronic misunderstanding becomes exasperating and supporting characters are mere cameos, the author of And in the Morning keeps the plot humming and, with some degree of skill, does not tip her hand until the last page.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Before World War II, Kirkland Marine Aviation dominates the British aircraft industry's development of "flying boats" to transport cargo and passengers. The deaths of her father and brother leave Leone Kirkland a wealthy heiress. A novice at business, Leone soon abandons the male Kirklands' ruthlessness and deception. Leone's infatuation with Kit Anson, a brilliant but impoverished pilot who had worked for her father, intertwines lives of Kirklands and Ansons to form a complex narrative web that relies heavily on "fate" to advance plot.The obsession of men for flying machines detracts from the consideration of human relationships Darrell demonstrated in earlier novels, such as At the Going Down of the Sun (LJ 1/85). Even the aerial acrobatics of World War II cannot substitute for compelling characters to hold readers' attention.
-Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.