The Way the Crow Flies

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In her highly anticipated new novel, Ann-Marie MacDonald transports readers to a postwar world through the eyes of eight-year-old Madeleine McCarthy. Initially, her family's posting to a quiet air force base near the Canadian-American border feels secure, as she is enveloped in familial love, unaware of her father Jack's hidden secrets. Set in the early sixties, a time marked by optimism from the space race yet overshadowed by Cold War tensions, Madeleine's rich imagination draws us into her life. The base is home to intriguing characters like the unconventional Froehlich family and the enigmatic Mr. March, whose influence over the children becomes a secret burden. Tragedy strikes when a local murder intertwines with global events, forever connecting those involved. As tensions rise within the McCarthy household, Jack faces a dilemma regarding his loyalties, while Madeleine grapples with the complexities of human morality—a lesson that resurfaces twenty years later when the truth and the identity of the killer are pursued again. This novel is compelling and richly layered, showcasing MacDonald's keen insight into the whimsical, absurd, and deeply human aspects of childhood amid a precarious adult world. It serves as both a loving portrayal and a critique of an era, embodying great heart and soaring intelligence.