Blog Tour/Book Review: Chasing the Wind by C.C. Humphreys

Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Paperback & eBook; 320 Pages
Genre: Historical/Women's Fiction/Mystery

Synopsis

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.

My Thoughts

I’ve been a fan of C.C. Humphreys ever since I discovered his series of novels set in the 18th century featuring Jack Absolute, the “007 of the 1770s”.

With his latest novel, Chasing the Wind, Humphreys moves forward a few centuries to the 1930s, often referred to as the Golden Age of Flight. The 1930s also saw the Great Depression, and the rise of Fascism and Hitler's growing power in Europe. Humphreys makes use of these historical events to introduce Roxy Loewen, an aviatrix and protégé of Amelia Earhart.

Chasing the Wind is action packed from start to finish. Following Roxy’s dramatic escape from her father’s creditors, there’s no time to catch your breath before she’s off on her next escapade: gun-running into British Somaliland to help the Ethiopian’s cause against Mussolini. She’s only in it for the money. So, when her plans are thwarted by Mussolini’s victory, she agrees to a more lucrative deal: to deliver a painting to Berlin. But first she has to go to Spain to collect it. Events in Spain don’t go well and plans are made to steal an original 16th century painting right from under the noses of the Nazis. The action continues, with a few surprises, to the exciting and heartbreaking conclusion on the final voyage of the Hindenburg.

Roxy is a wonderful heroine; clever and courageous, vulnerable at times, with a reputation for getting into trouble. Her schemes don’t always go according to plan, but by using her wits, and a bit of luck and help from friends, she manages to extricate herself from one dicey situation after another in ways that are totally credible. Her relationship with Jocco is beautifully written. I particularly enjoyed their repartee.

Chasing the Wind is a good old-fashioned adventure story, where love, loss and betrayal play out against a backdrop of historical events. Humphreys brings the era to life with many tiny details and his characters are written in such a way that it is easy to like them, even the villains. Once again I’ve been thoroughly entertained by a C.C. Humphrey’s novel.


Chasing the Wind is available from
Readers Outside Canada: Amazon US
For Canadian readers: Amazon Canada | Chapters-Indigo | iBooks

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!).

For more information, please visit C.C. Humphrey's website. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule
Tuesday, June 5
Interview at Passages to the Past

Thursday, June 7
Review at Reading the Past

Friday, June 8
Excerpt at Books and Glamour

Monday, June 11
Review at A Darn Good Read

Tuesday, June 12
Excerpt at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, June 14
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Tuesday, June 19
Review at Library of Clean Reads

Thursday, June 21
Feature at CelticLady's Reviews
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Friday, June 22
Review & Excerpt at Clarissa Reads it All

Monday, June 25
Review at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, June 26
Review at The Lit Bitch

Giveaway
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.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on June 26th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Chasing the Wind