Shelly Sanders Bestselling Author of Historical Fiction

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Published by: Harper Perennial
Release Date: January 19, 2027
Pages: 384
ISBN13: 978-0063445345

 
 

Synopsis

From the author of the bestselling Daughters of the Occupation comes a novel based on real-life Russian female aviators and their history-making regiment whose night bombing missions helped defeat the invading German army during World War II.

Marina Raskova, a divorced mother, is known as the “Soviet Amelia Earhart” for her long-distance world records as a flight navigator. In 1941, when the Germans attack her beloved motherland, extending their second front in the East, Marina leaves her position as a flight instructor, determined to create three female aviation regiments within the Red Army Air Force.

In Moscow, Lina Gelman, a third-year Jewish university student, helps dig a trench around the city to impede the advancing Germans. Though she will defend her country in any way, Lina has always wanted to fly—a dream she believed was dead after a disastrous first lesson.

Seventeen-year-old Nadia Popova, an aspiring singer, actress, and pilot, took flying lessons without her parents’ knowledge. When she learns of Marina’s new squadron, she sneaks away from home to enlist.

Orphaned during the Russian Civil War, Dunka Bershanskaya, a flight instructor, has no desire to join the fight. But after hearing Marina on the radio asking women to volunteer for her all-female combat aviation regiment, Dunka changes her mind.

The lives of these women become intertwined when they begin combat flight training under the supervision of Marina Raskova. But tragedy strikes before they enter the fray, jeopardizing the entire regiment.

A triumphant story of unexpected heroes, The Night Witches explores what happens when a group of women choose to defy astonishing odds—and survive.

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Praise

"This is the best kind of historical fiction—compelling, deeply human storytelling that brings a true moment to life."
– Meg Waite Clayton, bestselling author of nine novels, including Typewriter Beach, The Postmistress of Paris, and The Last Train to London

"A gripping, edge-of-the-seat story about a group of Russian women who defied the odds to become a record-breaking regiment of World War Two aviators."
— Gill Paul, International bestselling author of 13 novels including The Secret Wife and The Lost Daughter

"With compassion and insight, Shelly Sanders brings to life a little-known chapter of history that deserves to be remembered."
— Genevieve Graham, USA Today & Canadian Bestselling author of 10 novels including The Secret Keeper and On Isabella Street

"The Night Witches is an impeccably researched tale, bringing to life stories based on the real heroines who swooped down from the sky and terrorized the Nazis… an excellent addition to the bookshelves of readers of WW2 fiction.”
— Donna Jones Alward, author of When the World Fell Silent

“A beautifully written tale of female courage and bravado.”
—Judy Batalion, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Light of Days