The Escape Game by Marilyn Turk

In Leeds, England, in World War II, Beryl Clarke has her hands full with volunteering as an Air Raid Precautions warden, her day job, and her grieving mother. When her pilot brother, James, goes missing in action, Beryl worries whether it might be all too much for her mother. Then she finds out that her company, Waddingtons, is secretly making escape kits for prisoners of war hidden inside Monopoly games.

Kenneth Bordelon, flying with an RAF Eagle Squadron for American pilots, is shot down over German-occupied territory and is taken to a POW camp. Bold and fearless, he escapes twice – but is immediately caught. Soon his friend James Clarke also arrives in the camp. With his broken hand, he’s unable to write home, so Kenneth does the honors – and he’s more than willing, considering the crush he had on James’s sister when he was at Oxford. When Beryl’s letters to James begin making cryptic comments about playing Monopoly, the men are confused – until one of the games arrives in a Red Cross package.

A fascinating read! In The Escape Game, Marilyn Turk shows the human cost of war, from harrowing conditions in England to the bleak life of an Allied prisoner of war in Germany. The true tidbits about the ingenious methods of secretly sending escape kits to those POWs make the story even more interesting. Enjoy!