Flying Without Wings

At the close of World War II in Terezín Concentration Camp, 1945 a young Jewish boy, Johan Falkner, overhears a deadly secret about the final legacy of the Third Reich.

Forty years later, in rural England, Matt Buttrick learns of a hidden Nazi rumoured to be living in the area.

Are the two connected? And what is the mysterious treasure that one of two men took from Germany on a flight from an abandoned airfield near Bremen at the end of the war?

The discovery of a body confirms that ruthless people are also searching for this treasure, and the safety of Matt's family may depend on him getting to it first. The only problem is that to do so he will have to talk to the man he holds responsible for the greatest loss in his life, and in doing so confront his broken dream of taking to the skies.

Flying Without Wings

In 1945, after overhearing the evil Kommandant of Terezín Concentration Camp talk about a secret horde of stolen treasure, young prisoner Johan Falkner swears revenge on the fleeing Nazis who have robbed him of so much: his people’s faith, the lives of his sister and father, and his treasured red toy aeroplane.

Forty years later, a hidden war shelter is found underneath an English airfield. In a nearby Berkshire village, Matt Buttrick is still trying to come to terms with the injury that has ruined his life-long dream to be an RAF fighter pilot. When a stranger starts snooping around his local airfield, asking questions about a local pilot, Matt learns of a missing Nazi war criminal living in the area.

As he starts to unearth the secrets that have been hidden away in this sleepy part of rural England for so many years he must make a momentous decision: should he save the man he holds responsible for his father’s death?

Even as he struggles with this choice, Matt finds himself being brought closer to more than just shadows of the past as he learns of a map showing the location of a vast store of riches taken from Jewish prisoners and left in a hidden fortress in 1945 for the inheritors of the Third Reich.

Such secrets are dangerous, though, because other people are also searching for this map, and they will stop at nothing to get it. 

The question both Johan and Matt must ultimately answer is the same: even without wings, is it possible to fly through life’s journey of hopes, dreams and tragedies?

"I enjoyed reading, flying without wings, at times it was uncomfortable reading but then again, given the subject it would never be your cosy novel. This book was different stories woven together, giving each character a different view point on the events occurring throughout the book. I love reading, and I have read many books that have started off good, building interest and then just fizzle out with a bland ending. Paula’s books are never like that, when I have finished reading them I am happy in the knowledge that my time has not been wasted. Paula Wynne is a wonderful and creative writer. I eagerly await her next book." - Bre

"Parts of this book were brilliant. It was rather like reading several short stories, and was rather annoying when a particular story came to an end. Like a cliffhanger in a TV series. However, there was a plot and a satisfactory conclusion." - JayC

"This story was brimming with suspense and vicious violence. From the ghastly Nazi concentration camps, we see the true evil and greed of the Third Reich. Even knowing that they are losing, the perpetrators of the mass murdering of the Jewish people try to hide away their stolen wealth across Europe.
The story jumps between the past and to rural England in the 1980s where all the secrecy, pain and greed come to a head. I highly recommend this story for those WW II lovers that love a tale that keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time." -  Dave Wickenden

"Paula Wynne has given us the feeling of being there. A difficult story to read but important; full of the history and horrors of the holocaust and facts we can never forget. Flying Without Wings is a must-read, somewhat in three distinct parts. Will Johan ever "fly without wings"? The side story of the little red airplane is very representative of life. I was a Canadian, 3 yr old when my father marched to war. At the age of 79 I remember still." - NightReader

Grab sample chapters of Flying Without Wings.