Review by Booklist Review
Meacham, author of several best-selling historical novels set primarily in Texas (Titans, 2016), turns to Paris in 1942, where five Americans have been airlifted into France (Operation Dragonfly) to support the Resistance and gather intelligence on the Nazi war effort. The five, led by fashion-designer and artist Bridgette, each have their own assignments and are instructed to remain separate from one another, lest one is captured and, under torture, reveals information about the others. In an audacious plot twist, three of the five encounter two powerful Nazis who are plotting to end Hitler's reign; the Nazis realize that the three are spies but continue to feed them information that could damage Hitler, though the Americans are in the dark about what's happening. Gradually, though, the net closes as the Americans, working under the constant fear of imminent exposure (a perennial theme in Resistance fiction), begin to prompt interest in the wrong places. Meacham ratchets the suspense ever tighter, while providing fascinating backstory on the intrepid five as well as delivering a detail-rich portrait of Paris during the Occupation.--Bill Ott Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this fast-paced and enjoyable WWII espionage tale, Meacham (Roses) takes readers to 1942 Nazi-occupied Paris to follow five American spies as they attempt to gather information to assist Allied and French Resistance forces. Americans Brad, Bridgette, Bucky, Chris, and Victoria have been recruited as spies for the CIA's Office of Special Services. After undergoing rigorous training, the eclectic crew-a professional fencer, a fashion designer, a fly fisherman, the son of a wealthy businessman, and a Texan with German roots-meet for the first time in Paris. The spies, collectively called Dragonfly, find themselves in dangerous situations from the off; communicating in code, they must form their plans in secret as they attempt to blend in to a cold, starving, terrified Paris. Each takes up employment with potential collaborators, working as tutors, listening in at boarding houses, and chatting between casts of a fly-fishing reel for information to send back to the OSS. After Victoria is captured and the others fear their code may be broken, the Dragonfly mission comes apart and all members must fend for themselves. While the set up and ending are both thrilling, the five spies are separated throughout the middle. Their isolation, Meacham's close concentration on each character's particular struggles to survive in isolation, and the drawn-out foreshadowing that one of the spies will be shot slows the momentum leading to the gripping finale. Despite this, Meacham's nail-biting tale will please fans looking for an intricate story of spycraft and deception. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
During World War II, five Americans head to Nazi-occupied France on a secret mission for the OSS, but only four return.Twenty years later, OSS case officer Alistair Renault finds a clue in a history book that the missing member of their group might have survived after all. He flashes back to the beginning of the operation, when he first assembled the team he dubbed "Dragonfly"three men and two women who were chosen for their special skills and secret connection to the war. The five recruits bond in training, but once on their mission, they split up to avoid being caught by the enemy and communicate by making marks on a mural painted on the courtyard wall of a convent. Their cover stories offer surprising glimpses of daily life for the French and their German occupiers. (And a character list at the beginning of the book helps keep their real names and aliases straight.) Christoph Brandt, a track-and-field coach who couldn't be drafted to the American military due to his missing thumb, learns firsthand how the Hitler Youth are taught to bully. He ingratiates himself with the Nazis by tutoring the son of the head of the Abwehr German intelligence agency in France. But the Nazis won't be fooled for long. Civil engineer Samuel "Bucky" Barton risks being discovered by Christoph's old friend from his hometown who betrayed his country to join the Third Reich. Working side by side with the enemy, the Americans are surprised to learn that some of the Nazis are not what they seem. Tired, disillusioned, and looking for redemption, they blur the line between friend and foe, giving Dragonfly both a way into the organization and a way out of the war.Complex, epic, and rich in historical detailan uplifting story of finding friendship behind enemy lines. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
