Churchill's secret messenger

Alan Hlad

Book - 2021

"Recruited from Churchill's typing pool to become an undercover spy in German-occupied France, a young woman from London bravely endures daring missions, audacious escapes, and harrowing imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp, risking everything for the country--and the man--she loves. London, 1941: In a cramped bunker in Winston Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms, underneath Westminster's Treasury building, civilian women huddle at desks, typing up confidential documents and reports. Since her parents were killed in a bombing raid, Rose Teasdale has spent more hours than usual in Room 60, working double shifts, growing accustomed to the burnt scent of the Prime Minister's cigars permeating the stale air. Winning the ...war is the only thing that matters, and she will gladly do her part. And when Rose's fluency in French comes to the attention of Churchill himself, it brings a rare yet dangerous opportunity. Rose is recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret British organization that conducts espionage in Nazi-occupied Europe. After weeks of grueling training, Rose parachutes into France with a new codename: Dragonfly. Posing as a cosmetics saleswoman in Paris, she ferries messages to and from the Resistance, knowing that the slightest misstep means capture or death. Soon Rose is assigned to a new mission with Lazare Aron, a French Resistance fighter who has watched his beloved Paris become a shell of itself, with desolate streets and buildings draped in Swastikas. Since his parents were sent to a German work camp, Lazare has dedicated himself to the cause with the same fervor as Rose. Yet Rose's very loyalty brings risks as she undertakes a high-stakes prison raid, and discovers how much she may have to sacrifice to justify Churchill's faith in her..."--Provided by publisher.

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Subjects
Genres
Historical fiction
War fiction
Spy fiction
Published
New York, NY : John Scognamiglio Books, Kensington Publishing Corp [2021]
Language
English
Main Author
Alan Hlad (author)
Item Description
Includes author's note and a reading group guide.
Physical Description
406 pages ; 21 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781496728418
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The Special Operations Executive (SOE), Britain's WWII unit that sent spies into Nazi-occupied France, has been the subject of many recent historical thrillers, several of which have focused on women operatives. Add this one to an impressive list that includes Cara Black's Three Hours in Paris (2020) and Susan Elia MacNeal's The Paris Spy (2017). Drawing on historical material, Hlad concocts an appealing and exciting story involving the recruitment of a typist, Rose Teasdale, working in Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms, to train for the SOE and parachute into France. Working with two fellow SOE agents, Rose, code-named Dragonfly, becomes a courier, ferrying information to a real-life French Resistance group called Physician. Soon, she is participating in Resistance bombings, often working with Lazare Aron, with whom she falls in love. Hlad does a nice job of intertwining the romance and action stories, treating both realistically and largely without melodrama. The early parts of the novel, detailing Rose's work in the below-ground War Rooms and her encounters with Churchill, prove every bit as compelling as the behind-the-lines drama. Good reading for both WWII and romance fans.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.