Churchill's Secret Messenger: A WW2 Novel of Spies & the French Resistance

A bit unexpected, as far as I am concerned. Definitely not your typical period novel. The drama builds throughout the story. I do not recall any other stories or movies quite like this!

This is of course about the war and some of the secret agents who helped get the Nazis out of France--so heavy duty at times about torture, concentration camps, etc. BUT well written and very worth the read and even a bit of a romance...

Book started out good but lost interest in it due to the many different things that were going on (in the book).

Excellent book. Moves quickly and hard to put down.

Anyone interested in World War II history, especially as it unfolded in Britain and France, will find Alan Hlad's novel , "Churchill's Secret Messenger" well researched and, for the most part, a satisfying read until its final chapters. Rose Teasdale, a composite of several heroic Englishwomen mentioned by name in the author's source notes, is parachuted into Nazi occupied France as part of the British effort to establish a support system for the French Resistance. Having lost her brother, shot down over the English Channel, and both her parents during the London blitz, she is determined to see the Nazis defeated regardless of any cost to herself. A small woman, she survives the training course as much by her wits as by her physical abilities, which are challenged. With her fluent French, she assumes the role of a bicycling cosmetic saleswoman as her cover.While the narrative is at times riveting, it is also predictable from beginning to end, becoming a question of not if, but when and who will be captured and who will escape, who will survive torture, imprisonment and the concentration camps and who does not.Moreover, it is the writing itself that is too often flawed, with repetitive phrases:( "the hair stood up on the back of her neck" by my count appearing eight times; it might be more) and with the use of inappropriate words at the wrong time. Rose endures unimaginable fear and hardships, some self inflicted, many times directly involving her stomach in extreme ways, yet the author rarely if ever uses the word "stomach" or "gut" when describing her suffering, but rather childish and minimizing words such as her "tummy" or "belly." It is jarring when the circumstances are intense. In a concentration camp,Rose is asked to take a letter from a dying mother to her child, and Rose collects the paper from cigarette butts to take it down, with each scrap numbered for later reconstruction. The letter, when eventually read to the child, goes on for paragraphs, in heartfelt prose unlikely to have been dictated by one in extremis and at a length that would have required more than a carton's worth of cigarette butts.In it's final chapters, mawkishly drawn out when the outcome is never in doubt, absurdities abound. Spoiler alert: Rose desperately seeks to reunite with someone who works for a Paris newspaper, La Chronique. It is September 5, 1945 a hectic newsday when the Japanese surrender is taking place and the meeting is inconclusive. She returns to the newspaper offices later, "after business hours" to find the building dark and the entrance door locked. When does any newspaper ever close up and lock its doors, especially on the most newsworthy day in half a decade?If one can get past nonsense such this, the reader will find it to be both a somber yet exciting read.

I really liked this book. Great story and wonderful characters. I was on the edge of my seat.

I couldn't put this book down! I am fascinated by the bravery of those who fought against the Nazis and, this book delivers. It is so well written and filled with information I wasn't aware of. (I actually googled the battle of Jericho and found out that really happened!) I look forward to reading more from this author.

If this book is not true history, it is indeed plausible and tells a spellbinding story. I know many of the locales mentioned and Allan Glad does a great job of describing what the civilians suffered and how brave the resistance fighters and British SS were in WW2.

I highly recommend this book. Although there were horrific parts with information about the Nazis and how they killed so many people there were heroes who fought to get rid of them and save prisoners.

the quality of the book is so poor, request refund.

I really enjoyed this book. Often couldn't put it down but tried to leave some for the next day. Highly recommend.

Much better books around written about wwii/espionage. It’s also quite boring.There are far too many americanisms in this book to say it’s about an English spy and the French resistance!!This author should stick to writing about Americans not Europeans. An expensive book for what it delivers.

Shows the true horrors committed by Germany during WWII. Brings alive the magnificent service of the SOE and the Resistance movement.