Gripping Story of Undercover Female Agents in WWII
4.5 stars rounded up to 5. This is a fictionalized account of a group of undercover women used to support the resistance in World War II in France. The story follows three women in alternating chapters with alternating perspectives. Eleanor Trigg, originally an immigrant from Poland, is living in London in 1944, seeking citizenship, and working as a secretary for the director of Special Operation Executive (SOE). During a meeting where leaders of SOE are sharing setbacks (agents are getting captured), she suggests using women as agents. She is put in charge of this program. Marie Roux is one of the women recruited to be an agent. She is a bilingual single mother and is enticed by the extra pay, but soon finds other meaning in her work. Grace Healey, an American war widow living in New York City in 1946, finds a suitcase in Grand Central Station that includes professional photographs on 12 women. The name 'Trigg' in on the suitcase. She finds the photos when she opens the suitcase in search of any identification and immediately wants to find out more.
The story follows these three women- two while the story is unfolding, and one in trying to figure out who the women in the photos are, how did the photos get to NYC, and what was their significance.
This was a really interesting historical fiction novel that had quite a bit of suspense; I kept turning the pages because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I found the characters engaging and liked the pacing. I am not normally a historical fiction reader, but I was quickly caught up in the three women's lives and their role in WWII. It also brought alive the reality of WWII and the risks people were taking in resisting occupation.
The story follows these three women- two while the story is unfolding, and one in trying to figure out who the women in the photos are, how did the photos get to NYC, and what was their significance.
This was a really interesting historical fiction novel that had quite a bit of suspense; I kept turning the pages because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I found the characters engaging and liked the pacing. I am not normally a historical fiction reader, but I was quickly caught up in the three women's lives and their role in WWII. It also brought alive the reality of WWII and the risks people were taking in resisting occupation.