The Secret Churchill Files #3
This enthralling mystery is set in 1942 and begins with our heroine, Welsh woman and secret agent Catrine Colline, pondering her future after her woman only spy division, 512, is absorbed into the larger SOE (Special Operations Executive). Determined to qualify to be sent to France, she’s passed all the physical tests, but can’t manage to speak the language like a native, so is seconded to the dreaded office work. Churchill, however, senses Catrine has something special, and when an SS agent disappears in Paris, he decides she’s the one to find him and bring him to London. The man, Dieter Silber, had discovered the plans for Hitler’s gruesome “Final Solution,” and can’t stomach it.
At the moment he’s basically the most wanted man in Paris, and the cruel and determined Germans are willing to sacrifice as many French lives as necessary to get to him. The viciousness of the Nazis prevent this story from being a straight up entertainment, as the simple factual details Lewis includes are enough to break any reader’s heart.
Battling this evil is the French resistance in Paris. When Catrine arrives she’s sheltered by an old friend, Evelyn, and her glamorous mother, who happens to have a beautiful apartment on Rue Foch across the street from the Gestapo headquarters, proving handy to keep an eye on the enemy.
The man, Dieter, who has disappeared, only wants to get to London in order to get the plans he’s stolen from his superiors into Churchill’s hands. These plans, which he keeps strapped to his chest, becomes, if you will, the MacGuffin of the story, the thing everyone is after. After he warns a bar owner that the Nazis are planning a raid, the pair escapes together, heading for Marseille, the jumping off point for Spain or even London.
The rest of the novel, after this set up, becomes a near perfect escape and chase story. Dieter and his team meet up with numerous roadblocks, which they counter with ingenious work arounds. Catrine, realizing where Dieter must be headed, heads for Marseille on the slow train, leading her own team. There are some heartbreaking losses along the way, giving the suspense real urgency and keeping the tone of the book taut as a wire. As an experienced reader you know Catrine and Dieter must succeed, yet Lewis still makes you doubt that outcome through masterful, compelling storytelling and pacing that’s absolutely top of the line.
Two people can’t stop a war or end up changing the outcome, but can still do their part, and with the assistance of the French resistance, Dieter and Catrine meet up and head to the pick up point together. In early 1942 the Allies were losing ground on many fronts, and prospects didn’t seem great for our side, with the victories of the future seemingly distant at the end of the book. It was very hard to put down this well told tale, populated with wonderfully drawn characters and propulsive action scenes. You’ll be cheering along with Catrine when she’s finally able to introduce Dieter to her mentor Churchill. — Robin Agnew