Jackdaws

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the Allies won World War II or that D-Day - a pivotal event in the war - was executed successfully. Nonetheless, Ken Follett has written a novel that makes this event suspenseful even though the reader knows what the end result will be. Returning to the era in which Follett's best books take place, Jackdaws follows female operative Felicity "Flick" Clairet and her efforts to destroy an important German communications center. She has a plan, and it requires a team of six women. What she assembles is a motley crew of semi-amateurs, but it is the best she can get. What makes this novel especially stand out is her adversary, the German Major Dieter Franck. Franck is ruthless, but he is not evil and while a soldier and a German patriot, he is not fond of the Nazis. Instead, he is out to stop what he considers to be terrorists: the Resistance members who threaten his people. Considering current events, Dieter's motivations have certain parallels to what many believe about terrorism nowadays. This adds an irony that probably goes beyond Follett even intended considering when this book must have been written and raises interesting questions about what terrorism is and what is appropriate in fighting it. Which is not to say that Dieter is a good guy, but it does kind of ironically invert some things that are happening nowadays. What is most important, however, is that this is another great book by Follett, an entertaining page-turner that does not let up on the suspense. For a great WWII spy novel, Follett is hard to beat, and this book is another indication about why this is so.

I've never read this author but his writing is easy to follow. It has more than enough action and likable characters. If you've seen "The Dirty Dozen", then you know how it ends. The nice change is that they're all women. An aside, the book I ordered was large print and it came as large print, great. It's a preference I have because lately none the of the large print books I've ordered have come as large print. Very disappointing, but still readable.

This was my second adventure with Follet and it proved to be a wonderful one. The story line follows that of the one about the "Dirty Dozen". Only here he makes several adjustments in tone, action, and characters. First, the goal is the same to disrupt or destroy a Nazi phone exchange terminal in France just prior to the allied invasion of France. A female resistance fighter makes an attempt at this with a team of resistance fighters and they fail because of poor intelligence about the facility. Some of the men are killed, some captured and later tortured, and a few escape including the ring leader who also happens to be the husband of the female agent. The female agent returns to London with a plan on how to do the job, but it is first turned down and then later approved.

The team to do the job is selected from a variety of people and they are all women except for one who is a male cross dresser. Interestingly enough the number on the team is six, or a "half-dozen". The team trains and fights among themselves based on their various backgrounds and characteristics. Finally, the big day comes and the night before the team is given a final test where one of them fails because she disclosed the mission to a stranger who is a member of the RAF and working to check the team's ability to not disclose the mission. This member is sent packing, but appears later with a high ranking officer because she is the daughter of a high government official and the female team leader is told she has to reinstate her. The team leader says, "No" and is backed up by others in MI6.

In the mean time the Gestapo has questioned and tortured the captured resistance fighters and has learned how other members are added to the group from England and where they make contact. The local contact is captured, tortured, and replaced by a person working with the Germans who later meets agents and then hands them over to the Nazis. One of the agents that is captured has a radio and the Nazis now have the codes and radio frequencies needed to contact England's inner circle of spies working in France. As you may guess the story continues with the Nazis learning of the attempt by the resistance to damage a vital supply line. The female agents are supposed to do the job, but the real target is the telepone exchange again. There's a lot of cat and mouse play between the team leader and the Nazis which is fun to read and the Nazis do catch a few of the team members, but the team leader continues to outwit the Nazi detective at a number of turns in the later part of the story as she and her remaining team prepare to destroy the telephone exchange building and equipment.

The ending is clever and action packed. Any reader of mystery and thriller books will really enjoy the last forty or so pages. The book is an easy read and at several points hard to put down. This is one you'll want to get and read.

In "Jackdaws", Ken Follett returns to the form of "Eye of the Needle" and "The Key to Rebecca", spinning a tale that if a bit melodramic and not quite believable, is still entertaining and well worth the time. "Jackdaws" is reportedly based (very loosely, one would assume) on the true story of female allied spies operating in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. It "stars" Felicia 'Flick' Clairet, a British agent married to a French resistance fighter. As with many of Follett's novels, the sub plot of a love affair is woven into the story line, likely to insure additional appeal for broader audience, as well as the attraction for a possible screen play. Follett at his best is a master story teller, and he is in top form with "Jackdaws". He crafts a suspense that is palpable and engrossing, set with just enough history to establish some credibility. But while the plot and story development are superb, the same level of depth falls short in the character development. The characters appear to come straight from central casting: the brave but irreverent hero/spy, the sadistic Nazi officer, a female crew of ally agents reminiscent of "The Dirty Dozen". On balance, a good book for the beach or a long plane trip: mindless entertainment that will neither make you think nor disappoint.