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In his own bestselling tradition of Eye of the Needle and The Key to Rebecca, Ken Follett delivers a breathtaking novel of suspense set in the most dangerous days of World War II. Look out for Ken's newest book, A Column of Fire, available now. D-Day is approaching. They don't know where or when, but the Germans know it'll be soon, and for Felicity "Flick" Clariet, the stakes have never been higher. A senior agent in the ranks of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) responsible for sabotage, Flick has survived to become one of Britain's most effective operatives in Northern France. She knows that the Germans' ability to thwart the Allied attack depends upon their lines of communications, and in the days before the invasion no target is of greater strategic importance than the largest telephone exchange in Europe. But when Flick and her Resistance-leader husband try a direct, head-on assault that goes horribly wrong, her world turns upside down. Her group destroyed, her husband missing, her superiors unsure of her, her own confidence badly shaken, she has one last chance at the target, but the challenge, once daunting, is now near impossible. The new plan requires an all-woman team, none of them professionals, to be assembled and trained within days. Code-named the Jackdaws, they will attempt to infiltrate the exchange under the noses of the Germans--but the Germans are waiting for them now and have plans of their own. There are secrets Flick does not know--secrets within the German ranks, secrets among her hastily recruited team, secrets among those she trusts the most. And as the hours tick down to the point of no return, most daunting of all, there are secrets within herself. . . . Filled with the powerful storytelling, unforgettable characters, and authentic detail that have become his hallmarks, Jackdaws is Ken Follett writing at the height of his powers.… (more)
User reviews
The heroines are very interesting (particularly the
At the same time, Follett portrays the lead heroine, Flick, as somewhat cold and steely, willing to kill the enemy in cold blood to protect her mission. Many writers today would use this juxtaposition to insinuate that the Nazis weren't such monsters as they are often made out to be and that the Allies were just as brutal and vicious. But in Follett's hands, the Nazi interrogator's supposed "scruples" are clearly rank hypocrisy which only serves to highlight the atrocious nature of the ends he pursues and the means he employs, while Flick's actions are underlain by a righteous determination not to suffer the guilt which rightly belongs to the aggressors against whom she fights. Very well done.
Jackdaws is about a group of women recruited to complete a Resistance operation during WWII. Follett gets you attached to the characters one by one, as well as sets up vivid scenes with his attention to detail. Highly recommended.
Flick must lead a secret mission deep into Nazi-occupied France. Time is short and personnel is difficult to find.
Great story about female spies during WWII. It was fantastic!
DDay is approaching. The phone system for the Germans in France needs to be destroyed and Felicity "Flick" Clairet is enlisted to do it. She organizes a band of women to take the place
Two of the women are captured and tortured and then sent to the concentration camps, where they die. Two of the women die in the raid and Flick and one other survive. In the process the German commander is shot and becomes a vegetable. Flick's husband dies at the time of the raid, but by that time she discovers that she is in love with someone else, as is her.
The conclusion of the story is Flick's marriage to the American who helps during the raid and saves her at many intervals. As they return from the raid, they fly over the boats heading for the DDay invasion.
Much of the story is predictable, but handled well and it held my interest.
This novel is typical of other Follett novels in terms of writing style, which I find enjoyable to read. It has plenty of action and tension, which Follett can be relied upon to deliver. The overall believability is not that strong. There are also some plot holes that leave a little to be desired. While I did enjoy reading this novel, it is not at the same level as some other Follett novels that I have read in the past.
Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
I can't say I bonded much with the characters in this story - in particular the lead agent "Flick" who does come across as a real person. I did however get very drawn into this story as everything played out. It is a rather harsh and desperate time for all involved. Overall I found the portrayal of all the main characters pretty vivid and well done, and liked how they were developed through the story, with the Germans really done well. Getting inside the head of one of these guys, a German Army officer, Dieter, was spooky. I hate to admit that he was the most interesting character in the sense that he was really brought to life and I could understand who he was and his motivations.
There are some elements in the story (Nazi torture in particular) that might bother or upset some people. I enjoyed this a lot, and it is well written and it just makes it up to the level of an excellent book for me.