“I am the same but different, and I greet this new reflection with a nod of acceptance. There is metal in my spine and there are fractures in my soul.”
Nancy is an Australian living in France as a freelance reporter. Swept off her feet by Henri, they are married as the Germans start coming into France. While her husband is at war, Nancy can’t sit by and do nothing. She first goes to the front to drive an ambulance, but then gets involved in smuggling documents. Her connections and skills lead her to more dangerous work and after her husband comes home, she becomes a spy.
I love historical fiction and have had Code Name Helene on my library hold list for weeks. I’ve read a handful of books about women spies during WW2, but this one had the woman living in the forest instead of in a nice house.
During Nancy’s time as a spy, she tries not to think of her life back home. Yet, her husband’s past intertwines in their future even when they are miles and miles apart. Nancy is not just a spy – but the leader of a resistance group that works tirelessly day after day to thwart the Germans. She has seen evil with her own eyes and other than her mission, there is one act she must do to avenge the innocent lives she’s seen taken in atrocious ways.
Code Name Helene is a fast-paced novel and I stayed up way too late one night reading it until I was finished. The timeline goes back and forth between Nancy’s current life and the one leading up to her choosing to be a spy. It’s based on a true person’s story, which makes the book even better in my eyes. Lovers of historical fiction will love Code Name Helene. (The book is for mature audiences.)
Do you have a favorite historical fiction book? Share in the comments!