Read by Kate Reading. Unabridged, on 9 1/2 Tapes

blurb from Publishers Weekly- Time is running out. With D-Day rapidly approaching, the Nazis are actively trying to quash the French resistance. Meanwhile, Britain's Special Operations branch is working hard to supply the resistance with intelligence, supplies and agents. Felicity "Flick" Clairet is one of England's most effective operatives in northern France. Having failed in an assault on the Nazis' main European telephone exchange, she regroups in England for another attempt, this time with an all-female team that will infiltrate the exchange under the guise of a French cleaning staff. Unfortunately, finding female agents fluent in French proves impossible and Flick resorts to crash-training nonprofessionals for the task. Imagine Charlie's Angels (minus the campiness) in The Guns of Navarone. Written in Follett's (Pillars of the Earth, etc.) riveting style and with his penchant for historical detail, the Jackdaws (the codename of the all-girl team) are given a heightened air of authenticity with Kate Reading's performance. She flavors her confident delivery with a wry cynicism that is inherent to Flick's character, and her use of international as well as regional accents keeps the rapid narrative flowing flawlessly.

Shamelessly nicking the tagline: the female dirty dozen

If I was cynical I could say this may be Follett's very own recurring wet dream:

A dozen females in dress-up
S & M
Gratuitous sex
Nazi goose-steppers

Sounds like that n  Mel Brookes filmscriptn doesn't it. And if not that, maybe it would have been a strong contender for the n  Benny Hill-esque Chase Scenen or toned down this could be an assignment for Charlie's n  original trion.

All that said, this was rather good, taut and exciting, however it was hard to keep concentrating with all these asides my brain wanted to fling at me.

ETA - hah! scanning through the reviews here I'm not alone with the brain-swerve into jocularity as there is a reference to n  'allo 'allon

Gostei de ler este livro. Tinha saudades de ler um destes livros que pedem que se leia quase sem interrupções. Há ação a rodos, impaciência de saber se a tal missão vai ser concretizada e, nesse caso, quem escapa. É uma história de resistência aos alemães na véspera do desembarque e de algumas ações da resistência francesa e britânica. O resumo está aí. As impressões? As personagens são pouco detalhadas, dizem-nos tudo o que são, mas elas não o mostram e são mais planas do que deveriam, mesmo estereotipada algumas. O final poderia ter mais brilho, é um pouco a despachar depois do ponto culminante. E um livro destes precisava de um pós-facio decente, não chega a breve nota informativa. Os agradecimentos são secos. Esperava mais do sr. Follett nesse aspeto, uma pessoa lê sofregamente e ele agradece em lista à família e não tem um discurso eloquente??

A team of six women are sent from England to France just before the Allied invasion of Normandy in June, 1944. Their job is to destroy a German communications system that sends information for the bad guys from France back to Germany. The problem is, it's not that easy. They are parachuted on to enemy soil and have to work very, very hard to avoid all the traps laid for them. A terrific character named Flick Claret is opposed by an evil Gestapo torture master by the name of Dieter Franck. You can count on Ken Follett for a rollicking historical fiction saga, but when compared to two of the top ten best books I have EVER read, The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, this one just doesn't measure up. Can't quite give it four stars.

Κωδικός: Κίσσες. Μία αληθινή ιστορία έξι ατρόμητων γυναικών που επέλεξαν να ρισκάρουν τη ζωή τους προκειμένου να βοηθήσουν καταλυτικά τις Συμμαχικές δυνάμεις στον πόλεμο με τον Ναζισμό! Γιατί, ποιος είπε ότι ο πόλεμος αφορά μόνο τους άντρες;

Η «Φλικ» είναι η κεντρική πρωταγωνίστρια. Βρετανίδα κατάσκοπος, αρχηγός και συντονίστρια της πιο ριψοκίνδυνης αποστολής που είχε αναλάβει μέχρι τότε. Να συνεργαστεί με τη Γαλλική Αντίσταση προκειμένου να πραγματοποιήσουν σαμποτάζ στο βασικότερο κέντρο επικοινωνίας των Ναζί στη Γαλλία, ελάχιστες ώρες πριν την μεγάλη απόβαση της Νορμανδίας στις 6 Ιουνίου 1944. Η επιτυχία του εγχειρήματος ήταν υψίστης σημασίας προκειμένου να καταστεί ο στρατάρχης Ρόμελ ανίκανος να συντονίσει μία ορθή άμυνα!

«Αντίπαλος» της Φλικ ήταν ο γοητευτικός, πολυμήχανος και άκρως επιτυχημένος βασανιστής, ταγματάρχης Ντίτερ, ο οποίος θα επιδοθεί σε ένα λυσσαλέο κυνηγητό προκειμένου να ανακαλύψει το σχέδιο των Μυστικών Υπηρεσιών της Αγγλίας και της Γαλλικής Αντίστασης!

Ο Ken Follet, από τους καλύτερους ιστορικούς συγγραφείς, παρέδωσε ένα αψεγάδιαστο περιπετειώδες ανάγνωσμα που με δυσκολία άφηνα στο κομοδίνο μου κάθε βράδυ! Άριστος γνώστης των γεγονότων και των τοποθεσιών που διαδραματίζονται τα γεγονότα, κατάφερε να δημιουργήσει σασπένς και αγωνία από την πρώτη, μέχρι την τελευταία, πρόταση!

Πόλεμος, κυνηγητό, θάνατος, έρωτας, αγωνία, αγάπη, τα έχει όλα και συμφέρει! Το μόνο αρνητικό; Ότι βρίσκεται εκτός κυκλοφορίας και θα πρέπει να το αναζητήσετε στα μεταχειρισμένα…

Sementes de Verdade*


Pegaram em armas, planearam ataques, trataram dos feridos...
Preservaram a sanidade numa guerra gerada por sementes de loucura!
Lutaram numa guerra de homens sem, contudo, deixar de ser mulheres!
Mulheres corajosas!...
Grandes Guerreiras que merecem ser recordadas com o maior respeito e admiração!

É um 4+++
Leiam! É uma ficção com Sementes de Verdade!!! ♥️


*A história narrada é baseada em factos verídicos — o Executivo de Operações Especiais enviou 50 mulheres para França como agentes secretos tendo 36 sobrevivido

J'ai dévoré ce roman, écouté en une dizaine d'heures au cours de séquences que j'entrecoupais avec frustration. J'étais totalement captivée par l'histoire, comme devant un film de guerre, au scénario plein de suspense, entre frissons, angoisse, terreur et émotion.
J'ai aimé sa mise en scène, ses personnages, même ses envolées sentimentales ont fini par m'attendrir (je roulais des yeux quand Betty et Paul roucoulaient tendrement...). Bref. Ken Follett possède un vrai talent de conteur. Et ça passe très, très bien en format audio : on ne voit pas le temps passer. On trépigne après chaque piste, on enchaîne les chapitres... C'est terriblement addictif. Et l'hommage rendu aux héroïnes de l'ombre est, par sa simplicité, d'une grande noblesse.
http://blogclarabel.canalblog.com/arc...

Thriller histórico empolgante, baseado em factos reais. É um romance sobre a segunda guerra mundial, e que conta a história de quatro de mulheres que tem a coragem de porem em risco a sua própria vida para destruir uma central telefónica alemã.
Felicity é uma agente secreta, casada com Michael que pertence a resistência, que vive em Paris e possui a missão de destruir uma central telefónica. Mas o seu plano dá errado, e ela é obrigada a voltar a Grã-Bretanha. Não querendo desistir, ela tem a ideia de líder uma operação só de mulheres. O objectivo é disfarçarem-se de mulheres de limpeza e explodir a central.
É a primeira experiência de leitura deste autor inglês, um livro repleto de informação relativamente a espionagem e a tortura nazi. Foi chocante os relatos dos interrogatórios... O modo como os alemães utilizavam-se dos prisioneiros para infligir dor. " Nome de código Leoparda" foi um livro que me surpreendeu, apesar de ser obra que fala de guerra, aborda também a coragem e o sacrifício. Estaríamos dispostas a riscar a nossa vida em prol do nosso país?

I like Follet (Pillars of the Earth etc... ) but this one was for me a B series with a not very believable plot, I only finished reading out of politeness, but it was a pain

This is a heart-racing, brilliantly fast-paced and gripping read. To merely call it 'exciting' would be an understatement. The plot is fantastically well-written, bringing together drama, history and tangible emotion. This is certainly not a book which can be easily put down.
Follett not only knows how to tell a fantastic story and captivate the reader, he also knows exactly what the reader wants. The ending is just as gripping as the rest of the book and I can guarantee you will not be disappointed by it.
The plot of "Jackdaws" is realistic; many women served in the war, and some of them paid the ultimate sacrifice. Details of how agents were trained, how they reached their destinations in France, and the types of attacks they carried out alongside the French Resistance are accurate. Through this we are able to see the fear and horror facing those who worked behind enemy lines, yet also their courage and resourcefulness, and in this respect I can highly recommend this novel.

On the other hand, I did find some aspects of "Jackdaws" a little too far-fetched. It would have been possible to put together an all-female group, but no agents would have been sent out with the limited training that the characters in this novel received. Also, some of the characters were incredibly blasé about the dangers facing them, behaving almost as though they were on holiday rather than on a secret mission behind enemy lines. Having said that, this is historical fiction and so one can suspend belief a little in exchange for a good story. And ‘Jackdaws’ is that. The plotting is clear, the action almost constant, the suspense engaging.

Alongside the story of Flick and her group we also have the story of Dieter Franck, a German Intelligence officer whose character is full of contradictions – willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve his aims, yet feeling the guilt at what those actions entail; a loving husband, yet a man who also loves his mistress; a man who upholds the German ideal yet has feelings for a Jew. With Franck, and the other main characters in this novel, Mr Follett explores human psychology showing us the complexity of human relationships and how our feelings for others can colour our actions.

All in all, "Jackdaws" is a good war-time thriller. Anyone who enjoys a fast-paced story set during the Second World War will enjoy this novel.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Typically, war based stories are so full of minute details that they detract from the story for me. The plot sounded intriguing though, so I decided to give it a shot. It ended up being one of the better WWII stories that I have read. There was enough background information for me to underdstand the historical reference of the story, but it was balanced by a well developed plot. I like reading stories from a non-American perspective since it is a viewpoint that I am not normally exposed to. I do not recall learning in school anything about other countries efforts against the Nazi regime during WWII. While this is a fictional story, I think it serves as an interesting view into the role of the French resistance during the war. My only gripe is that the ending seemed a bit contrite. It was rather convenient that her husband that she no longer wished to be with but had too much respect to leave dies, leaving her able to the marry the man she falls in love with.

Reading Jackdaws, like other Ken Follett titles I've read, is kind of like riding a moped. It's a lot of fun, but all the same you really don't want to be seen enjoying it. For me reading Follett is one of those guilty pleasures, where you know it isn't the best writing out there, the characters aren't particularly well developed, and in general the book isn't ground breaking or noteworthy in any way -- and yet you keep reading, because secretly it's kind of fun.
If you like WWII fiction with lots of action and don't mind stereotypical characters, then Follett's your man.

**4,5 estrelas**

A sua agilidade de escrita e a onda electrizante de suspense, deixam o nosso coração aos saltos e os pelos eriçados.

Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Thriller inspirado na Agente Secreta Pearl Witherington, membro executivo de Operações Especiais.

Homenagem a todas as mulheres espias, assim como a todas as outras que de alguma forma contribuíram para o fim da guerra.

Os horrores da tortura.
A morte, os assassínios, as condenações.
A miséria, física e da alma.
Uma missão. Uma corrida contra o tempo. Adrenalina. Decisões de vida ou de morte. Expondo a fragilidade e/ou a coragem exponencial.

Fica-se sem fôlego. Muito bom.

Nota: Apesar do reconhecido contributo de Pearl Witherington e de ter sido recomendada, não era atribuída a Cruz de Guerra a mulheres. Daí a desfaçatez de lhe concederem antes o título de membro civil da Ordem do Império Britânico, que declinou (e muito bem) dizendo “que não fizera nada civil”.
Que mundo este…