I liked seeing a different style of Ken Follett's writing and I think he did a really good job telling the story. Reminded me a lot of The Nightingale and All the Light we Cannot See.

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.

Fantástico. Me ha atrapado. No entiendo cómo no lo leí antes.

Adoro come Ken Follet effettua ricerche in modo da produrre storie romanzate di fatti reali. In questo caso, abbiamo un libro ambientato nella seconda guerra mondiale che tratta di un gruppo della Resistenza 'Le Gazze Ladre'.
Nonostante non ami particolarmente i libri ambientati nella seconda guerra mondiale, Follet ha un metodo di scrittura così avvincente che cattura il lettore, caratterizzando alla perfezioni i suoi personaggi e facendoti amare anche gli antagonisti.
Il libro è coinvolgente anche per gli intrecci, gli inganni e le strategie messe in campo dalle due fazioni per raggiungere il loro fine. Il susseguirsi di scene d'azione tiene il lettore con il fiato sospeso fino alla fine.

8/10 en 2006.
El libro es de 2001, cuando Follett escribía sobre espionaje en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Para mí sus mejores novelas (vale, Los pilares de la Tierra está muy bien) son las ambientadas en esta época.

Toujours un plaisir d'écouter en audiobook sur Audible qui est une plateforme que j'affectionne tout particulièrement et qui fait un excellent travail !
Pour en revenir au roman en lui même :
J'ai trouvé que l'histoire dans son ensemble et le concept d'une équipe d'espionnes/saboteuses était vraiment sympa et plutôt bien exécutée. J'ai absolument adoré le dernier tier du roman où les choses s'accélèrent et que le rythme devient réellement haletant !
Une jeu dangereux du chat et de la souris entre un officier allemand et la chef d'équipe du réseau corneille, chacun essayant de déjouer les plans de l'autre.
Il m'a semblé quand même qu'il y avait quelques invraisemblances dans le récit. De plus, à certains moments, j'avais l'impression que l'auteur ne savait pas exactement quelle attitude adopter surtout par rapport au comportement des femmes. Cela arrive souvent chez les auteurs hommes quand il y a dans leur roman un grand nombre de femmes parmi les personnages principaux.
Cela ne m'a pas empêché d'apprécier le roman dans son ensemble bien que c'était un peu embêtant.

Ken Follett is known for plots that tell quite a story. And he definitely did it with Jackdaws. I enjoyed this book a lot, primarily because it tells the story of a group of female spies playing their own version of cat-and-mouse with Gestapo agents and German soldiers. The characters are interesting, the plot is great and moves on rather quickly. In addition the women’s mission is very important for the allied invasion in Normandy. I think that the plot, the characters, the setting and how Follett tells this story are great, and Jackdaws has everything it takes to make this an exciting read.
Mind, there are some rather brutal scenes which I didn’t really like, but they were necessary as part of the plot.
5 out of 5 stars

This book is dedicated to the 50 unbelievably brave, female secret agents that parachuted into France to gather intelligence or to prepare the invasion on hostile territory during the Second World War. This is one of their (fictional) stories, that is unfortunately all wrong.

First of all, the women: they are basically tough and randy men who just tend to burst into tears, are overly beautiful or just plain stupid.

Second, the plot: we already know the outcome, yes D-Day happened and yes it was a success, so instead the plot uses blunt torture, random sex quickly leading to love and throws in some homosexuals and queers to make it more diverse. Oh yes and all the Nazis’ decision are always plot-relevant meaning that if the author needed someone to survive he was sure to not be tortured right away but for some strategic reason only put away. Overall, this made everything too predictable. I have to confess that by the last 20% I wanted to know how it all ended, but really, I rather I haven’t read this. It is certainly not worthy of these amazingly brave women!

There was one quote that moved me:

My dear Papa, I am doing well in school although Dr Richter’s classroom has been bombed. Fortunately it was night time and the school was empty.

2.5 stars, rounding down.

Como é habitual, Ken Follet nunca desilude nos seus livros. Rendida desde a primeira página até à última. Com uma história intrigante, baseada em factos verídicos, e tão importantes para a nossa história.
Sem duvida cinco estrelas é pouco para conseguir classificar este livro, não só pela história mas também pela qualidade da escrita.
Cada vez mais apaixonada pelos livros deste senhor.
Por última, mais um aplauso pela forma como ele descreve o poder que as mulheres têm em transformar o mundo, que apesar de dominado em maioria por homens naquela altura (e, também nos dias que correm), as mulheres desempenharam um papel crucial para o fim da II Guerra Mundial.

"Exactly fifty women were sent into France as secret agents by the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Of those, thirty-six survived the war. The other fourteen gave their lives. This book is dedicated to all of them."

Flick Clairet, spia inglese alla quale, durante la seconda guerra mondiale, viene affidata una missione della massima importanza per la riuscita dell'invasione alleata in Normandia: distruggere la centrale telefonica del castello di Sainte-Cécile, centro nevralgico per le comunicazioni tra Francia e Germania. La sua distruzione rallenterebbe la risposta dei nazisti all'invasione ma per poter entrare nel castello Flick dovrà creare una squadra di sole donne e fingersi donne delle pulizie. Le gazze ladre, nome in codice della squadra, verranno paracadutate in Francia, in territorio nemico, e il fallimento non è ammesso. In questo romanzo Follett gioca col lettore, nulla è scontato, tutto può accadere e portare alla morte. Un romanzo forte, avvincente e crudo che cattura il lettore e lo ipnotizza portandolo indietro nel tempo, al tempo duro e spietato della guerra. Oltre alla bellezza del romanzo e dei personaggi un collegamento mi ha colpito: mentre Flick opera in Normandia per portare l'Inghilterra alla vittoria, in Inghilterra Die Nadel opera per far vincere la Germania. Avrei voluto leggere di un incontro tra i due.