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kadomi's review against another edition
3.0
Almost 3.5 stars but not quite. My SO loves Ken Follett books, and I did greatly enjoy his historical novels. I try to veer away from war time novels and political thrillers, so reading this book was a departure for me.
Jackdaws is set in 1944, shortly before D Day. The main protagonist is Felicity Clairet aka Flick, a British spy who works in France together with the French Resistance, her husband Michel being the local leader in Reims. Their target is a chateau in the hands of the Gestapo, serving as major telephone exchange in France. The goal is to destroy the exchange and that way destroy their communications during the Allied invasion. When an initial attack fails, Flick comes up with a plan to infiltrate the chateau dressed as cleaning women, which requires an all-women team: the Jackdaws. The unlikely team has a cast of different women: a drag queen, a lesbian aristocrat, an older explosives specialist, a murderer freed from prison for the mission, amongst others.
The summary sounds more exciting than the book turned out to be. It took til around the 60% mark for the mission to actually begin. A lot of time was wasted on getting the team together, to weave in sexual encounters that didn't do anything for me plot and character-wise. Despite the team sounding super-interesting in theory, characters fell very flat for me. Very one-note. No time was taken to form any emotional connection to them, didn't really work.
The only character aside from Flick that much time was spent on is the nemesis, Major Dieter Franck, Flick's Nazi adversary. Follett tried to make him seem very human, not your average evil Nazi, but again, he kinda felt flat for me.
That said, the last 40 percent of the book were a quick read and the actual mission was quite exciting to read, so overall it's almost 3.5 stars but not quite.
Jackdaws is set in 1944, shortly before D Day. The main protagonist is Felicity Clairet aka Flick, a British spy who works in France together with the French Resistance, her husband Michel being the local leader in Reims. Their target is a chateau in the hands of the Gestapo, serving as major telephone exchange in France. The goal is to destroy the exchange and that way destroy their communications during the Allied invasion. When an initial attack fails, Flick comes up with a plan to infiltrate the chateau dressed as cleaning women, which requires an all-women team: the Jackdaws. The unlikely team has a cast of different women: a drag queen, a lesbian aristocrat, an older explosives specialist, a murderer freed from prison for the mission, amongst others.
The summary sounds more exciting than the book turned out to be. It took til around the 60% mark for the mission to actually begin. A lot of time was wasted on getting the team together, to weave in sexual encounters that didn't do anything for me plot and character-wise. Despite the team sounding super-interesting in theory, characters fell very flat for me. Very one-note. No time was taken to form any emotional connection to them, didn't really work.
The only character aside from Flick that much time was spent on is the nemesis, Major Dieter Franck, Flick's Nazi adversary. Follett tried to make him seem very human, not your average evil Nazi, but again, he kinda felt flat for me.
That said, the last 40 percent of the book were a quick read and the actual mission was quite exciting to read, so overall it's almost 3.5 stars but not quite.
kelbi's review against another edition
4.0
Many times during my reading of this book I had to suspend my disbelief because the team of women saboteurs in occupied France escaped capture too many times! But it was so well written and engrossing I put those thoughts behind me. Really good book. He is a very good writer.
kmontcrieff's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars ⭐
- I do not normally reach for historical fiction, but this has been sitting on my tbr for far too long and I finally decided to dive into it. I've never read a Ken Follett book, and was so completely impressed. This story follows a group of women in WW2 sent to blow up a telephone communications center the day before D-Day. The entire book takes place over 10 days (minus the last chapter) and it is RIVETING! There is so much going on in such a short time, and I could not put this book down.
- I do not normally reach for historical fiction, but this has been sitting on my tbr for far too long and I finally decided to dive into it. I've never read a Ken Follett book, and was so completely impressed. This story follows a group of women in WW2 sent to blow up a telephone communications center the day before D-Day. The entire book takes place over 10 days (minus the last chapter) and it is RIVETING! There is so much going on in such a short time, and I could not put this book down.
nicolespez's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rebeccatc's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this story about the Jackdaws, a group of British women working with the French resistance to blow up a communications center in Rheims, France in the days before the D-Day Invasion. As a spy novel, it was a page turner, with constant near-misses. Felicity "Flick" Clairet, the leader of the Jackdaws, and Dieter Franck, the German officer determined to find and torture her for information about the French resistance, are both ruthless, resourceful and cunning. The details of how the Gestapo tortured people were disturbing, but it added to the sense of urgency and made me root all the more for the Jackdaws to succeed in their mission.
minneapolismerk's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
abrswf's review against another edition
5.0
What a great read. Welcome to Nazi occupied France, days before DDay, as six female English operatives try to strike a vital blow to help the Allied invasion. A battle of wits between the determined, tiny leader of the "Jackdaws" and a ruthless Rommel aide ensues. The pace is breakneck, but Follett finds time to explore his character's motivations and thinking as the story gallops ahead. I don't think the plot is based at all on actual events, but the historical context is absolutely real, and Follett dedicates the novel to the fifty real women who served as secret agents in France for the British Special Operations Executive. I also appreciated the inclusion of LGBT characters.
elke_23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
5.0
tonsu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5