Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Valerie Rousseau is burning with determination to help free her beloved France from the Nazi regime. Working at the mysterious Bletchley Park, she strikes up an unexpected bond with smart, fiercely loyal Fran Morgan as they spend long days together with their heads bent over maps of France in preparation for the Allied invasion.
Their friendship grows increasingly important as they distract themselves from the dark days of war with afternoons skating across the icy pond at the heart of Bletchley Park and evenings talking late into the night. But Valerie’s wartime role is shrouded in secrecy and there are things that she can’t even tell Fran.
When Valerie volunteers for a dangerous mission linked to the D-Day landings in Normandy, Fran is devastated. Valerie has knowingly put her life on the line and Fran is terrified that she will never see her again.
Soon, Fran hears about the bravery of the agent operating under the code name Elodie. She’s certain it’s Valerie and she knows the work she is doing in her little office, overlooking the green fields of England, could be the difference between life and death for this secret agent…
Can both women secure victory for their country? Or will the fight for freedom cost them their love – and their lives?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of Code Name Elodie to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Code Name Elodie is the second in the Bletchley Park Girls series by Anna Stuart which continues on the story of Fran, Steffie and Alisa. I adored the first book, The Bletchley Girls, so I was delighted to see a second book as I felt the first concluded with a lot of unfinished business. Yes, this new book can be read as a standalone but to get a real flavour for the girls and their experiences during the war, I would suggest starting with book number one. What, I love about these characters and their stories is that we are getting an insight into an aspect of the war that at the time was top secret and it’s only as the years have passed that details have been released as to the astonishing and incredible work that was carried out at Bletchley Park.
It’s also brilliant to see women having such a prominent and important role in war work.The plot showed how they stepped outside of their expected place as viewed by society, that area being the home and the role of rearing children and stepped up to the mark when needed most even if there was still an aspect of hesitancy with men viewing some of the women with disdain and not being capable of doing their job. But Fran, Alisa and Steffie are three remarkable women among many and their individual stories which come together as a whole were brilliant to discover making this book a very enjoyable read.
The first few chapters helped me to refamiliarize myself with the characters of Fran, Steffie and Alisa who all do vital war work at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire. Security is of the utmost importance and the Nazi’s musn’t discover what work goes on there. Fran comes from a family of medics. Steffie is the daughter of the military attaché to Rome and Alisa hails from a remote Scottish island where her family are fisherfolk. So each of the young woman comes from a very varied background but they all have special and unique talents which add so much to the crucial work that is carried out day in day out at the park in order to thwart the continued domination of the Nazi’s.
The main focus of this book is the plans by the British and Americans to invade France in order to over throw the Germans. This goes on to be D Day which occurs in the later stages of the book. I loved all the technical terms and detailed descriptions of the work carried out by the girls. Be it working as a wireless operator or translating decrypts and turning them into messages or simply the brilliant organisational work carried out by Fran. The whole system of operations was riveting and just gives a greater appreciation for how vast the entire war effort was. That plans were always afoot and even if the results of said plans may be months away from coming to fruition the girls and the team around them never rested on their laurels as they were all so closely united with one common aim.
I felt in this book both Steffie and Alisa really stepped up to the mark in terms of the work they carried out. I felt Fran, although extremely good at her job, seemed to have her mind on other things, most notably Valerie, the French lady whom she has found love with. Don’t get me wrong she did do her job but I got the sense that Valerie was dissatisfied with being at the park that she would much rather get in on the action in her home territory of France but that her love for Fran was holding her back. Valerie was restless and had a wild spirit about her and her love and dedication to her country and to the cause deserves nothing but admiration. Yet, she does have to choose between Fran or France and I felt they went through a tumultuous time especially towards the end as mentioned in the blurb. I did feel the blurb focused rather on the later section of the book rather than giving an overall picture of the themes, life stories and issues being explored. I think the blurb could have been edited a bit and a more general overview given. But my enjoyment of the book wasn’t spoilt by this.
For me, it was Alisa and Steffie who were the stand out characters this time around. I felt they both matured in different ways both in terms of both their personal and professional lives. Alisa is now married to Ned and I think she epitomised women at the time who were willing to step outside of their comfort zone and do their bit for their country. Having done this Alisa had the taste and passion for wireless operating and she strived to make her way in a male dominated world. A world where she was just as good if not better than some of her work colleagues and although there were innumerable rules and stipulations put in her path she broke down barriers time and time again. I loved this about her and that she went against convention and kept forging forward doing what she believed was right even if it did go against rules and at times her life was put in danger. Her bravery, courage and determination are such admirable qualities to have and she had them in spades. She wanted to be an equal along side Ned and his colleagues. She felt it was almost a sense of injustice that it was against the rules for married women to go abroad to work. But I loved how stubborn she was and dare I say it a little bit underhand in what she did but she had her love for both Ned and her job at the centre of everything she did even if she was hiding a little secret which she almost refused to accept herself. But truly I thoroughly enjoyed how her aspect of the story was developed. It showed how resourceful stubborn, forceful she was and how she was made of very stern and tough stuff.
As for Alisa, I could see where her aspect of the plot was going to go from a mile off but the journey to get there was interesting, emotional and heartfelt. She has come a long way from being an officials daughter and I loved how she stepped up into even bigger parts that ultimately played a crucial role in the much larger machine that was forever evolving and turning. There is plenty of heartbreak and emotional change for Alisa and she weathered the storm with grace and integrity as do all the girls really. The destruction, sacrifices, loss and pain they all experience alongside moments of pure joy and happiness amidst the darkness are all nicely balanced and help make this an important read.
Admittedly, similar to the first book, I did find the first half of the book quite slow and you are left wondering when something exciting or twist turning will happen? As with the last book it was in the last 25% or so that things really heated up and made my opinion of the book as a whole change. I felt like the last section of the book more than made up for the slow start and in fact middle too. The last section detailing the different viewpoints of each character as D Day was launched was just astounding and in fact spine chilling to read. The author really made it feel like you were there alongside the characters and the vivid and detailed imagery was so remarkable that as I was reading I felt like a movie scene by scene was being played out in my head. Such sheer emotion was spilling from the pages and to read of all the different perspectives was just fascinating and really awe inspiring as you realised how each and every person put their heart and soul into a plan determined to read to rid the world of the evil of Hitler once and for all.
As I was enjoying the story so much, I was disappointed when it came to what I felt was like an abrupt ending. Yes, the ending was satisfactory but it just felt like it all happened too quickly and things were wrapped up within a page or two which was a shame given generally how well developed things had been throughout the book even if the pacing had been slow. Or maybe, it’s just the selfish part of me that wanted to continue reading more of the three girls who are all such strong and fantastic characters who forged a path for all the females who followed in their wake. Pushing, my issues aside with the abrupt ending, Code Name Elodie, is another very good read from Anna Stuart and one I enjoyed reading very much. I sense that this is the end from this set of characters so I am intrigued as to what part of the war ( if any) she will turn her attention to for her next book as despite reading innumerable books set during this period I really can’t get enough of them.
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