Review: German Intelligence is stymied by a White Mouse
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 26, 2014
During World War II there was a resistance fighter, Nancy Fiocca, who became known as "The White Mouse."  The Germans wanted her captured and were willing to put a 5 million dollar price tag on her head.  But the French Resistance Fighters would never turn her over to the Germans.  They instead idolized her and would have followed her into any battle.The story is not just about one woman though.  It is about all of the operatives of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE).  This group of men and women were trained in England and then taken back into occupied France where they would join up with resistance fighters and do their best to stymie the work of the German's in winning the war.Jack DuArte does a masterful job of blending history in with fiction.  He gives us a great look into the workings of the British Intelligence service and those that worked within it.  Many of these men and women never made it back.  Many were executed by the Germans as spies.  Many just disappeared and were never heard from again.But the fact that these are real life people who did the job of infiltration and behind enemy lines fighting, all so that the Allied Forces could win the war against Germany.The writing is excellent.  The characters are well portrayed and the loss of life is something that reminds us of the true nature of war.  That nature being that you don't know who will survive and who won't.  Sometimes it is your talent that keeps you alive and sometimes it is just luck.After reading this novel you will find yourself wanting to do a bit more research into the lives of the people in the story.  At the end of the book there will be a chapter that gives you the "final word" on the lives of those you have been reading about.  Some die young and some live to be extremely old hero's.I thought the story ended a bit abruptly, but that didn't detract from the overall work.  If you love historical fiction you are going to really enjoy this book.