Paris 1946: Sabine Brouillette is a war crimes investigator with the French secret service. She lost her family, including her young son, when her Resistance circuit was betrayed near the end of the war. New evidence comes to light that the traitor was a British double agent who went by the codename ‘the Black Fox’. Now her quest for revenge has a single focus: find the Black Fox and kill him.
Sydney 1946: Landscape designer Diana White has been waiting six years for her husband, Casper, to return from the war in Europe. Her son, Freddy, was only a baby when his British-born father joined the RAF. But Casper is a changed man when he returns from the convalescent hospital in England where he has spent the past year under mysterious circumstances. No longer the easygoing personality Diana fell in love with, he is now darker and more secretive.
Soon Sabine and Diana find themselves on a collision course – one seeking vengeance, the other willing to go to any lengths to protect her family.
When opening up a Belinda Alexandra novel, you know a great read is guaranteed. Her previous bestsellers White Gardenia and Tuscan Rose made our Top 100 list, while her last novel, The Mystery Woman, was embraced by BR readers for its gripping storyline, sweeping settings and captivating female lead. Now she returns with The French Agent, a spellbinding story about two very different women and the mystery man who may connect them.
Like her previous works, The French Agent is a stunning, vividly imagined work of historical fiction. Alexandra excels at creating compelling female characters and placing them in richly imagined settings, something she once again does brilliantly here. The novel moves between post-war Sydney and France, following Sabine and Diana, two women on very different paths whose stories intersect with surprising results. Alexandra’s depiction of 1940s Sydney is particularly fascinating.
Tightly plotted and packed with plenty of twists and turns, The French Agent is an unputdownable story of secrets, espionage, family and revenge, brought to life by Alexandra’s meticulous research and lovely prose. If you’re looking for the perfect book to curl up with, add The French Agent to your TBR pile – this is historical fiction at its very best.
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