It was a great historical fiction based on a real story during World War II.
It was well written and full of interesting historical information that makes the book captivating.

The narrator did an amazing job.

With so much thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher Bolinda Audio for ARC.

This was a little different from my usual read, but I like spy dramas usually so was keen to read this well rated novel. I must declare though, at the time of reading, had not realised that this novel was based on a real life wat heroine.
The story follows the life and trouble of Noor Inayat Khan. A fine young lady of Indian‑American heritage, whose deeply spiritual and well travelled upbringing contrasts sharply with the violence unfolding in Europe during World War II. Featuring a peaceful childhood steeped in music and creativity in Paris, Noor and her family eventually flee the Nazi invasion in 1940 and settle in England.
Determined to support the war effort, Noor applies to join the British war effort and finally gets accepted and undergoes training with Britain’s Special Operations Executive. Her fluency in French makes her ideal for covert work in occupied France. June 1943 sees her deployed into Paris as part of the SOE's Prosper network as a wireless operator, the most dangerous role in occupied Paris, which carried a life expectancy of just 6 weeks.

As I said I hadn’t realised this was based on a real story, which may explain why this was a bit patchy. There was so much background to how Noor grew up and her family. A good third of the book is dedicated to this, which I can now appreciate is giving real flavour to Noor as a person.
The story of Noor’s development, seemed sluggish to me and although well written, it just felt like it was dragging. When I think spy novels, I expect fast pace and with large levels of suspense, this novel didn’t really deliver either of these. At points it was a little repeative.
I felt that Mass portrayed Noor as quite a naïve girl, which given her status post war, feels a little crass. However, I maybe being unfair as this could well have been realistic to Noor the forthright young woman she was.
Given the strong reviews of this novel, I am left wondering if I missed something, or it could be just not my bag, or I had high expectations which were not met. It was ok, I give this 2.5/5 rounded up to 3.

Sometimes I forget that there are so many untold stories of WWII, and this was such a fresh and new perspective for me. I enjoyed listening to this book as an audiobook, but I think I would have also enjoyed reading it in book format. This book captivated me and kept me on my toes as well. I was listening at every point in the day to find out what would happen. The author did an incredible job at telling this story with so much grace and respect. Will definitely be recommending.

This was a wonderful book, based on the true story of Noor Inayat Khan, the first female radio operator sent by SOE into Nazi-occupied France. A fascinating and very emotionally powerful, heart-wrenching story that has been beautifully written by the very talented writer Sharon Maas. Highly recommended for all fans of historical fiction and also those interested in the second World War.
With grateful thanks to NetGalley, Sharon Maas, Bookouture and Bolinda Audio for my advance copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.