From Ariel Lawhon, the bestselling author of I WAS ANASTASIA, comes CODE NAME HÉLÈNE, a riveting and fast-moving account of the life of Nancy Wake, a socialite spy who was one of the most decorated women of World War II. Here, Lawhon reveals to her readers the names --- four of them! --- that Nancy used to hide among her enemies and the boundless, indefatigable spirit that carried her through the war.

CODE NAME HÉLÈNE is written in interweaving timelines differentiated by whichever name Nancy is using at the time. Beginning with Madam Andrée, we meet a woman who can drink, curse and fight like a man, but is equally ill at ease without her signature red lipstick and often can be found sporting a fashionable Louis Vuitton bag. Quite simply, Nancy is unique, and it is this trademark spirit and sense of energy that quickly set her apart, both for her comrades in war and for readers. Starting with an exhilarating leap from a plane into enemy territory, and following through the night as she susses out traitors, Nancy maintains an exhausting list of code words and still manages to look effortlessly beautiful through it all. But this is just one night in Nancy’s long, storied time on the battlefields, and Lawhon immediately immerses us in her fascinating history.

In a flashback to before the war, we meet Nancy as she is working as a young freelance journalist in Paris in 1936. Though she enjoys travel and hearing people’s stories, the least interesting part of journalism for her is, well, being a journalist. Add to that her boss’s misogyny and the industry’s unwillingness to list the names of female contributors, and you have one bored Nancy. Luckily for her, she has a dazzlingly glamorous friend in Stephanie, a quintessential Parisienne, and the two supplement their time together with fancy cocktails, dodging handsome men, and teaching Australian Nancy to become a real Parisian. And then Hitler begins to take control, and Nancy finds a new calling in exposing the horrors of his men and their treatment of Jews. After landing an exclusive scoop, she travels with a fellow freelancer to Vienna and Berlin, where she witnesses unspeakable horrors long before they are being actively reported on.

"Writing four women is no easy feat, especially if they are all the same person and the narrative is hopping across timelines and locations, yet it is one that Lawhon handles deftly and strategically."

Alternating between these two timelines, we follow Nancy as she meets and is wooed by a dashing man named Henri Fiocca, avoids a murder plot, and successfully secures loads of weapons and ammunitions for rebel forces fighting Hitler’s men. What immediately sets Nancy apart is her quick wit and intelligence. Whereas I am normally turned off by characters who are too witty, Lawhon infuses her protagonist with such vivacity that her smart tongue feels natural. Nancy is certainly an icon in her own right, but Lawhon so effectively closes the distance between this legendary female and her readers that she feels like a normal woman who has worked hard for everything she has, not a trope or “Chosen One.”

Soon after Britain declares war on Germany, Nancy picks up a new last name, Fiocca. But she barely has time to settle into married life before the Germans invade France, and she is galvanized into joining the war effort as Lucienne Carlier. Lucienne is adept at smuggling people and documents across borders, but her achievements do not go unnoticed by the Gestapo, and rumors of a White Mouse --- a female operative who is deemed uncapturable --- begin to fly. Unfortunately for Nancy, this nickname is to become her most lucrative yet: a sizable bounty is placed on her perfectly coiffed head. Desperate to protect Henri and those she loves, she makes the impossible decision to escape from her beloved France. Faced with no pleasant choice and too many unpleasant ones, she joins the Special Operations Executives for training, where her near-photographic memory is quickly utilized and she is airdropped back into France as the aforementioned Madam Andrée.

It is Madam Andrée with whom we spend the most time, and she is, without a doubt, the most ferocious of all of Nancy’s identities. Her wit is never more present, and armed with plenty of experience in dealing with men, she is always ready to stand her ground, shove her subordinates in their places and make it clear that anyone standing behind her is going to win. And yet, this strength is marked by her deep pain at being separated from Henri, as well as her fear that the Nazis will soon realize that Nancy, Lucienne, the White Mouse and Madam Andrée are all one and the same.

Writing four women is no easy feat, especially if they are all the same person and the narrative is hopping across timelines and locations, yet it is one that Lawhon handles deftly and strategically. Though I never struggled to remember who was who, where they were or why, I do feel that the book could have been cut down just a bit. Lawhon was clearly dedicated to sharing Nancy’s exploits in full, and she does this admirably, but her descriptions can drag at times, especially when detailing characters’ looks and outfits.

It is no secret that there already are a wealth of World War II stories from which to choose, but two elements make this one a surefire pick: Lawhon’s stellar writing, coupled with the fact that Nancy was a real woman and that most of the accomplishments detailed here are true. I did some research as I read, and at every turn I was shocked not only by how accurately Lawhon had captured Nancy’s exploits and personality, but that I somehow had never heard of her before reading CODE NAME HÉLÈNE.

Though Nancy was indeed fully decorated after the war, she has been largely ignored by history books since then. That is a grave error, and one that Lawhon undoubtedly will fix with this stunning, moving story of Nancy Wake, Lucienne, the White Mouse, Madame Andrée and their steadfast, unwavering dedication to their cause.