The Darkest Hour

May 9, 2016
Teenage girls act as spies for the Allies in this WWII thriller primarily set in Nazi-occupied France. It’s 1943, and 16-year-old Lucie Blaise is an American serving with the Covert Ops unit of the Office of Strategic Services as an agent-in-training. Unfortunately, her lack of cold-blooded ruthlessness threatens to end her career before she can avenge her older brother, a soldier killed in action. When Covert Ops gets wind of a secret German project that could devastate Europe, Lucie and her colleagues must do whatever it takes to obtain vital information and prevent disaster. Trading the alternate history of The Only Thing to Fear for historical fiction set in our world, Richmond delivers a pulse-pounding page-turner featuring an unremittingly tense atmosphere and resourceful, fearless heroines who repeatedly defy death. However, that same tension results in a lack of emotional downtime, and the second half of the story feels rushed and underexplored, as Lucie attempts to escape back to England after being captured. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

April 15, 2016
A girl spy in Nazi-occupied France contends with a dastardly Nazi plot as well as treason within the Allied ranks.Sixteen-year-old Lucie, heartbroken at her beloved brother's death in action, sneaks away from home to join the Women's Army Corps. The French-speaking, white Baltimore native is promptly (if implausibly) recruited into Covert Ops, an all-female espionage division. Though tops in her class during training, Lucie struggles in the field, where the job of killing her targets after extracting all necessary information makes her too squeamish to excel. Perhaps she can please her irritable commander with her few extracted rumors of the dreadful and mysterious Operation Zerfall. Before Lucie learns anything further, Covert Ops dissolves into chaos. Despite her junior status, Lucie's sent to interrogate a defecting Nazi--about Operation Zerfall. A cinematic combat sequence later (evoking more Kill Bill than another girl-spies-in-occupied-France novel, Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity, 2012), and Lucie has all the information Covert Ops needs. But trusting the wrong person drags Lucie into a dire situation that could turn the tide of the war for Germany. Characterization is thin, but secondary characters of color provide authentic diversity. The drama builds through interrogations, explosions, shoe daggers, and Nazi mad science; the entertaining, historically genuine (though often inaccurately depicted) James Bond gadgets and weapons keep pages turning.Thrills, action, and the moral certainty of fighting Nazis drive this thriller. (Historical thriller. 12-14)

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June 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Following the loss of her brother on the African front in World War II, American Lucie Blaise joins a covert operations group in France. Tasked with unspeakable acts of espionage, Lucie and a cadre of other fearless women work tirelessly for the Allies. When a young Austrian comes forward with information about sinister Nazi plans, Lucie and her comrades in arms must decide whether to trust him and act on what could be a disastrous turning point in the war. Rife with action and intrigue, this work explores a little-known history of women in World War II. The novel passes the Bechdel test with flying colors as the two protagonists and occasional rivals escape Nazis on trains, down alleyways, and through the countryside. While the narrative takes a turn for the outlandish as the book progresses, Richmond makes clear in her author's note that the stories she is illuminating were no less than extraordinary. VERDICT Fast-paced and fascinating, this book is sure to please readers in search of a historical adventure.-Erinn Black Salge, Saint Peter's Prep, Jersey City, NJ

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