100 Books Like She Landed By Moonlight

I loved this book because it made me cry: twice! Such a moving and inspiring story. The heroine in this case is Violette Szabo, who was only twenty-two years old when her husband, Etienne, a captain in the French Foreign Legion, lost his life in the battle at El Alamein.

The tragedy of his death was what catapulted her into her mission with the SOE as an underground agent working with the French maquisards to sabotage and subvert everything German. Her bravery, her indomitable character, and her calmness under pressure are what kept me turning the pages; I just couldn’t wait to see whether or not she’d survive, whether she’d ever see the baby daughter she’d left behind in England ever again.

Nancy Wake’s story is that of a true heroine. I was captivated by it when I first read about it years ago while researching the SOE for my own novels. Already in the opening chapters, I was riveted.

I could fully identify with Nancy’s urge for adventure and world travel: she left her home country, Australia, for England and France at a very young age, just as I had left Guyana, South America, for India and Europe in my early twenties.

Like Pearl Witherington, Nancy was recruited as an SOE agent and dropped into France to work clandestinely as an agent. Reading stories of such tremendous bravery inspires me to find my own strength in times of hardship, and basically to always count my blessings and be a better human being. I realize how fortunate I am in my own safe and comparatively privileged life, and it helps me not… show more.

I’d never heard of Odette Samson before starting this book, even though I’d been researching SOE agents for years. But only a few pages in, I knew that Odette was truly one of the greats and that this read would be in my Great WW2 Heroine category.

I HAD, of course, heard of Peter Churchill (no relation to Winston!), who crops up again and again in books about SEO, and who also plays a major role in this book. I loved how Odette, even in the worst circumstances, never lost faith and never gave up; she had an inner strength that kept her going even in the most horrific circumstances, and even in the greatest suffering, she was able to give strength and hope to others.

World War 2 produced many men and women of enormous resilience and character strength; Odette was one of them. 

I knew I’d love this book even before I read it, as I’ve read almost everything by this author and loved all her work. What a treat to find that she had written a WW2 novel with heroic characters inspired by the SOE agents Diana Rowden and Violette Szabo!

But I particularly loved this book because it brings to life a disturbing event that has haunted me since I visited the French concentration camp Natzweiler-Struthof in 2018.

This camp was primarily for male political prisoners, but in 1944, four women were brought there and put to death by lethal injection and then cremated in the camp’s oven. Diana Rowden was one of those four agents.

It’s a stretch to say I “loved” the fact that this book brought this horrific scene to life through the Diana Rowden character. No, I didn’t “love” it–but it chilled me to the bone and… show more.

The key to a successful historical thriller is a strong sense of time and place, but not so strong that it slows down the plot – it’s still a thriller after all, and while it’s so tempting to find somewhere to put all that research, discipline is essential. I loved this book because Robert Ryan does it particularly well. I took a lot from it for The Fulcrum Files, particularly the mix of action and romance and the basis in real events.

Want to read a thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night? Liberation is for you. And – here’s the kicker – it’s based on the real-life deeds of Nancy Wake. When her husband was snatched by the Gestapo, she joined SOE, trained as an agent, and parachuted into France. Nicknamed “The White Mouse” by the Germans for her ability to evade capture, she led a battalion of 7000 Resistance fighters, killed a man with her bare hands and defeated 22000 Germans (losing only 100 men). Even with a 5-million-franc bounty on her head (the largest bounty of the war), the Germans still couldn’t get their hands on her.

After the war, she sold her medals to fund herself. When asked about it, she blithely commented: "There was no point in keeping them, I'll probably go to hell and they'd melt anyway."

Nancy Wake was seriously… show more.

If ever another film should be made about an SOE agent in occupied France, it should tell the story of Nancy Wake, a brash, fearless Australian who caused havoc for the Nazis as ‘White Mouse’, the nominal leader of a huge Maquis network. I came upon Nancy’s file at the National Archives, and her SOE training report sums up this extraordinary woman: "She is tough, stubborn and plucky, with plenty of initiative. She has a strong personality, is jolly and sociable, but capable of being rather difficult." Those who came up against her would certainly have agreed, including her handlers. This book is a fantastic description of Nancy’s sometimes reckless bravery and incredible achievements inside enemy territory.

What struck me about Agent Josephine is how it reminds you that spies are human first.

Josephine Baker wasn’t born an operative—she was a performer, an artist, a woman making choices in a world on fire. Courage alongside vulnerability.

It made me think differently about espionage. Behind every code name is a person with fears, hopes, and a life beyond the mission. Reading it grounded me; it reminded me that in the end, the heart matters as much as the tradecraft.

This book also has some wild moments!

Special Operations Executive had the directive to “Set Europe ablaze” and from 1942 began recruiting women as field operatives. 39 were sent into France (of which 26 returned), and Kate Vigurs tells their stories in Mission France. Superbly researched and well written, this book is a really good all-rounder. Broken into 3 sections (Foundations, War, and Death & Deliverance), it tells each woman’s story, from their recruitment to either their death or demob. I loved the fact that she covered the lesser-known agents as well as the big names. Be prepared to be moved – these women’s exploits are more amazing than a lot of fiction I’ve read!

Sarah Helm’s biography of Vera Atkins is perfectly titled. On one level, Vera was the 2nd in command of SOE’s French Section, responsible for recruiting, training, and deploying SOE operatives into France. On another level, there were the closely guarded secrets of her own life.

Sarah Helm’s biography revealed a workaholic, an immigrant who became more English than the English, and whose loyalty to her charges, and the Allied cause, was unswerving. After the war, when 118 SOE agent didn’t make it home, Vera launched a personal crusade to find out what happened to them – a mission that took her across Allied-Occupied Germany to the concentration camps. (She found all but one.)

On a side note, Vera Atkins has been fictionalised on both big and small screens, from Ian Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny to Foyle’s War Hilda Pierce. Her legacy remains an inspiration.