In his own bestselling tradition of Eye of the Needle and The Key to Rebecca, Ken Follett delivers a breathtaking novel of suspense s...
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Jan 29, 2012
Sarah
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I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Typically, war based stories are so full of minute details that they detract from the story for me. The plot sounded intriguing though, so I decided to give it a shot. It ended up being one of the better WWII stories that I have read. There was enough background information for me to underdstand the historical reference of the story, but it was balanced by a well developed plot. I like reading stories from a non-American perspective since it is a view
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Aug 20, 2011
Craig
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Jackdaws could have been a very good World War II novel. It's about a group of women operatives (most of them criminals or malcontents) who are given a chance to serve their country and clear their records if they undertake a dangerous mission in France to blow up a Nazi communications center just as the D-Day invasion begins. Yes, the premise is very much a female Dirty Dozen. The action and characterization of the book is okay. It is typical. But there were just too many sex scenes. And t
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Jan 21, 2009
Dbraico
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this was also a good one. also action packed. so many people die in this one. you get attached to the characters. good read.
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Dec 17, 2009
David
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Reading Jackdaws, like other Ken Follett titles I've read, is kind of like riding a moped. It's a lot of fun, but all the same you really don't want to be seen enjoying it. For me reading Follett is one of those guilty pleasures, where you know it isn't the best writing out there, the characters aren't particularly well developed, and in general the book isn't ground breaking or noteworthy in any way -- and yet you keep reading, because secretly it's kind of fun.
If you like WWII fiction wi More...
If you like WWII fiction wi More...
Apr 16, 2008
Donald
rated it:
Ken Follet achieves the nearly impossible task of creating genuine suspense about an event that is well-known, with fresh characters, clever plotting, and surprising twists on an old story. You will enjoy this book on a long plane flight, or just sitting out on your porch during the lazy days of summer. I always enjoy Ken Follet's approach to history--crackerjack pacing, strong dialogue, and a deep desire to entertain. If only all writers cared as much about their audience's enjoyment as Follet
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Jun 17, 2011
Joanna
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Full video review here : http://mysterythriller.tv/jackdaws-by-ke...
I have always found Ken Follett too verbose but this book was an excellent fast read with a great female lead character. Flick Clairet is one of a select group of women helping the French Resistance during the final years of the Second World War. She is married to a French man, the leader of the resistance in Reims and in the opening sequence we see a group of them fail to overcome a telephone exchange that is crucial More...
I have always found Ken Follett too verbose but this book was an excellent fast read with a great female lead character. Flick Clairet is one of a select group of women helping the French Resistance during the final years of the Second World War. She is married to a French man, the leader of the resistance in Reims and in the opening sequence we see a group of them fail to overcome a telephone exchange that is crucial More...
May 25, 2011
Leslie
rated it: 
I picked this up on holiday because I'd read through the books I'd brought and this was the only one among the English-language secondhand paperbacks at the hotel I thought I could stand. It's okay, for what it is. Follett keeps the adrenaline going, but there's not much else here. The main characters are all impossibly good-looking and/or bursting with raw sexual energy (one can practically cast it with the appropriate Hollywood A-listers as one reads). The plot is full of twists, as one would
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Sep 21, 2010
Ed
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This offering of Ken Follett, while not up to Eye of the Needle or The Pillars of the Earth was nevertheless a good book to have on a trip with many delays due to weather and mechanical problems.
It chronicles the travails of a group of British women who are tasked to destroy a German telephone exchange just before D-Day, important because it was the main conduit for most of the military phone traffic between France and Berlin .
The plot is well-developed but I find Follett More...
It chronicles the travails of a group of British women who are tasked to destroy a German telephone exchange just before D-Day, important because it was the main conduit for most of the military phone traffic between France and Berlin .
The plot is well-developed but I find Follett More...
Nov 19, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
First off, I feel this is a 3.5 but I'm giving it 4, as some of the reviewers on here have been too harsh.
JACKDAWS takes the standard D-Day spy stories but twists it by focusing on the Historical female agents, or, as they were known, something of the unsung heroes.
This particular tale focuses on a female agent who is trying to knock down the phone lines of an SS HQ but needs to do it as cleaning ladies. So, after failing her first attempt, she heads back to the UK where sh More...
JACKDAWS takes the standard D-Day spy stories but twists it by focusing on the Historical female agents, or, as they were known, something of the unsung heroes.
This particular tale focuses on a female agent who is trying to knock down the phone lines of an SS HQ but needs to do it as cleaning ladies. So, after failing her first attempt, she heads back to the UK where sh More...
Jan 21, 2011
Kristin
rated it:
This book was pretty good. I doubt Ken Follett could write a bad book. I think it was a lot different than I was expecting. Even though the plot took place over a short 10 days, it still seemed like a very slow-building suspense than a page-turner. The characters weren't as fleshed out as they are in his epics (though how could they be?), but the details of undercover military operations and civilian life during the war were interesting (though a thing or two seemed unlikely - I won't give the p
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Nov 20, 2009
Emily
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As this book opens in 1944, Flick Clairet, an experienced British agent working with the French Resistance, fails to blow up a crucial piece of infrastructure. She returns to England and argues for a another shot at it; she is given leave to take a group of inexperienced female agents back to France with her and try again. Meanwhile, a German officer has captured the remnants of the original force and infiltrated the Resistance cell Flick expects to meet. Now Flick has to escort a group of rank
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May 17, 2011
Kristen
rated it:
"Exactly fifty women were sent into France as secret agents by the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Of those, thirty-six survived the war. The other fourteen gave their lives. This book is dedicated to all of them."
So. Damn. Good.
Ken Follett is best known for his sweeping epics Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and Fall of Giants which span decades, but in Jackdaws he manages to apply his same talent for engrossing description into More...
So. Damn. Good.
Ken Follett is best known for his sweeping epics Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and Fall of Giants which span decades, but in Jackdaws he manages to apply his same talent for engrossing description into More...
Nov 29, 2010
Eileen
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This is the story of Flick Clairet, a female British SOE spy (loosely based on the life of Pearl Witherington) who has gone behind the lines in occupied France throughout WWII. She fails to take out a telephone switch that handles the the traffic between France and Berlin, and attempts to go back and take it out with an all female team before the Allied Invasion.
It had a great and colorful class of characters and rejects who are brought together for the project. It was full of plot twi More...
It had a great and colorful class of characters and rejects who are brought together for the project. It was full of plot twi More...
Jul 26, 2011
Jerry
rated it:
Follett is probably best known for his wartime spy stories, e.g., “Key to Rebecca” and “Eye of the Needle.” We find these stories fairly good, but were totally wowed by his two medieval tomes; yet sorely disappointed in a story he wrote in contemporary time (“Third Twin”).
In this tale, it’s just a week or so before D-Day, and in France, everybody seems to know the big day is imminent, including the Germans; and the French Resistance is gearing up to create as much accompanying havo More...
In this tale, it’s just a week or so before D-Day, and in France, everybody seems to know the big day is imminent, including the Germans; and the French Resistance is gearing up to create as much accompanying havo More...
Jan 12, 2012
VicNurse
rated it:
I found this book in a bargin bin at Chapters. For a couple books, I picked it up. That was almost 10 years ago and I remember the moment clearly. Why? Because that was my introduction to Ken Follett and what has become a passion for anything he writes.
This books sucks you in right away. And you don't have to be a war enthusiast to enjoy it. My favourite aspect? It wasn't taken from the side of the ever popular Brits, Americans, or Russians. I find a lot of WWII books always s More...
This books sucks you in right away. And you don't have to be a war enthusiast to enjoy it. My favourite aspect? It wasn't taken from the side of the ever popular Brits, Americans, or Russians. I find a lot of WWII books always s More...
Dec 08, 2010
Gareth
rated it:
I thought the main characters were well drawn and three dimensional but perhaps some of the subsidiary ones were a little two dimensional or WWII cliched (but then you can't develop all the characters in a fairly large cast without slowing things down, can you?). However, I really enjoyed the locations, suspense, pacing, fear-atmoshphere and action. The anticipation of going behind enemy lines, not knowing who to trust or how you are ever going to get out together with really fearing for the m
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Jul 25, 2011
David
rated it:
Ken Follett is definitely in his element when writing WWII thrillers. This book took me a little while to get into, but I was thoroughly hooked by the 2/5 mark. Once again (Eye of the Needle), Follett revisits D-day and the what-if scenarios surrounding it. This story is fun and unique - an all-girl team, led by the charismatic Felicity "Flick" Clairet, must parachute into occupied France less than a week before the invasion in order to sabotage their communication. Opposite "
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Jul 21, 2009
Jacki
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I am an avid reader. My husband, not so much. This is one of the few books that he brought into our married bookshelves, and that's because he had to read it for a class. I read anything I can get my little hands on, so I grabbed this one up.
I loved it. I loved the main characters, the gathering of the team, the constant action, all that friction.... everything. It kept me excited and I couldn't put it down. I love tough, unique, women characters and this was full of them. I f More...
I loved it. I loved the main characters, the gathering of the team, the constant action, all that friction.... everything. It kept me excited and I couldn't put it down. I love tough, unique, women characters and this was full of them. I f More...
Jan 17, 2009
TheIron
rated it:
A good suspenseful WWII story - strong female protaganist.
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Sep 21, 2010
Sandra
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Suspenseful, compelling, action-packed. This thriller is what I would expect from a bestselling author like Ken Follett. He doesn't fall short!
The protagonist Felicity Clairet (Flick), a beautiful British major, forms a group to pose as cleaning women to infiltrate a chateau which houses an important telephone exchange. She plans to destroy the equipment. She has no problem ruthlessly shooting people and planning attacks, but still worries about her husband having an affair. She puts More...
The protagonist Felicity Clairet (Flick), a beautiful British major, forms a group to pose as cleaning women to infiltrate a chateau which houses an important telephone exchange. She plans to destroy the equipment. She has no problem ruthlessly shooting people and planning attacks, but still worries about her husband having an affair. She puts More...
Jul 10, 2011
Susan
rated it:
A good beach book. Haven't read anything by Follett and this was an okay read. Set during WW 2, it follows the work supporting the French Resistance out of Britain. A secret agent, Felicity Clairet (Flick), forms a group of female agents to destroy Nazi communications in St. Reims in northern France just before D-Day. Her husband, Michel, is having an affair with a young local woman, Gilberte, and there's much ado about German torturers, Resistance folks, and seemingly accurate history. Much of
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Feb 17, 2010
Russell
rated it:
This ranks up there with Ken Follett's better books, which makes it very good indeed. While it is not quite in the same league as Pillars of the Earth or Dangerous Fortune, it does have those signature Follett features that I love. Well drawn and humanized villains, stakes that are raise at a rapid pace, lots of perspective shifting to make sure you recognize the full scope of the conflict at all times, a bit of sex, and some karmic justice. Unlike some of his other books, Jackdaws takes plac
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Mar 01, 2011
Irene
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The problem I have with historical fiction is that I always figure there must be plenty of amazing true stories from the same time period, so why not read about those? Jackdaws brings attention to the Special Operations Executive, the British military division responsible for secret operatives sent behind enemy lines. According to a note in the book, fifty women really were sent into France as spies during World War II. So what are their stories? I'm sure they're as fascinating, or even more so,
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Sep 15, 2010
Alex
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Not boring.
Several characters are developed to a point to make them interesting but the ways in which they interact with each other is contrived and unappealing. The main antagonist becomes the standout character who has a complex and interesting story interacting with little more than cardboard cut-outs. The protagonists' story reads much the same way, but with the addition of a thoroughly unappealing loves story the unique traits become standard nearing cliche.
The sto More...
Several characters are developed to a point to make them interesting but the ways in which they interact with each other is contrived and unappealing. The main antagonist becomes the standout character who has a complex and interesting story interacting with little more than cardboard cut-outs. The protagonists' story reads much the same way, but with the addition of a thoroughly unappealing loves story the unique traits become standard nearing cliche.
The sto More...
Nov 13, 2011
Thomas
rated it:
A short, entertaining novel which I picked up after reading the much more ambitious "Fall of Giants." Follett spins a great story and seems to have a great grasp of history. His weaknesses are dialogue and sex scenes, both of which seem artificial and strained. As long as his characters keep their mouths, and legs, shut, his writing is excellent. This is a quick, entertaining read focusing on the french resitance during WWII, their British handlers (who in this case are all-female
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Sep 11, 2011
Megan
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Ken Follett's "Jackdaws" reads like a fantastically breathtaking action film; the type that Hollywood really doesn't tend to make anymore. The last 150 pages of this book were an absolute delight, filled with excitement, turns at every corner, and unexpectedness. In keeping you on the edge of your seat, Follett succeeds.
I've always hesitated to call Follett a great writer - I liken his works to secretly being a fan of Ke$ha - but what Follett may lack in eloquence with the wr More...
I've always hesitated to call Follett a great writer - I liken his works to secretly being a fan of Ke$ha - but what Follett may lack in eloquence with the wr More...
Mar 25, 2010
Joan
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Based on a true story of a "Dirty Dozen" group of women who parachuted into occupied France prior to the D-Day invasion, this book has the elements of a good story but is so poorly written that it interferes with one's enjoyment. This is surprising as Follett has the capability to write well; to wit: Eye of the Needle and other thrillers. One wonders if he did not just dash off this one for the loot. Additionally, his protagonists are normally male and he does not do a very good job ge
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Dec 31, 2011
Chipper
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My first foray into the writing of Ken Follett and it won't be my last. Setting: 1944 occupied France in the days leading up to the invasion of Normandy. A fictional look into the politics, people and inner workings of the British Special Operations Executive in 1944 and the secret missions they were carrying out in concert with the French Resistance in preparation for D Day. Like the cover says, 'uncommon courage' from 'unlikely heroes.' First book in a while I struggled to put down and attend
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Sep 30, 2008
Jessica
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This was my first experience with Follett, and though I have to admit that I was skeptical, I found it to be very enjoyable. While Follett's work is technically fiction, I feel as though I'm getting a history lesson, that every page adds to my historical knowledge. The writing style is quite fine, although a bit on the lighter side than I expected. The story is gripping and kept me turning those pages excitedly. I like the way Follett mixes action with emotional charge and character depth in
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May 08, 2007
haley
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Let me preface this by saying that I love historical fiction having anything to do with Europe between the years 1900-1945. World War Two dramas are usually filled with such drama and atmosphere that I can't help but be excited by it. I'm not sure why, but I love it.
This book found me while I was on my French Resistance kick, and it's about a squad of British Female Spies that parachute into occupied France to aid in the Resistance. Sure, it's a mass-market paperback thriller, but it More...
This book found me while I was on my French Resistance kick, and it's about a squad of British Female Spies that parachute into occupied France to aid in the Resistance. Sure, it's a mass-market paperback thriller, but it More...
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