Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy

Author Larry Loftis tells Odette's true story with admiration, not only for her, but also for other principal players in the World War II struggle. I found the entire book valuable reading and learning about spy activities. Another aspect of the story is the true account of the holocaust and the tortures. This was not enjoyable to read, but necessary to know. I commend Mr. Loftis for his gentle handling of these grievous atrocities. He also includes names, dates and places of the rest of the story: what happened to the other spies and to the German individuals named in the book. Bravo! An important book in the history of WWII.

Final Book Review My final book review is on the book “Code Name: Lise”. It was written by American author, attorney, and adjunct professor of law at the University of Florida Larry Loftis. Known for his international best seller “Into the Lion’s Mouth” which is the true story of Dusko Popov a WWII spy and the real-life inspiration for the international nonfiction spy thriller “James Bond”. Among the more known characters of World War II, such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, or Eisenhower, there are lesser-known heroes and heroines. Loftis, intrigued by the history of World War II, wants to bring the unsung heroes the honor they deserve for their service, one of these heroines is Odette Samson. Published on January 15, 2019 “Code Name: Lise” captors the life of an ordinary mother who finds that it is her duty to fight against the Germans in the heart of occupied France. This twisted nonfiction thriller shows the courage, love, and determination that any spy during World WarII aspired to have. “Code Name: Lise” captors the reader and makes them feel apart of Odette Samson’s journey. After Loftis wrote the book “Into the Lion’s Mouth” he went to work researching a new hero to write about. He searched for many historical records but came up blank. In one document he read about a woman named “Lise”. He began to search for more information about her. Loftis discovered that she was a french woman and her real name was Odette Samson. But the most interesting fact he came to uncover was that she was World War II’s most highly decorated spy. He collected information from her detailed Special Operations Executive files also known as SOE files, hear she documented her experiences. Other resources were her interview in the Imperial War Museum, the UK National Archives, and from other books written about her like the book “Odette: World War II’s Darling Spy” written by Penny Starns and “Odette” written by Jerrard Tickell. He was amazed that people did not know about her and decided that the world must hear her story. “Code Name: Lise” takes place in the year 1942. World War II is underway and Britain requires new SOE agents to go into occupied France. Samson was born in France, but at the time of World War II she lived in Britain with her three daughters. As a young girl, she learned the importance of joining the fight from her grandfather. Britain was in desperate need of fluent French speakers and French natives. Samson with her knowledge of France was their number one choice. She agreed said goodbye to her daughters and joined the fight on the front lines. The book “Code Name: Lise” creates a story from Samson’s first person view. The book begins with an explanation of why the author chose to write the book and his process in finding the information. Loftis then goes into the prolog where we see a future view of Samson’s life. The chapters in the book follows the process of Samson's life. Join her struggle in making life changing decisions. Her story ends with an epilog of her receiving her medals and her return to Britain. Larry Loftis than proceeds to question some of Samson’s choices in the author's notes. His main question is “How could she leave her children to go fight in a war?” Loftis also includes a section of the book titled “After Words” were we see a glimpse of Samson’s family. This book has many strengths and very few weaknesses. The strengths of this book are that it gives you the ability to feel the emotions of the characters. It also gives you the perspective that you are right beside the character and experiencing their reality. A weakness in this book is that it does not answer some common questions like, “What happened to Samson’s first husband Geoffrey Hallowes?”, “Why did she leave her children to go fight?”, and “What gave her the courage to accomplish what she did”. In conclusion this book expresses the courage, resilience, and patriotism that any World War II spy had but it underlines the fearlessness of Odette Sansom and her coworker Peter Churchill. Odette Samson became the most highly decorated spy in World War II for sacrificing her life in place of her fellow operatives. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about World War II and what spies had to overcome to accomplish their goals to fight back against Germany.

A captivating true story of a female spy in World War II. In all honesty, I had to read this in a 3 day time span. It was so harrowing, horrific and heart-breaking, I had to take many breaks while reading. 'Code Name: Lise' worked for the SPINDLE Circuit (Special Operations Executive) or SOE as it is referred to in this book. She was born in France but moved to England at an early age. Odette was her name at birth. The entire time I was reading this true story, my admiration for her grew. From her recruitment into SOE and the training, her determination to succeed illustrated her true spirit. And, of course, I kept wondering what created her motivation? Despite numerous serious health problems at an early age, she persevered. And, persevered with an open mind and spirit. The depth of the training was intense and was divided into 4 phases. And, it should be noted that 80% of the trainees were disqualified. Not one area was left out....physical, explosives, weapons, ciphers, killing and even included grenades and machine guns. These agents were trained to the maximum and trust me, without this intense training, some would have not survived. Finally in early 1943, she was on her way and SPINDLE was set. Her commanding officer was Peter Churchill and the mission was in Marseilles, France. The beginning of the spy portion in this book. For me, some items really stood out including the rationing of food during the war. Also, on a personal note my Dad was in WW II aboard an aircraft carrier and he had told me years ago that the radio equipment was so heavy. In this book, the radio operator was tasked with carrying the equipment to different locations to avoid detection. As one may surmise, these operators were truly sought after as they had knowledge of many items the other side was extremely interested in. The treatment of the prisoners in the prisons and in the Concentration Camps was just plain horrific. The Gestapo had interrogation fine-tuned to extract the most information. I have never read more details about the interrogation techniques than in this book. And, this is when I had to take frequent breaks...excruciating is the word that comes to mind but really torture at its finest...ouch... Some better moments occurred, however, with the selfless priest, Father Steinert. Thank God, for people of his caliber... Truly a saint put into the cloak of a priest at the right time for the prisoners. And, I also kept wondering where in the world did Odette get her intestinal fortitude to carry on? Where does courage come from? And, why did she join in the SOE in the first place? The author has a most interesting Appendix that explains the awards (including the George Cross) given to Odette and Peter were not without a lot of controversy. And, controversy that continued for many years. Truly an educational read for me...especially the portions on the training aspect for SOE, the treatment of the prisoners by the Gestapo, and the manner in which the missions were carried out. Most highly recommended...

I’m finding the writing stilted and many of the actions of the SOE agents incomprehensibly stupid. I’ve read a lot of good WWII fiction and non-fiction. This reminds me of a British show, “Allo, Allo!” a send-up of the Resistance. In Code Lise, we have Odette “slithering” to the foot of a bed, “gaping,” “blinking,” smiling with a “lopsided grin,” and agents acting like amateurs, albeit brave and determined ones. This book, I feel, is well researched, and that is why I may continue beyond the 1/3 of the way through mark, but I don’t get the stellar reviews. It should be a thrilling read, given the subject matter, but for me it’s not. And it lacks a French flavor. It could be taking place almost anywhere in Europe, with French place names inserted.

I don’t know about most people but I have always wondered how I would have responded to the events of World War II. I have made it my intent to watch as many documentaries and read selective books about the War and I am in awe regarding the courageous men and women who faced horrors the likes of which very few of today’s youth will ever experience; I hope. It does raise an interesting question and that is would today’s youth respond as the youth of the 30’s and 40’s did? This book was definitely a page turner for me. It’s about a French woman who married and moved to England prior to the commencement of WWII. Because she was fluent in the French language and knew her way around France, she was asked to consider joining the British forces as a spy working for the allies. She was the mother of 3 girls and you would have thought that becoming a spy would not be something she would consider, yet it was because of her three daughters she felt the need to do something to help the war effort. Her story was riveting and I could not put the book down. The description of what happened during her time being a captive of the Germans with a death sentence already determined was not something you see in the documentaries of WWII. The book is about her ordeals, her life, her love of another spy within her circle, her determination, and her desire to make a difference and of course how it all turned out. To say any more would do the book an injustice and may discourage readers of this review from reading the book. Who should read this book? That’s a great question. Given the subject matter, WWII, most people won’t take the time to read it. I can assure you that in this case the truth of what happened is much better than any book of fiction you could ever read. Everyone would benefit from the book but I think young women would benefit the most. Would I read it again? There would be no need to read it again. Her story is her story and it won’t change nor would I gain any further insight into what transpired. Would I give it as a gift? ABSOLUTELY!

Fascinating book. 4.5 stars. Very glad I read it. Have read many WWII books. I enjoy reading about women that were a part of winning the war. This woman was truly amazing. I had heard her name mentioned before,but really did not know much about her. As I read, I had to remind myself that this is a true story. Some of it was unimaginable. At times I had to set the book down and take a breath. After page 100, I had a hard time putting the book down.....I had to keep reading the next chapter. It really kept me up late because I just had to know what happened next. Suspenseful, thriller, espionage, love story, just a bit of everything! Highly recommend it.

This book was absolutely not my preferred genre. However, the author is clearly a very talented writer with a heart for research and telling the entire story. The book was slightly confusing in that everyone seemed to have multiple names, I was so thankful they had listed everyone at the beginning so I could look back and keep things straight. This book was very eye opening in regards to non-Jewish people also being imprisoned. This book definitely educated me on an aspect of World War II that I was not familiar with. I loved the included photos. It was nice to see women heroes. I wish more of them could have survived. Overall well written and worth reading, especially if this is the genre you enjoy.

It’s 1942 and German troops have occupied most of Europe. A French woman named Odette Sansom wants to do her part to fight the Germans and manages to become a spy code-named Lise. She joins forces with an English officer named Peter Churchill who will be her commanding officer. Remarkably, Odette had once been married and still had three children but she persuades a relative to take care of them while she fulfills her patriotic duty for France. Odette is alone in Arles, France on Christmas eve 1942 and joins a group of German officers at their hotel. After a feast of cake and several bottles of Cote du Rhone she persuades the Germans to move a piano upstairs where the sounds can be enjoyed by a greater number of hotel guests. Not exactly a bit of spy craft but it does attest to Odette’s cleverness. Peter, Odette and several compatriots are captured by Nazis and taken by train to one of Germany’s infamous prison camps. Odette is subjected to some torture that even made me cringe but she would not reveal any military secrets. Peter and Odette begin to have romantic feelings about each other during this period and told their captors that they were married even though they were not. Because of Peter’s last name, the Nazis believed that they had caught a relative of the British Prime Minister; neither Peter nor Odette tried to tell them otherwise. The Nazis sent an offer to England and offer a trade: we’ll give you Peter Churchill in exchange for Rudolf Hess. England, however, would not agree to the switch. Both Peter and Odette survive the war, are released from prison and travel to England where they eventually marry. Because of her heroism during the war, Odette is selected to receive an award. In a large ceremony the George Cross is presented to her by none other than King George VI, the only woman being honored along with 249 men. Photographs, reference notes and the author’s commentary are provided. This is an inspiring book of non-fiction that reads like a exciting and tension-filled novel.

Still reading this book. Once started hard to put down.

As someone who knows Odette's story well, I was delighted to read this book from Larry Loftis. He writes a faithful account of Odette's recruitment into SOE; her work as part of the Spindle network; and most importantly, her incredible courage, dignity and fortitude. Her story comes alive as the pages turn. 'Code Name: Lise' will take Odette's legacy to a much larger audience, and for this we can only be grateful to Mr Loftis. It will also undoubtedly give younger generations a deep insight into what it is that makes a real heroine.

Larry Loftis is my new favourite author. Never knew a book with so much factual detail could be such a good read! He filled in some gaps in my sketchy knowledge of WW2 and he is a consummate story teller.

Love the book. Will read it again.

A thoroughly good read.