Review: Code Name: Lise

Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis is the true story of Odette Sansom, a woman who went from housewife to WWII’s most highly decorated spy. It reads like a best-selling espionage thriller, and it’s a perfect book for summer. 

French by birth, Odette married an Englishman and had two daughters. With her husband in the army, she and her daughters move to the English countryside to escape the German bombing. While there, Odette begins to feel guilty about leading a peaceful existence while war ravages her homeland. Through an interesting string of events, she ends up in life-and-death training for spies. She also finds love as she learns secret information. 

This book is a page-turner with each chapter leaving the reader desperate to discover Odette’s fate and that of her lover. The most harrowing part of the book showcases Odette’s incredible natural talents for espionage — and her time in prison.   

In Code Name: Lise, you’ll be faced with English spies, members of the French resistance, Italian military, Italian spies, German military, the Gestapo, German spies, and those serving both sides. Through very effective and efficient use of primary documents, the author capably recounts dialogue that makes each scene in the book come alive. Admittedly, it can get a bit confusing at times with a large cast of characters with some similar names — both real and assumed — making it tough to keep up with who’s who and what side they’re on.  

Odette Sansom’s story is like that of so many women throughout history: invisible until someone becomes interested enough to do the difficult work of recreating their life stories. Larry Loftis produces a wonderful tale that sheds light on an incredible woman doing simply what she saw as her duty during a worldwide crisis. 

How many other stories of women remain untold?  

Code Name: Lise, by Larry Loftis, is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local booksellers. Published by Gallery Books, New York, 2019. Disclosure: We are an affiliate of Bookshop.org and Conversational will earn a commission if you click one of the above links and make a purchase.