Jackdaws

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat, Colin Stinton

Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

D-Day is approaching. They don’t know where or when, but the Germans know it’ll be soon, and for Felicity "Flick" Clariet, the stakes have never been higher. A senior agent in the ranks of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) responsible for sabotage, Flick has survived to become one of Britain’s most effective operatives in Northern France. She knows that the Germans’ ability to thwart the Allied attack depends upon their lines of communications, and in the days before the invasion, no target is of greater strategic importance than the largest telephone exchange in Europe.

But when Flick and her Resistance-leader husband try a direct, head-on assault that goes horribly wrong, her world turns upside down. Her group destroyed, her husband missing, her superiors unsure of her, her own confidence badly shaken, she has one last chance at the target, but the challenge, once daunting, is now near impossible. The new plan requires an all-woman team, none of them professionals, to be assembled and trained within days. Code-named the Jackdaws, they will attempt to infiltrate the exchange under the noses of the Germans - but the Germans are waiting for them now and have plans of their own. There are secrets Flick does not know - secrets within the German ranks, secrets among her hastily recruited team, secrets among those she trusts the most. And as the hours tick down to the point of no return, most daunting of all, there are secrets within herself....

Filled with the powerful storytelling, unforgettable characters, and authentic detail that have become his hallmarks, Jackdaws is Ken Follett writing at the height of his powers.

PLEASE NOTE: This is the abridged edition. An unabridged version is also available.

Don't miss Ken Follet discussing the history of the thriller and its role in literature at the 92nd Street Y.

©2001 Ken Follett (P)2001 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"[A] celebration of uncommon courage and unlikely heroes." (People)

"A very entertaining, very cinematic thriller about a ragtag, all-female band of British agents, code-named Jackdaws, sent to blow up a key telephone exchange in France on the eve of D day...adventure, romance, derring-do.... [Jackdaws] promises to be one of Follett's most popular novels ever." (Publishers Weekly)

"Compelling reading...great entertainment." (The Baltimore Sun)

Wonderful

Kate Reading did a magnificent job narrating this book. It's nice to hear variations of accents just enough, without overdoing them.
The story was exciting; twists and turns along with humor & brevity. Definitely one of my favorite Ken Follett books.

Jackdaws - abridged

I believe I would have enjoyed the unabridged version more. But it is not available via Audible apparently except in languages other than English.

He did it again

Ken Follett just crushes every book. I’ve listened to ~10 books of his and this one ranks top of the list. Lots of complaints about the narrator, but I happened to like her.

Exciting! Always on the edge of my seat

Wonderful book. Great accounting of history. I saw that this book is based on a true story. I’m sure all the characters are fictional, but I wish there had been an addendum describing how women actually worked in this regard during WWII.

Edge of my seat, the whole time

First, the story is amazing. What courage these women had! And the narrator is fabulous and incredibly talented. Definitely listen to this one!

Great story but the music added, distracting

great book, I think the unabridged version would be better. the music added for dramatic effect was distracting at best, annoying at worst.

Sadists will love this one

I know Follett prides himself on unflinching realism, but detailed and prolonged torture scenes are not my idea of entertainment or education. Not a fun read

Good book...but most of them are

Storyline great. Performance different and ok. I wasn't used to split narration. Good buy. Enjoy

do not announce disc changes

really disliked the breaks in recording when disc's were changed. Unfortunately, it was very distracting.

Love it!

me and my pap used to listen to this when we took long trips on cassette.