THE SHOCK OF THE LIGHT by Lori Inglis Hall

5 stars

Upper class British twins Tessa and Theo Armstrong have been strongly bonded since childhood, and during WWII when Theo takes a commission as a pilot with the Royal Air Force, Tessa wants to find a way to serve as well. Unbeknownst to her brother or her parents, Tessa gets recruited into the clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) to spy for Britain behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied France. Sworn to secrecy, Tessa undergoes intense training and overcome her deep fear of parachuting to get cleared for her mission.

But when in the plane for the jump into France, Tessa hesitates out of fear and in jumping late misses her landing target. Good thing she does as her landing team is ambushed by Nazi soldiers and killed. All except for a senior agent who Tessa suspects may actually be a double agent. But Tessa has no way to communicate this to home base and desperately goes on the run to survive. She gets connected to the French Resistance and ends up working on a rural farm. Tessa’s story provides the action of the novel along with unique insights into the French resistance, Nazi cruelty, the surprising number of double agents among both the French and the British, and the British government’s willingness to send women off the books and without protection into enemy territory as spies.

Fast forward to the future and an injured Theo comes home to find his sister missing. He falls into post-war despair and cannot get anyone to lend insight about what may have happened with his sister. Instead, as Theo asks too many questions the government accuses Tessa of being a double agent and permanently tarnishes her name.

Theo’s quest for the truth about Tessa leads to threats and exile by the government, and only when an intrepid PhD student comes along does he join forces with her to get at the real story.

A tremendous read!!

Thanks to Viking Penguin and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.