BOOK CLUB: The Juliet Code

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Author: Christine Wells
ISBN: 978-0-14-378835-5
RRP: $32.99
Publisher: Penguin Randomhouse (Michael Joseph)
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher

May is running away and a selection of our fabulous members are currently reading The Juliet Code by Brisbane author Christine Wells.

The Juliet Code is the third novel by Wells, again a historical novel; this one set in 1947 when the ramifications of the war are still strongly felt.

Juliet Barnard is haunted by her experiences and tormented by secrets. In occupied France, she was a British agent and wireless operator until she was caught by the Germans. A Paris mansion was her prison and place of torture.

It’s 1947 and Juliet is home but she refuses to relive the horrors or speak of her captor, Nazi Sturmbannführer Strasser.

The last thing that haunted Juliet wants is to return to Paris; but when her help is demanded by SAS officer/Nazi hunter Mac in the search for his sister Denise she can’t refuse. Juliet and Denise trained together before the mission that went horribly wrong, dropping them behind enemy lines. Denise didn’t make it home and Mac is both certain Strasser is the key to unlocking the mystery of his sister’s whereabouts and determined to find the answers. The real question is whether Juliet will be destroyed by the truth.

This one sounds fascinating and disturbing. I have been finding myself more interested in the stories set around World War II over recent years and this one certainly sounds intriguing. I have it on my list to get to this month.

Christine Wells can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her website.

The Juliet Code is published by Michael Joseph and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.

Thanks to Michael Joseph 10 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading The Juliet Code so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below

10 thoughts on “BOOK CLUB: The Juliet Code

  1. What a tremendous start to the week, reading this beauty ‘The Juliet Code’ by Christine Wells.

    Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Penguin Randomhouse Publishers for the opportunity to review this novel.

    Intense, gripping, informative, action packed, intricate characters, romance – what a great read. There’s something for everyone to enjoy.

    Descriptive and emotionally unravelling, this is one of the best war story books I’ve read. So many books and movies are based on the soldiers themselves. so it was a great relief to read a story based on the secret lives of the agents who also risked their lives trying to free allies and work against overcoming the enemy. It gave a great insight into the mental and physical anguish of those who generally won’t recount their horrific experiences during war time.

    My first Christine Wells novel and it won’t be the last.

    A book I highly recommend.

  2. Love a good historical fiction especially one set in WWII and one that has a female protagonist as the hero of the story.

    Wireless operator Juliet Barnard is parachuted into Paris after weeks of training with the Special Operations Executive in London . During her training she meets Felix and there is an instant attraction.

    It is 1943 and Juliet is now behind enemy lines . It is frightening times and you can only imagine when her cover is blown and she is caught by the Germans what will happen to her.

    The war is finally over and it is 1947. Juliet has been recovering from the horrors of the war. Juliet has deep dark secrets. The trauma of the war has made her a different person. She keeps things locked away never to be spoken of. Her family have no idea what she was doing during the war years thinking she was working in an office job safe in London

    An ex-SAS officer now Nazi hunter, Mac, asks Juliet to help him find his sister Denise who is missing in France. Juliet trained with Denise and she reluctantly agrees to return to France and help Mac in his search. Juliet is torn by her desire to help find Denise and the emotional turmoil of returning to the place that she has nightmares about.

    Does Juliet see Felix again? Will she ever recover from the horrors of the war? The book is full of intrigue and suspense as well as romance and heartache.

    The Juliet Code is a captivating book which I really enjoyed. Juliet’s story is distressing but it is well researched and an important story to be told. So much admiration for those heroic, strong women who endured so much during WWII.

    4/5
    Ps Don’t forget to read the Authors note at the end of the book.

    Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Penguin-Random House for the opportunity to read and review.
    Review also on Goodreads

  3. Thankyou Beautyandlace and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to review ‘The Juliet Code’ by Christine Wells.
    Juliet Barnard (code name, Sunshine) has trained in the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and is eager to become part of the operations in France in 1o43. Despie setbacks due to not being deemed suitable, she manages to convince her superiors that she is qualified enough to be sent.
    There are three young women to be parachuted to the French drop off site.
    The SOE are subject to the ferrying of messages and to help sabotage nazi operations, it is dangerous work. Her wireless transmission work extremely so.
    Before she leaves Britain for France she becomes attracted to Felix (a fellow worker) and their romance deepens when he provides codes for her to use on her mission.
    The story moves to 1947 and follows Juliet’s return from her experiences in France.

    This book was absolutely wonderful, so very interesting and exciting, I can’t praise it enough.
    There is so much more I could add in my review but I don’t want to give away any clues!
    Christine Wells certainly is a great author and the book’s cover is lovely.

  4. I absolutely loved this book. It was very exciting and I couldn’t put it down. I will certainly look for other books by this author..It makes it more intriguing as some of the characters were based on real people.
    There was also a beautiful romance throughout. Thankyou for this opportunity.

  5. I am a fan of WWII books, especially those with a strong female lead character, this one did not disappoint.

    Right from the start I was intrigued to find out more about Juliet and what happened to her during the course of WWII.

    There was enough twists and turns to keep me interested and I was up very late one night to get to the end. Highly recommend and I’m off to find more Christine Wells to read.

    Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Penguin Randomhouse Publishers for the opportunity to review this novel..

  6. The Juliet Code is an espionage novel that follows the story of Juliet Barnard as she tries to settle back into British life after the war. As the ghosts of the war chase her to uncover the events she was involved in, she gets dragged back into old spy networks and is forced to face her darkest secrets that she’s locked away deep into her memory.

    It was a fascinating look into coding during the war and the inclusion of women as spies and is definitely recommended for those that are interested in the espionage genre. I also really liked the Juliet character and the inner strength she found towards the end of the novel, underestimated by all throughout and the will they/won’t they romantic suspense provided another layer of intrigue throughout the novel.

    Thanks to Penguin Random House & Beauty and Lace for the chance to read.

  7. The Juliet Code is the third and latest book by Australian historical fiction author Christine Wells. I’m a big fan of her previous two books and this one did no disappoint as I think it’s Christine best book to date. Beginning in the post World War year of 1947, The Juliet Code is based on the true story of Noor Inayat Kkan, a wireless operator for the Special Order Executive in England during the war. Instead of Noor, Christine has named her leading lady Juliet Barnard as she decides if she is going to help Mac look for sister, Denise. Going back to 1943, Juliet shows the reader how it all began for her. Starting with her training at Beaulieu, Juliet is physically weak but sharp minded. Under rated as she may be, Juliet eventually finds herself in France at the heart of the war to covertly fight the Germans. I found Juliet’s work of sending and reading encrypted messages to be a fascinating as I never thought of the intricacies involved. The constant threat of danger was new to me as from the very beginning of the mission in France things go wrong for Juliet. Eventually, Juliet finds herself in the enemy hands of the Nazi, Strasser. Switching seamlessly between ’43 and ’47, I found myself in a world that is so far removed from where we are today. With richly detailed research, Christine brings alive a time of women being used to fight the enemy like they had not been used before. She sensitively explores the issue of torture during the war and the post traumatic stress disorder that follows. Fast paced with action and romance, this a must read for those who like to learn a little history on the side.

  8. An interesting alternate perspective of some of the emotional impacts on those survivors of World War 1. The main character Juliet is haunted by her memories of imprisonment and torture at the hands of the German’s whilst acting as a captured British Secret Agent. Juliet is a complex character whom I found difficulty in liking. Maybe it was her apparent reserved and guarded nature which the other characters in the novel also encountered left me with a feeling of a casual observer and that I was unable to lose myself in this book as I always felt I was being held at arms length. Having said that I enjoyed reading The Juliet Code and especially the Author’s Notes which gave further information which enabled me to put the novel into historical context. Thank you Penguin, Random House Australia and Beauty and Lace Bookclub for the opportunity to read The Juliet Code by Christine Wells.

  9. Definitely recommend The Juliet Code. Many twists and turns that you don’t see coming keep you totally intrigued, and the back and forth of the time switch in the story is thankfully seamless and not confusing as it can be in some books.
    I found the relationship with Juliet and Felix tough, she couldnt make up her mind, and to be honest I couldn’t either!!
    I enjoyed learning a bit about the operatives behind enemy lines as these are the untold stories.
    Thank you fir the opportunity to read this book, I very much enjoyed it.

  10. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I thought it would be good but was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I liked the characters and felt that the author bought them to life really well. I will certainly be looking up more Christine Wells books.

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