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Resistance Girl #7
The London Spymaker
Experience the thrilling conclusion to ‘The Resistance Girl Series’ with book 7, 'The London Spymaker.'
London, 1942
In this riveting WWII historical saga of espionage, love, and deceit, join Anna Adams, the indomitable spymistress of Baker Street Headquarters, as she navigates a web of secrecy, love, and duty.
Anna, a recruiter of daring SOE agents, conceals her true identity and origins as she specializes in enlisting female spies and sending them behind enemy lines. With foreign agents who fear and revere her, Anna's world takes an unexpected turn when Polish pilot fighter Major Henryk "Hubal" Pilecki reenters her life, seeking to become a secret agent. Torn between love and duty, Anna makes a heartbreaking choice that leads to catastrophe.
As the war ends, Anna embarks on a quest to uncover the fates of the women she sent to their deaths, all while confronting her own troubled past and mysterious protector.
Inspired by a true story and featuring the last “resistance girl from the Swiss finishing school”, 'The London Spymaker' weaves together espionage, betrayal, and passion against the backdrop of World War II, delivering a gripping tale of resilience and secrets.
In the last installment of this captivating series Anna's true identity and the fates of her comrades are finally revealed.
London, 1942
In this riveting WWII historical saga of espionage, love, and deceit, join Anna Adams, the indomitable spymistress of Baker Street Headquarters, as she navigates a web of secrecy, love, and duty.
Anna, a recruiter of daring SOE agents, conceals her true identity and origins as she specializes in enlisting female spies and sending them behind enemy lines. With foreign agents who fear and revere her, Anna's world takes an unexpected turn when Polish pilot fighter Major Henryk "Hubal" Pilecki reenters her life, seeking to become a secret agent. Torn between love and duty, Anna makes a heartbreaking choice that leads to catastrophe.
As the war ends, Anna embarks on a quest to uncover the fates of the women she sent to their deaths, all while confronting her own troubled past and mysterious protector.
Inspired by a true story and featuring the last “resistance girl from the Swiss finishing school”, 'The London Spymaker' weaves together espionage, betrayal, and passion against the backdrop of World War II, delivering a gripping tale of resilience and secrets.
In the last installment of this captivating series Anna's true identity and the fates of her comrades are finally revealed.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2024
About the author
Hannah Byron
77 books199 followersHannah Byron is an acclaimed author of historical fiction centered on WWII resistance women. Born in Paris in the mid-1950s to a British mother and a Dutch father, she grew up with strong ties to France, the UK, and Holland, which continue to inspire her work. Most of her novels are set in Western Europe, where history and culture run deep.
After decades of balancing life as a mother, university professor, and translator, Hannah is now a full-time author. She writes passionate novels about resistance and romance set in the 20th century—topics close to her heart. Readers often describe Byron’s work as gripping, deeply emotional, and impossible to put down.
Get a FREE WW2 Novella https://www.hannahbyron.com/newsletter
Follow Hannah on BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/hanna...
After decades of balancing life as a mother, university professor, and translator, Hannah is now a full-time author. She writes passionate novels about resistance and romance set in the 20th century—topics close to her heart. Readers often describe Byron’s work as gripping, deeply emotional, and impossible to put down.
Get a FREE WW2 Novella https://www.hannahbyron.com/newsletter
Follow Hannah on BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/hanna...
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 2, 2024
This was an immersive book which begins in the years right before World War ii, when Ansel Grynszpan is a teenager living with her parents and small sisters in Hannover, Germany. That is covered in the prologue, and the story, then set in 1945, moves to post-war Germany when Ansel, now Anna Adams, WAAF, briefly attends the opening of the Nuremberg trials.
From there, Anna’s life story is pieced together in non-time sequenced sections, and the reader learns that before World War II begins in earnest, Anna’s Polish Jewish family is uprooted by the Nazis and sent to the border with Poland where they are forced to live in a tent in the harsh winter cold. Although attended by kind nuns, the family faces much hardship and tragedy, but is eventually rescued and flown to England by a brave Polish pilot, Major Henryk Pilecki.
Anna’s Uncle Benjamin, her mother’s half-brother, helps the family resettle in England, helps Anna to get an education and her father to set up in business. As time proceeds, Anna begins work at the SOE and as she advances, gains responsibility and recruits female agents to work in France.
I won’t go into the twists and turns of the story, as they are many and intriguing, except to say that after the war Anna is in the War Crimes Investigation and tries to locate the SOE agents based in France who have not returned. This is a novel aspect among WWII historical fiction and quite interesting. Some who survive are severely traumatized.
A mild criticism is that despite the excellent story lines, the non-consecutive story line and reappearance of characters occasionally confused me. Still, this is an excellent book presenting novel aspects of the WWII historical fiction entries.
From there, Anna’s life story is pieced together in non-time sequenced sections, and the reader learns that before World War II begins in earnest, Anna’s Polish Jewish family is uprooted by the Nazis and sent to the border with Poland where they are forced to live in a tent in the harsh winter cold. Although attended by kind nuns, the family faces much hardship and tragedy, but is eventually rescued and flown to England by a brave Polish pilot, Major Henryk Pilecki.
Anna’s Uncle Benjamin, her mother’s half-brother, helps the family resettle in England, helps Anna to get an education and her father to set up in business. As time proceeds, Anna begins work at the SOE and as she advances, gains responsibility and recruits female agents to work in France.
I won’t go into the twists and turns of the story, as they are many and intriguing, except to say that after the war Anna is in the War Crimes Investigation and tries to locate the SOE agents based in France who have not returned. This is a novel aspect among WWII historical fiction and quite interesting. Some who survive are severely traumatized.
A mild criticism is that despite the excellent story lines, the non-consecutive story line and reappearance of characters occasionally confused me. Still, this is an excellent book presenting novel aspects of the WWII historical fiction entries.
April 2, 2024
The London Spymaker
I was privileged to be part of the ARC team for Hannah Byron's 7th book in the Resistance Girl Series , The London Spymaker.
The Story of Anna Adam's , from a little Jewish girl forced out of her home with her family, landing in a camp outside of Poland , with loss of family , to arriving in London to her uncles home, Anna's story is riveting and will keep you reading til the end.
Once in London Anna story unfolds during WW2 in the early 1940s, her story is one of love, loss, and SOE, where she becomes the Spymaker to play her part in stopping the war!
If you enjoy historical fiction this is a wonderful story of triumph!
I was privileged to be part of the ARC team for Hannah Byron's 7th book in the Resistance Girl Series , The London Spymaker.
The Story of Anna Adam's , from a little Jewish girl forced out of her home with her family, landing in a camp outside of Poland , with loss of family , to arriving in London to her uncles home, Anna's story is riveting and will keep you reading til the end.
Once in London Anna story unfolds during WW2 in the early 1940s, her story is one of love, loss, and SOE, where she becomes the Spymaker to play her part in stopping the war!
If you enjoy historical fiction this is a wonderful story of triumph!
April 2, 2024
Another riveting, well-researched resistance story from Hannah. It shows a different side to the WW2 story, especially events immediately after the end of the war.
The narrative is intense, & events gruelling. It’s a compelling read, retelling an important part of history.
Highly recommend this series, this is book 7.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the author, & I am writing a voluntary honest review
The narrative is intense, & events gruelling. It’s a compelling read, retelling an important part of history.
Highly recommend this series, this is book 7.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the author, & I am writing a voluntary honest review
April 6, 2024
What a book! I have loved every book in this series and this one has me riveted from the start to its finish. This is the story of Ansel, AKA Anna, the last of the Resistance girls who met at a Swiss finishing school. German by birth, Anna barely escapes Nazi Germany to England where she ends up running a spy network for the SOE. This is her story and that of the people she recruited for the allied war effort. It’s a story of courage and love and treachery that Byron tells in such convincing manner. Cant recommend this series more!
Read
April 6, 2024Excellent historical fiction and a great tie in of all the resistance books. Can’t wait for Hannah’s next one
May 9, 2024
A good finish to this series. To write a story of Vera Atkins would have been very daunting as she was a complex woman and to be admired for what her achievements were during the war years.
This story showed the bravery and resilience of the people wanting to defend their country against Nazi Germany. Determination was shown in addressing of what they could do .
Overall a good read and would recommend the series
This story showed the bravery and resilience of the people wanting to defend their country against Nazi Germany. Determination was shown in addressing of what they could do .
Overall a good read and would recommend the series
October 9, 2025
The seventh book in the Resistance Girls series, The London Spymaker is Anna Adams’ story. Anna spends her wartime service as a recruiter of female SOE agents. She is deeply concerned for all her operatives in the field and as the war ends Anna becomes involved with the Nuremberg trials and the quest to find out the fate of her missing agents in order to bring closure to their families.
April 29, 2024
I’ve enjoyed this series immensely… and this is another superb book by Hannah Byron.
April 13, 2024
This is the first book in this series that I have read. And I am mad to read the prior 6. Very good research and a touching narrative. Not too sappy sweet, and not too much of the horrors. But enough of both. I highly recommend this book (maybe the series even though I have not read the other books?) to anyone interested in WWII and, particularly, the women who served in silence and lived the rest of their lives forgotten by those who are alive because of the actions of these women warriors.
June 1, 2024
Good story
March 6, 2024
The London Spymaker: A Riveting WW2 Historical Saga of Espionage, Love & Betrayal. Based on a real story. (A Resistance Girl Novel Book 7) Kindle Edition
by Hannah Byron
This story starts out with Ansel and she's the oldest girl in the family. Her mother, father and twin girls made up the whole family. They are Jewish but able to stay safe for a while but need to get to a safer location.
They have bare necessities and end up in the field between Germany and Poland. The nuns help them survive. No food, very cold and there is much death. They finally get a way out, by flying to England to her mothers brother that lives there. He is quite wealthy and takes them in. He has plans for Ansel. First they all get new names. Her father opens a book shop, and her uncle trades in diamonds with many nearby countries.
She ends up spending time with the pilot that brought them there but she's only 16. She was able to be sent to the finishing school in Switzerland where she meets and befriends Pearlie. They form a lifelong bond.
She gets a job where she interviews women who want to help fight the war in France. They are trained and she notes where they'd be the best asset in the campaign.
She is in the bunkers under the city but she is also considering marrying the well to do man but she fears he's too much of a playboy for her. He has her life in his hands when he tells her of his plans She devotes her time to the SOE and even after interrogating others during the war crime trials to find out more information about the agents she sent off the fight in France. Anna learns what happened to them all. The war does end along with all the threats made to her life. She has important papers that allow her to travel where she needs to go. Just one last mission for her...
Never saw it ending as such, very powerful, emotional, lots of travel, love lullaby’s translated into English, entertaining learning about the struggles, hardships, tragedies and death and how they survived and why.
This book by the author is the best out of the whole series, so detailed descriptions, something just connected with me in this read to keep it one of my top 5 books this year.
A KEEPER
by Hannah Byron
This story starts out with Ansel and she's the oldest girl in the family. Her mother, father and twin girls made up the whole family. They are Jewish but able to stay safe for a while but need to get to a safer location.
They have bare necessities and end up in the field between Germany and Poland. The nuns help them survive. No food, very cold and there is much death. They finally get a way out, by flying to England to her mothers brother that lives there. He is quite wealthy and takes them in. He has plans for Ansel. First they all get new names. Her father opens a book shop, and her uncle trades in diamonds with many nearby countries.
She ends up spending time with the pilot that brought them there but she's only 16. She was able to be sent to the finishing school in Switzerland where she meets and befriends Pearlie. They form a lifelong bond.
She gets a job where she interviews women who want to help fight the war in France. They are trained and she notes where they'd be the best asset in the campaign.
She is in the bunkers under the city but she is also considering marrying the well to do man but she fears he's too much of a playboy for her. He has her life in his hands when he tells her of his plans She devotes her time to the SOE and even after interrogating others during the war crime trials to find out more information about the agents she sent off the fight in France. Anna learns what happened to them all. The war does end along with all the threats made to her life. She has important papers that allow her to travel where she needs to go. Just one last mission for her...
Never saw it ending as such, very powerful, emotional, lots of travel, love lullaby’s translated into English, entertaining learning about the struggles, hardships, tragedies and death and how they survived and why.
This book by the author is the best out of the whole series, so detailed descriptions, something just connected with me in this read to keep it one of my top 5 books this year.
A KEEPER
October 3, 2025
Mara Ross - per RFS
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Buongiorno Fenici, oggi vi parlo del settimo capitolo della serie Le Figlie della Resistenza, romanzo storico ambientato nella Londra del 1942. Il libro rende omaggio a tutte quelle donne che, durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, rischiarono la vita per contrastare il regime nazista.
Anna Adams, una figura enigmatica e determinata, dirige un gruppo di spionaggio femminile, il SOE, ossia il Special Operations Executive, un’organizzazione segreta britannica fondata nel 1940 da Winston Churchill con lo scopo di condurre operazioni di sabotaggio, spionaggio e guerriglia nei territori occupati dai nazisti.
La sua missione è quella di reclutare e addestrare giovani donne coraggiose da inviare oltre le linee nemiche in Francia. Si tratta di donne addestrate a portare a termine la missione, anche a costo della vita, molte di loro infatti non hanno mai fatto ritorno.
“Non addestro soldatesse, ma esseri umani. E il coraggio non ha mai avuto una divisa unica.”
Anna è una protagonista complessa e affascinante; è la spina dorsale del SOE e guida altre donne verso un destino “incerto”. Il suo passato avvolto nel mistero si intreccia con le sfide del presente. La sua vita prende una svolta inaspettata quando riappare Henryk “Hubal” Pilecki, un ex pilota polacco nonché il suo amore perduto. Divisa tra il dovere e i sentimenti si ritroverà a dover affrontare scelte dolorose che la metteranno alla prova.
La narrazione in terza persona è ricca di dettagli storici che immergono il lettore in un’epoca di grandi cambiamenti. Non vi nascondo che spesso ho faticato a tenere vivo l’interesse pur apprezzando la componente storica e l’ambientazione.
La Creatrice delle Spie di Londra è una lettura imperdibile per chi ama i romanzi storici con protagoniste forti e sfaccettate; lo consiglio a chi cerca una storia intensa, emozionante e profondamente umana.
Hannah Byron affronta temi profondi con una scrittura elegante e ricca di aneddoti.
.
Buongiorno Fenici, oggi vi parlo del settimo capitolo della serie Le Figlie della Resistenza, romanzo storico ambientato nella Londra del 1942. Il libro rende omaggio a tutte quelle donne che, durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, rischiarono la vita per contrastare il regime nazista.
Anna Adams, una figura enigmatica e determinata, dirige un gruppo di spionaggio femminile, il SOE, ossia il Special Operations Executive, un’organizzazione segreta britannica fondata nel 1940 da Winston Churchill con lo scopo di condurre operazioni di sabotaggio, spionaggio e guerriglia nei territori occupati dai nazisti.
La sua missione è quella di reclutare e addestrare giovani donne coraggiose da inviare oltre le linee nemiche in Francia. Si tratta di donne addestrate a portare a termine la missione, anche a costo della vita, molte di loro infatti non hanno mai fatto ritorno.
“Non addestro soldatesse, ma esseri umani. E il coraggio non ha mai avuto una divisa unica.”
Anna è una protagonista complessa e affascinante; è la spina dorsale del SOE e guida altre donne verso un destino “incerto”. Il suo passato avvolto nel mistero si intreccia con le sfide del presente. La sua vita prende una svolta inaspettata quando riappare Henryk “Hubal” Pilecki, un ex pilota polacco nonché il suo amore perduto. Divisa tra il dovere e i sentimenti si ritroverà a dover affrontare scelte dolorose che la metteranno alla prova.
La narrazione in terza persona è ricca di dettagli storici che immergono il lettore in un’epoca di grandi cambiamenti. Non vi nascondo che spesso ho faticato a tenere vivo l’interesse pur apprezzando la componente storica e l’ambientazione.
La Creatrice delle Spie di Londra è una lettura imperdibile per chi ama i romanzi storici con protagoniste forti e sfaccettate; lo consiglio a chi cerca una storia intensa, emozionante e profondamente umana.
Hannah Byron affronta temi profondi con una scrittura elegante e ricca di aneddoti.
March 30, 2024
Meet Anna Adams a spymistress and it is her job to recruit young female spies that will be sent behind enemy lines . As she wades through love, secrecy and duty she finds herself torn between the old love of her life and her duty to the young woman . She is trying to hid her past and now she is engaged to Count Roderick Macalister to help erase her past. But when things go from bad to worse at their headquarters Anna must make a heart breaking decision and at the end of the war Anna embarks on a quest to find out what happened to the women she sent out and also come to terms with her own past and the mysterious protector.
Anna is one of the strongest women you would ever meet , she may not act it some times but this girl has been through the ringer but she is one of many fighters. As we find out Anna 's past was one of hardships. She grew up as a Polish Jew who with her family were rounded up by the Nazis and taken to the border of Poland and had to live in a tent during the harshest of conditions . Then she was finally airlifted to safety to England where she is helped by family and strives to a better life . We see her grow stronger as she grows . There are so many characters that come in and out of her life through out the story. Roderick well he is helping her to give her credibility and basically a new life but man he comes off as a pompous boob most of the time and you really want to just smack him upside the head a few times to see if any sense will knocked into his head . Henryk is the man who saves Anna and her family . He is the sweetest man you could ever meet , he truly cares for Anna and also for her family. He has a sense of duty that calls to him and he wants to do what he can to save as many people as possible. These are characters you can fall in love with each character is well written and complex.
This is a story that will have you captivated from the very first page . The author takes a true tale and weaves a story that will have you turning pages all night long . I love how the story takes a nonconstructive view on her life and her past letting it entwine with her present day as a War Crimes investigator for the Nuremburg trials and trying to find the female agents that were sent behind enemy lines . Honestly I never knew i could get into historical stories but this series has really captured my heart . I have cried with these main characters and cheered with them. This could be read as a stand alone book but I seriously suggest you read the whole series and be swept away . Check out this series coming out April 2 2024
Anna is one of the strongest women you would ever meet , she may not act it some times but this girl has been through the ringer but she is one of many fighters. As we find out Anna 's past was one of hardships. She grew up as a Polish Jew who with her family were rounded up by the Nazis and taken to the border of Poland and had to live in a tent during the harshest of conditions . Then she was finally airlifted to safety to England where she is helped by family and strives to a better life . We see her grow stronger as she grows . There are so many characters that come in and out of her life through out the story. Roderick well he is helping her to give her credibility and basically a new life but man he comes off as a pompous boob most of the time and you really want to just smack him upside the head a few times to see if any sense will knocked into his head . Henryk is the man who saves Anna and her family . He is the sweetest man you could ever meet , he truly cares for Anna and also for her family. He has a sense of duty that calls to him and he wants to do what he can to save as many people as possible. These are characters you can fall in love with each character is well written and complex.
This is a story that will have you captivated from the very first page . The author takes a true tale and weaves a story that will have you turning pages all night long . I love how the story takes a nonconstructive view on her life and her past letting it entwine with her present day as a War Crimes investigator for the Nuremburg trials and trying to find the female agents that were sent behind enemy lines . Honestly I never knew i could get into historical stories but this series has really captured my heart . I have cried with these main characters and cheered with them. This could be read as a stand alone book but I seriously suggest you read the whole series and be swept away . Check out this series coming out April 2 2024
April 2, 2024
This is the 7th in The Resistance Girls series.
And arguably the best. Though I still have a secret respect for Sable and her story.
This is well written and extremely well researched and tells of ‘Anna’ and her beginnings through various timelines but not in such a way to be muddled.
She has familial links to an important part of what occurred in Nazi Germany in WW2 and for me put some context into the history of the War. It followed an event I had little knowledge of.
Anna is a difficult character to understand but as the story unfolds one gets an insight into why she is why she is. And in parts it’s harrowing.
It’s also brings together how the Resistance Girls met at the finishing school in Switzerland and how they all fit together.
I think the next book will close any unfinished ends.
Anna struggles with her own identity and her own official status but works for the SOE recruiting agents and making sure after the War that their families knew of their fates, but in a kind way even when she knew the news was never going to be good.
This series documents a group of strong women who work for their beliefs often against the odds - and shows that women are often the equals if not, sometimes, the betters of their male counterparts.
An often harrowing read, but well worthwhile and I thoroughly recommend this book and in fact the series
And arguably the best. Though I still have a secret respect for Sable and her story.
This is well written and extremely well researched and tells of ‘Anna’ and her beginnings through various timelines but not in such a way to be muddled.
She has familial links to an important part of what occurred in Nazi Germany in WW2 and for me put some context into the history of the War. It followed an event I had little knowledge of.
Anna is a difficult character to understand but as the story unfolds one gets an insight into why she is why she is. And in parts it’s harrowing.
It’s also brings together how the Resistance Girls met at the finishing school in Switzerland and how they all fit together.
I think the next book will close any unfinished ends.
Anna struggles with her own identity and her own official status but works for the SOE recruiting agents and making sure after the War that their families knew of their fates, but in a kind way even when she knew the news was never going to be good.
This series documents a group of strong women who work for their beliefs often against the odds - and shows that women are often the equals if not, sometimes, the betters of their male counterparts.
An often harrowing read, but well worthwhile and I thoroughly recommend this book and in fact the series
April 1, 2024
This is the 7th book in the Resistance Girl series. It can be read without having read previous books in the series. While previous books had women fighting with the resistance in the midst of the enemies, this book has Anna, a German born, non-religious Jewish woman, working as a spy master in London. She is personally responsible for selecting women for their roles as undercover resistance fighters. She and her family fled the Nazis early and they suffered terribly in a refugee camp, until they settled in London. There, the family misfortunes continued. But Anna, with her superior intelligence and work ethic toiled throughout the war and then sought information on her missing agents and built cases against the Nazi war criminals.
The story does move between time periods, but the chapters are cleanly identified with the time period. The reader should have no problem with the time period changes.
This is another well researched and touching story of World War II and the bravery of the men and women who supported and participated in the resistance.
The story does move between time periods, but the chapters are cleanly identified with the time period. The reader should have no problem with the time period changes.
This is another well researched and touching story of World War II and the bravery of the men and women who supported and participated in the resistance.
June 1, 2025
I, literally, could not put this book down and just about read the entire book in one day. I have read all the "Resistance Girl" books and all of them are a lesson in love, friendship and a fierce hunger to do what is right during wartime. Anna, formally Ansel, is in her element recruiting women for the SOE. But during it all, she harbors a fierce feeling for all of them and spends the years after the war trying to find out what happened to the missing agents. During all this she is blackmailed by an evil MP who loves the Nazis. This book has love, hate, life and death and just about everything else that you can throw into life. Highly recommended and a nice ending.
April 2, 2024
A really wonderful book! WWII Historical that is intriguing and heartbreaking. Anna recruits women to go behind enemy lines in France. Lots of twists and turns and tragic events in this unpredictable haunting story make this a real page turner and a must read
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews