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Alex Kovacs #3
The Lyon Resistance
France has been overrun and the Gestapo now controls the country with a sinister terror. The Resistance does what it can, at enormous personal risk to its members. But is it worth it? After the fall of France, Alex Kovacs and his wife, Manon, travel to her home in Lyon to continue the fight they began as espionage agents in Switzerland. Disillusioned by the leaders who ignored so many warnings and allowed France to be steamrollered by the Germans, they form a Resistance cell and sabotage the Nazis wherever they can. But the effects are fleeting even as the danger for them grows exponentially. And when that danger surrounds them, smothering them, Alex is forced to make the ultimate decision — to risk everything for his family and his cause. The Lyon Resistance is the third book in the Alex Kovacs historical espionage thriller series. If you like the world inhabited by Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther or the characters created by Alan Furst, a place and time of unfathomable evil where the biggest questions sometimes are forced upon the most ordinary of people, then you’ll love Richard Wake’s new World War II thriller. Pick up The Lyon Resistance to travel along on Alex’s latest adventure!
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2019
775 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Richard Wake
30 books100 followersRichard Wake's first career was as a newspaper reporter, columnist, and editor. Writing fiction was always an aspiration, especially historical fiction set in Europe during the inter-war period, and now it has become a reality.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
May 7, 2019
As a writer, I can be a bit critical; but, finding 21st century idioms in a novel set during WWII was a let-down. I felt the same after the first season of Downtown Abbey which should be taken into account when reading this review. Lots of people who do not have my particular background will appreciate this more for which I am glad. Writing is not easy and the editing process ought be repeated as often as necessary. As with Downtown Abbey, the blame is not exclusively on the writer.
October 1, 2020
Another of Richard Wake's excellent espionage thrillers this time set in occupied Lyon. Filled with action and surprising plot twists this one kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page.
March 23, 2021
I would actually rate this book 4 1/2 stars . The tension and fear were palpable throughout .
December 23, 2020
Think it's going to be a good one, especially knowing the region.
September 14, 2024
Another exciting read
After three books, I am hooked on this series. The dialog/banter is engaging and a bit smart-aleck, the action makes it a page turner, and by now I care about the characters and the journey they have made from Austria to Switzerland to France during the dangerous days leading up to and during the Nazi occupation. Seems like I need to start book 4 immediately. Luckily the series is on Kindle Unlimited,
After three books, I am hooked on this series. The dialog/banter is engaging and a bit smart-aleck, the action makes it a page turner, and by now I care about the characters and the journey they have made from Austria to Switzerland to France during the dangerous days leading up to and during the Nazi occupation. Seems like I need to start book 4 immediately. Luckily the series is on Kindle Unlimited,
April 17, 2021
I feel like a broken record about this series. I am very engaged by it, I like the main character and his circle of compadres, and I like the spy element or the Resistance element, or whatever aspect of World War II Alex Kovacs is engaged in. (In this particular book it is the French Resistance.) But I just don't see why the author can't make sure that the proofreaders do a better job, as there are more typos than there should be. There are also grammatical mistakes that stronger editing would pick up, and my big complaint with the series which is that the characters speak unashamedly in 21st century dialogue and slang. Every time one of those terms comes up, and remember this is supposed to be written by someone living in the 1940s, it takes me right out of the moment, and for a second I think: I am not going to read these anymore. But because I am so engaged in the characters and the story, I keep going.
So Mr. Wake, congratulations for doing as good a job as you do in making a world which apart from the dialogue feels very real. But you could have had something great if you had just gone that extra mile and read a few Grahame Greenes and adjusted the dialogue and the voice, not to be absolutely 1940s, but just not to be so clearly 2021s. I don't understand why someone as good as you wouldn't go that extra mile.
So Mr. Wake, congratulations for doing as good a job as you do in making a world which apart from the dialogue feels very real. But you could have had something great if you had just gone that extra mile and read a few Grahame Greenes and adjusted the dialogue and the voice, not to be absolutely 1940s, but just not to be so clearly 2021s. I don't understand why someone as good as you wouldn't go that extra mile.
April 2, 2020
Vive la France
At the risk of sounding prudish (I’m not!), I found the profanity/vulgarity to be excessive, unnecessary, and distracting. Additionally, there were entirely too many period incorrect expressions for a story set in 1943. The story was good, not overly tedious, and for the most part, believable. The author is very adept at leaving you dangling at the end, thus setting up the transition (and incentive) to the next installment in the series.
At the risk of sounding prudish (I’m not!), I found the profanity/vulgarity to be excessive, unnecessary, and distracting. Additionally, there were entirely too many period incorrect expressions for a story set in 1943. The story was good, not overly tedious, and for the most part, believable. The author is very adept at leaving you dangling at the end, thus setting up the transition (and incentive) to the next installment in the series.
October 26, 2024
When we last left Alex, he had arrived in Lyon and met Manon just after the fall of France. It is now 1942, Alex and Manon are married and working with the Resistance — and Manon is pregnant. The Gestapo have made themselves at home in Lyon, commandeering the Hotel Terminus as lodging, a former military medical school located at 14 Avenue Berthelot as the interrogation and torture headquarters for the infamous Klaus Barbie, aka the Butcher of Lyon, and the former military prison of Montluc at 4 Rue Jeanne Hachette where prisoners are housed between interrogations and before execution.
(As far as I can determine from Google Maps, the hotel no longer exists, but the former medical school is now a museum called the Centre d’histoire de la résistance et de la déportation and the prison is now the Mémorial National de la Prison de Montluc. BTW, Richard Wake set his stories in real places and locations and I have used Google Maps extensively to better immerse myself in the setting.)
A subtitle for this book could be “Werner Vogl Returns,” which of course is quite an added danger for Alex. Alex is forced to use a number of disguises, the most effective of which is a priest’s cassock and wide-brimmed hat. Alex also keeps an extra flat under an alias where he has stored a vast supply of canned foods, all thanks to the money his Uncle Otto left him. Food is rationed and scarce.
Henry was left behind in Zurich, but we see a lot of Leon in this book. Leon has begun moving Jewish people out of Paris and the surrounding areas, and he convinces Alex to let him use the extra flat as a safe stop on the way to Spain.
Needless to say, all of this has significantly raised the tension and danger in this installment of the series. Alex is arrested twice, but he is released both times. Ironically, this puts him in even more danger as the members of the Resistance group think he is a double agent and try to assassinate him.
Again, I am very much enjoying this series in spite of the anachronistic language used by the characters. Alex and Leon have both come a long way from the womanizing, hard-drinking 20-year-olds in Vienna.
(As far as I can determine from Google Maps, the hotel no longer exists, but the former medical school is now a museum called the Centre d’histoire de la résistance et de la déportation and the prison is now the Mémorial National de la Prison de Montluc. BTW, Richard Wake set his stories in real places and locations and I have used Google Maps extensively to better immerse myself in the setting.)
A subtitle for this book could be “Werner Vogl Returns,” which of course is quite an added danger for Alex. Alex is forced to use a number of disguises, the most effective of which is a priest’s cassock and wide-brimmed hat. Alex also keeps an extra flat under an alias where he has stored a vast supply of canned foods, all thanks to the money his Uncle Otto left him. Food is rationed and scarce.
Henry was left behind in Zurich, but we see a lot of Leon in this book. Leon has begun moving Jewish people out of Paris and the surrounding areas, and he convinces Alex to let him use the extra flat as a safe stop on the way to Spain.
Needless to say, all of this has significantly raised the tension and danger in this installment of the series. Alex is arrested twice, but he is released both times. Ironically, this puts him in even more danger as the members of the Resistance group think he is a double agent and try to assassinate him.
Again, I am very much enjoying this series in spite of the anachronistic language used by the characters. Alex and Leon have both come a long way from the womanizing, hard-drinking 20-year-olds in Vienna.
September 4, 2019
I'll be in Lyon for the first time in about 10 days. Recently I've been reading fiction, mainly detective/espionage fiction to help me get a sense of place in the cities I visit. This novel does a very good job with that, and it also enlightens me about Lyon in the occupation. Klaus Barbie is not the main character - that would be Alex Kovacs, a former spy now working with the French resistance - but he has two encounters with Barbie, both creepy, the second more than the first.
The novel is written in 56 short chapters, a page-turner of sorts. Wake has researched the area and the era thoroughly. Though it never gets as exciting as I want it to, there is a good deal of suspense, some violence, and the writing is generally good if not brilliant.
In addition to encounters with Klaus Barbie, Kovacs also has one sighting of and later one scary dinner with his nemesis, Werner Vogl, a captain in the Gestapo with whom Kovacs had clashed in at least one of the the two earlier novels in the series, one set in Vienna, the other in Zurich. There is at least one after this was set in Lyon, called The Limoges Dilemma.
I've only read this one, but may go back to him, reading the first two and then the fourth. Not sure if he has more planned after that. Actually, I'm more likely to read the fourth than the first two, as this novel leaves the reader in much suspense about one of the major characters, the partner of Kovacs, Manon. Too much suspense in my opinion, but that could be the technique uses to keep his readers reading. I can't go into more detail, as that would be a spoiler. At any rate, a good if not great read. Have a look!
The novel is written in 56 short chapters, a page-turner of sorts. Wake has researched the area and the era thoroughly. Though it never gets as exciting as I want it to, there is a good deal of suspense, some violence, and the writing is generally good if not brilliant.
In addition to encounters with Klaus Barbie, Kovacs also has one sighting of and later one scary dinner with his nemesis, Werner Vogl, a captain in the Gestapo with whom Kovacs had clashed in at least one of the the two earlier novels in the series, one set in Vienna, the other in Zurich. There is at least one after this was set in Lyon, called The Limoges Dilemma.
I've only read this one, but may go back to him, reading the first two and then the fourth. Not sure if he has more planned after that. Actually, I'm more likely to read the fourth than the first two, as this novel leaves the reader in much suspense about one of the major characters, the partner of Kovacs, Manon. Too much suspense in my opinion, but that could be the technique uses to keep his readers reading. I can't go into more detail, as that would be a spoiler. At any rate, a good if not great read. Have a look!
June 13, 2021
Not as good as the first two books in the series. Dragged on a bit. Too much swearing, which seemed very modern day. Parts of the plot seemed unrealistic, even amateurish, and didn't hang well together. For example, Kovacs is the obvious suspect in the shooting of Vogl, yet for a day or so he doesn't think this is a threat to his wife's safety and, even more incredulously, the Gestapo don't raid his house or pick her up straightaway. How is it that some days when Kovacs is in disguise the Gestapo know where he is and are to pick him up off the street without warning and at other times he walks around without concern? Simply not realistic.
Lots of typos and errors, which was really irritating and added to the feeling of the book being a rushed job trying to cash in on the success of the first two.
Not sure if I will read the fourth book in the series. Certainly don't feel as excited about it as I did after the first two books.
Lots of typos and errors, which was really irritating and added to the feeling of the book being a rushed job trying to cash in on the success of the first two.
Not sure if I will read the fourth book in the series. Certainly don't feel as excited about it as I did after the first two books.
March 16, 2019
This is the third book in the Alex Kovacs series and again I think Richard Wake has done an excellent job! Alex is now living in Lyon, France. He is married to Manon and they are expecting a baby. They are both working for the resistance there. Leon shows up and Alex helps him with smuggling Jews out of France. In addition, a former Gestapo nemesis shows up putting Alex in danger from the Nazis as well as resistance fighters. The story moves quickly and is realistic.
I like reading series where you develop a relationship with a character and see how they grow and change as they move through life. The war is not over yet. Alex is on the move and Wake has set things up for #4 in the series. I'm looking forward to it!
I like reading series where you develop a relationship with a character and see how they grow and change as they move through life. The war is not over yet. Alex is on the move and Wake has set things up for #4 in the series. I'm looking forward to it!
April 25, 2023
Your Always Just one Bullet Ahead of the Gestapo
Alex has been working with the Resistance, damaging trains and other transportation infrastructure. His old contract is now his wife and pregnant.
Twice Alex is picked up by the Gestapo, and released without any physical intimidation. People in the Resistance are beginning to suspect that he has become a collaborator. To prove his 'bona fides' ,Alex tries to kill a Top Gestapo Officer. But when the guy lives Alex has to go on the run..
Alex has been working with the Resistance, damaging trains and other transportation infrastructure. His old contract is now his wife and pregnant.
Twice Alex is picked up by the Gestapo, and released without any physical intimidation. People in the Resistance are beginning to suspect that he has become a collaborator. To prove his 'bona fides' ,Alex tries to kill a Top Gestapo Officer. But when the guy lives Alex has to go on the run..
June 20, 2025
Rating 3.5. This third book in the Alex Kovacs series will be of particular interest if you're on your way to Lyon to visit the Resistance and Deportation Center. Rather than being literary or lyrical, the
writing is straight forward, spare, not a lot of exposition with short chapters (very readable). Alex and his pregnant wife are part of a Resistance group helping to sabotage the German occupation of Lyon and smuggle Jews trying to get to the southern border. I especially like the descriptions of the
ancient traboules used to navigate the city.
writing is straight forward, spare, not a lot of exposition with short chapters (very readable). Alex and his pregnant wife are part of a Resistance group helping to sabotage the German occupation of Lyon and smuggle Jews trying to get to the southern border. I especially like the descriptions of the
ancient traboules used to navigate the city.
April 3, 2019
Third book in the series has more action as Kovacs and Manon become resistance fighters in her home town, Lyon. Quite good with a very fiendish plot by Kovacs’ nemesis Vogl. Klaus Barbie and his torture room also make an appearance. Not everything succeeds and there’s a cliffhanger ending. My only plot problem is how does the Gestapo, thorough as they might be, know where Kovacs is whenever they want to pick him up? Plus: why is Vogl walking the dog?
July 11, 2019
Viva la France
This series keeps getting better. You are in occupied France and realizing that the Gestapo is the epitome of evil. The pressures are immense and this is not a game. These awful things really happened during World War 2 and this story makes you appreciate freedom and liberty and what the Resistance fighters went through. Very well written and keeps your interest throughout the book.
This series keeps getting better. You are in occupied France and realizing that the Gestapo is the epitome of evil. The pressures are immense and this is not a game. These awful things really happened during World War 2 and this story makes you appreciate freedom and liberty and what the Resistance fighters went through. Very well written and keeps your interest throughout the book.
April 19, 2020
Compelling and entertaining read
Have read all 3 books in this series so far. It's from the point of view of someone who is just trying to do the right thing in the face if spreading fascism. Alex is a lovable character who operates a bit too much on his own, so it was nice to see his work within the Resistance in this one. He's getting smarter in his tactics, and his narrative puts you right in the thick of things. Well written and well characterized.
Have read all 3 books in this series so far. It's from the point of view of someone who is just trying to do the right thing in the face if spreading fascism. Alex is a lovable character who operates a bit too much on his own, so it was nice to see his work within the Resistance in this one. He's getting smarter in his tactics, and his narrative puts you right in the thick of things. Well written and well characterized.
November 28, 2025
Third great episode of best spy epic since THE COMPANY
Lyon Resistance continues Wake’s progress toward what could be THE epic among all espionage thrillers. Each episode has been nearly as historically and sociologically rich as prime Alan Furst as well as rather more continuously thrilling. The narrative arch extending along the three is already as long as that of THE COMPANY. The persistent theme of resistance against fascism adds gravitas to the gracefully written work.
Lyon Resistance continues Wake’s progress toward what could be THE epic among all espionage thrillers. Each episode has been nearly as historically and sociologically rich as prime Alan Furst as well as rather more continuously thrilling. The narrative arch extending along the three is already as long as that of THE COMPANY. The persistent theme of resistance against fascism adds gravitas to the gracefully written work.
April 7, 2019
Another heart pounding, breathtaking read!
Author has again out done himself. The characters stay true to themselves throughout the series, the setting is described so well I can see it in my head and the plot is explained and understood by the reader. Thank you Richard for your time to put this story together!
Author has again out done himself. The characters stay true to themselves throughout the series, the setting is described so well I can see it in my head and the plot is explained and understood by the reader. Thank you Richard for your time to put this story together!
October 5, 2019
The Lyon Resistance Richard Wake
The French resistance appears to be the only group willing to take on Hitler's Nazi regime. Albeit small victories but their courage and willingness to sacrifice is huge. Alex, is on the run from the Gestapo as well as his pregnant wife. This is an excellent pulsating read. Enjoyed immensely!
The French resistance appears to be the only group willing to take on Hitler's Nazi regime. Albeit small victories but their courage and willingness to sacrifice is huge. Alex, is on the run from the Gestapo as well as his pregnant wife. This is an excellent pulsating read. Enjoyed immensely!
February 24, 2020
The suspense builds well in the third of this series.
The author has the first person narration of the protagonist, ad hoc spy Alex Kovacks, down perfectly. Lots of tension amid the battle, both physical and mental, between the Resistance and the Gestapo in mid-war Lyon. I highly recommend this series.
The author has the first person narration of the protagonist, ad hoc spy Alex Kovacks, down perfectly. Lots of tension amid the battle, both physical and mental, between the Resistance and the Gestapo in mid-war Lyon. I highly recommend this series.
June 9, 2022
Excellent WWII Novel
I love WWII novels, especially spy novels, and this series is one of the best I've read. Plots are sophisticated, time and place is always well researched and represented. But the best aspect of his writing are the characters, who are always human - frail, funny, afraid yet brave and resilient.
I love WWII novels, especially spy novels, and this series is one of the best I've read. Plots are sophisticated, time and place is always well researched and represented. But the best aspect of his writing are the characters, who are always human - frail, funny, afraid yet brave and resilient.
April 26, 2025
My favorite author of this genre is Alan Furst. I did enjoy Richard Wake's first two books in the Alex Kovacs series,but I felt this one just fell short. While he had been at the spy game (in this book) for five or six years, he feels like an amateur. This book dosen't have the classic undertones and tension of a Furst novel and he uses " beaucoup de gros mots" that are unneccesary.
August 21, 2025
Another winner. Read the first two
Alex is a wanted man by two different factions! His nemesis from the Gestapo is in France…..the Resistance is sure Alex is in cahoots with the Gestapo!
The action in this series makes one’s heart pound constantly and the surprise ending floored me, Only hope #4 is readily available as I can’t handle anxiety!
Alex is a wanted man by two different factions! His nemesis from the Gestapo is in France…..the Resistance is sure Alex is in cahoots with the Gestapo!
The action in this series makes one’s heart pound constantly and the surprise ending floored me, Only hope #4 is readily available as I can’t handle anxiety!
March 1, 2019
Great book
Ivan thoroughly enjoying Alex and Mannon and the rest can't wait for next book. I will recommend the series. Keeps me up with twist and turns. Lot of effort in these books.
Ivan thoroughly enjoying Alex and Mannon and the rest can't wait for next book. I will recommend the series. Keeps me up with twist and turns. Lot of effort in these books.
April 16, 2019
Absolutely fantastic book. This is the third Alex Kovac’s book.
Manon and Alex are now living in Lyon. Manon is pregnant.
This book introduces us to Klaus Barbie. He takes Alex on a tour of the torture chamber at Nazi Headquarters in Lyon.
Manon and Alex are now living in Lyon. Manon is pregnant.
This book introduces us to Klaus Barbie. He takes Alex on a tour of the torture chamber at Nazi Headquarters in Lyon.
May 5, 2019
Lyon
This book kept me interested with adrenaline flowing until the last page where I said what,where is the rest of it but realizing that the uncertainty was what they all lived in during that time period. A well written book.
This book kept me interested with adrenaline flowing until the last page where I said what,where is the rest of it but realizing that the uncertainty was what they all lived in during that time period. A well written book.
May 12, 2019
Viva le france!!
The danger is real. The fear is real. The loyalty is real. Klaus Barbie is in Lyon, and Nazi members coming by the droves. But the resistance groups are messing with the Nazi's. Alex and Manon know the risks and yet continued to fight.
The danger is real. The fear is real. The loyalty is real. Klaus Barbie is in Lyon, and Nazi members coming by the droves. But the resistance groups are messing with the Nazi's. Alex and Manon know the risks and yet continued to fight.
July 28, 2019
Good reading...
Not able to stop reading the 3 books..very good..abit too much of the f..word..not sure if some of the events..soccer games where true but engaging reading...will look out for the 4th.
Not able to stop reading the 3 books..very good..abit too much of the f..word..not sure if some of the events..soccer games where true but engaging reading...will look out for the 4th.
September 11, 2019
This book and series is so detailed. I forget I am reading and feel I am there with the characters. Alex's meeting with the Gestapo and French resistance is always fraught yet his instincts pull him through.
September 13, 2019
Best one of the series so far
Highly recommend this series for anyone interested in wwii fiction. Alex and his wife face the worst trials so far and the ending of this third installment leaves you with heart beating in anxiety for what is to come.
Highly recommend this series for anyone interested in wwii fiction. Alex and his wife face the worst trials so far and the ending of this third installment leaves you with heart beating in anxiety for what is to come.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews