The Limoges Dilemma

Alex Kovacs #4

by Richard Wake

The war stops for nothing. If you are in the French Resistance, there is no time for grieving or second-guessing or regret — that is what they say. But how do you listen to what your head is telling you when you are living with such a damaged soul?

Alex Kovacs has been smuggled into Limoges after a botched attempt to rescue him and his wife from the Gestapo by flying them out of France. She is gone and he is bereft. In Limoges and the surrounding area, he finds himself confronted not only by the German occupiers of the country but by different Resistance groups with different loyalties and perspectives — some followers of de Gaulle, some Communists, all with an agenda. Struggling with his emotions, and with these competing Resistance groups — all of which have one eye on who will take charge once the war is over — Alex becomes involved in sabotage missions, assassinations and revenge, all of which test his own moral foundation.

The Limoges Dilemma is the fourth book in the Alex Kovacs historical espionage thriller series. If you like to explore the world inhabited by Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther or the characters created by Alan Furst, a place and time where looming terror and moral ambiguity live side-by-side, then you’ll love Richard Wake’s World War II thriller series.

Pick up The Limoges Dilemma to discover this exciting series today!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Espionage

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2018

About the author

Richard 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.

Reviews

[William Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book in Richard Wake's series of resistance during WWII. A good series that tells of the dangers people who lived in German occupied countries faced everyday.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay. Alex is grieving the loss of Manon. I say, loss, but he actually doesn’t know whether she is alive or dead nor what happened. At any rate, even though the planned flight to England went south, he still had to leave Lyon, so he and Leon are now in Limoges.

It amazes me how different the world was less than 100 years ago. It’s a mere 250 or so miles from Lyon to Limoges, but there was no way then to track someone other than by personally following them.

Leon and Alex are with a Resistance group, but Alex gets fed up because he thinks they are too passive in avoiding killing any German soldiers. He hooks up with a different group who are aggressive. While he is with them, he meets a woman named Claire who is a school teacher. He has feelings for her, which makes him feel guilty like he is betraying Manon, even though he is resigned to the fact that she is most likely dead.

Then Claire gets arrested for breaking curfew and when it appears she will be executed in reprisals, Alex is determined to break her out of jail. Eventually he successfully gets her out. He and Leon have decided to go to Paris and Claire refuses to go with them.

And that’s basically how it ends. I anticipate more action once they are in Paris — we shall see.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of long series. They seem to run out of steam. This book was not bad, but it felt as it were just marking time. However, I will probably give one more book in the series a try at some time.

[Maureen BOOTH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the saga of Alex Kovaks. Having escaped from Lyon, and arrived in Limoges. A bit of a slow start became a good read, but then moved on at a good pace. Does give an insight into life and perils of being in the Resistance, both fighting the Nazi's and the French who supported them.

[David McGill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Wake tills the always compelling story soil of Europe leading up to and during the Nazi years and the Cold War beyond. This is the fourth of his Alex Kovacs thrillers which began in Vienna in the 1930s, when he joined an espionage group fighting the growing Nazi menace. In the second Alex is a banker in Zurich in 1939 trying to warn the West of the Nazi advance. In the third he is working as a spy with his wife in her hometown of Lyon among the many conflicting Resistance factions. In this latest edition he is in Limoges among Resistance groups but with his wife missing after a botched rescue attempt from the Gestapo. He is involved in carrying out sabotage and asassinations, often among rival Resistance factions as they jockey to take over after the Nazis are defeated. I plan to continue with Alex into occupied Paris and into the Cold War espionage in at least another nine adventures. He is a sympathetic central character, the settings are vivid, the action often spectacular. He is not far in the wake, forgive the pun, of others writing World War II espionage stories, among whom my favourites remain Philip Kerr's world-weary Berlin cop Bernie Gunther, the Berlin station series of David Downing's journalist and film starlet uncomfortably close to Goebbels, or the epic range of European spies in Alan Furst's superb novels. The Nazis remain the most popular villains in history as fact and fiction.

[Roger Everitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 down 1 to go!

Alex, I’ve been hooked from day 1
I’ve followed you through Austria, Switzerland and now through a France. I’ve seen you grow from a youngster, a salesman, a spy, a banker , a resistance fighter.....and I have been beguiled, bewitched and persuaded by your credibility.

This has been a superb series , one that I am now close to completing. Read through UK lockdown, it brings a sense of perspective to the tribulations that we are currently experiencing.

This has been a real pleasure. At the end of a long day, a whisky and a chapter or two is good for me. Spent in this company, I couldn’t have asked for more. Thank you.

[Jeff Parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Story

This is the 4th book in the Alex Kovacs series. Each deals with a different period of WW2 and this takes place in Limoges. These are never overly complicated plots but deal with a different aspect of Alex's journey. Here he, and Leon, have moved from Lyon to Limoges and are assisting the local resistance.

The story keeps you engaged and provides a basic understanding of life in Vichy France. This is done with broad brushstrokes, rather in depth analysis.

Well worth a read.

[Robert The Chalmers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw. Brutally direct. Life for those who dare

This was an interesting read. I don’t think the characters moved more than twenty miles in any direction during the entire story, but the scenes are vivid and detailed. There is no moral. No taking sides. That had been done already. A story set of the resistance in France during WWII. But one mans story over a brief span of time. A personal story. Not a war story. Not a love story. One is left with a deep feeling of the brutality and senselessness of it all.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Alex Kovacs series of WWI historical fiction. The characters seem so real I sometimes have to remind myself that I'm reading fiction. I really prefer these type of dark and realistic type books over "thrillers", where the main character is a quasi-superhero. I think this series accurately captures the compromises and difficult decisions that people in the Resistance had to make on a regular basis. We see that the good characters are not all good and that the bad characters are not all bad and people did what they had to in order to survive.

[Carrie Palmieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific new author

I highly recommend this series, Alex Kovacs. I am a long time reader of Ken Follett, Nelson DeMille, and Daniel Silva...to name a few of my favorite writers.Richard Wake had me laughing at the narrators inane comments only a few pages into book one of this series. He keeps you interested with the characters, and ongoing plot immediately. I like that. Minimal description, only when necessary to the story and/or timeline.

[H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ventures into the country as an irregular

Alex, the protagonist, heads to the hills around Limoges and joins up with a renegade group of young locals fighting the Germans in any way they can. Although Alex uses some of his spy smarts, he becomes a hands-on participant in a ragtag, but effective, local group that sticks it to the occupying Germans.

[Reba Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story about French resistance

Alex is now deeply involved in French resistance but not the better known group. He becomes part of a guerrilla type group. There are twists and turns you will not foresee. The group faces formidable odds and betrayal in the II r never ending hidden battles against the Germans.

[David Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy Going

The author captures the appalling occupation of France in WWII without overdoing the nastier images. On the positive side, his description of smuggling Jewish refugees to Spain captured the risks to the smugglers as well as for those being transported. The competing motivations among the anti-German and anti-Vichy French factions might have had more detail.

[peter walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable novel about the WW2 situation about occupied France etc. and the physical & mental loads/emotions that became apparent to most ordinary people, especially in France. Upon reading this novel it becomes evident that the evils of the Nazis are slowly but surely being beaten by goodness, despite slight political differences.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pageturner

Richard Wake is one of those rare authors who writes a book that captures my attention early and doesn’t let go. I have thoroughly enjoyed the first four books in this series and plan to read them all. My only constructive feedback would be to improve the technical editing (words out of place, etc).

[Caryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book and Series

Another great book in a great series. Alex Kovacs and his closest friends have been fighting the good fight since the 1930's and it has always been an uphill struggle. But, they continue to find themselves in new cities and countries and one step ahead of the Gestapo.

[H. Noel Jackson, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The steam is running out on this series. The Vienna book started out strong and moved along at a good pace in familiar surroundings. Zurich hit a few speed bumps and started to become less plausible. Lyon was a stretch and Limoges seemed thrown together. Not sure if I will attempt the next in the series.

[Mr D.A. Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing

After reading the series so far I have engaged with the characters and have become involved with their exploits which are realistic and believable.

I have enjoyed the journey so far.

[Peter Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good as the previous books

Continues Kovacs adventures in the French resistance. Some gritty realism and shows the conflicts within the resistance and difficulties of fighting with the threat of reprisals . Well written with strong story line

[Kermit Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex lost his heart and humor

This story has more killing in it as well as I felt Alex was much colder and his heart was gone. He was just "surviving" rather than creating his own destiny. I wanted more loving from him. The pain of lost love made him less.

[Lisbeth Schilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving the Alex kovacs series

I have very much enjoyed all the books I've read in this series and I have one left. I was surprised to realize that although their language seemed a little contemporary at first, it actually enhanced the characters. I highly recommend this series

[Thomas W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Story Keeps Gettin Better

By now I am deep into the series. At about this point, many series become predictable and uninteresting. That’s not the case with this book, and I am ready to jump into the next!

[Mary Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex carries on his work with the resistance in Limoges, he is worn down, drinking too much, heartbroken for his wife. In this book he puts himself in danger more than once. The Gestapo and the Vichy forces give him plenty to deal with. A very tense thriller.

[Dave Scibetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent WW2 historical fiction

Another very good follow-up in the Alex Kovacs series. The story documents the area, culture and environment that existed at the time. It is both educational and entertaining.

[Kenn Goslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex, Leon and C are in for a complicated ride, together? not???

Leon continues to spirit Jews out of harms way, Alex mourns the loss of his wife and C is helping the teacher in Limoges when Alex happens along!

[Michael S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th book in the series. The plot is less ambitious and more believable than the previous 3, and gives some insight into life under German occupation. Not a literary classic, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. Recommended.

[Linda Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot stop reading this series

Alex’s experiences are thrilling, scary, and totally believable! No Superman capabilities as found in most spy novels, just a genuine, intelligent,caring man!

Richard Wake has written the best spy series I’ve read in years..
DON’T MISS THEM

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is courage?

Courage is fear that is faced so one can do the right thing. Alex can be a bit of a con man most of the time. It is remarkable what he accomplished when the need arose.

[Vavia J. Rudd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Limoges Dilemma

This book was totally different than other WW11 stories I have read in that it addressed it from the viewpoint of those who were in the resistance and many of the choices they had to make trying to stay alive, fed and able to function. A good read that I would recommend to others.

[Herbert H. Timmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Excellent book. I feel like I know the characters. Almost like I am there with them. Very good book. I enjoyed.