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Night Sky
His secret could win the war for the Allies, unless the Nazis get to him first... In the brutal chaos of the Second World War, three people find their lives inextricably interwoven in a web of courage, betrayal and love. Julie Lescaux, the young Englishwoman caught up in one of the most dangerous operations of the French Resistance; Paul Vasson, vicious Paris pimp turned Nazi collaborator; David Freymann, German scientist caught up in unimaginable horror, destined to lose everything except his faith in his own discovery. Night Sky is Clare Francis` sweeping chronicle of Europe in peace and war, a tremendous floodtide of narrative that builds to a gripping and unforgettable finale. `A thoroughly professional wartime adventure` Sunday Times `A terrific thriller` Time Out
586 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
124 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
Clare Francis
75 books65 followersClare Francis's first novel; Night Sky was published in 1983 to international success. It went to number one in the Sunday Times bestseller list, and spent six weeks in the New York Times top 10.
Three more thrillers followed, Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987) and Requiem (1991), which was published in the U.S. as The Killing Winds. Her first crime novel, Deceit was published in 1993, and dramatised for television in 2000. Four other highly successful crime novels have followed, and a highly acclaimed literary novel, Homeland. Her latest crime novel Unforgotten has just been published. Her books have been translated into 20 languages and published in over 30 countries.
Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, the younger of two sisters. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.
After five years at the Royal Ballet School she went to an A-level crammer in Oxford (where she appeared in the university revue Keep This to Yourself), then to University College London, where she obtained a degree in Economics. She worked in marketing for three years before taking a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.
What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures, Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.
In 1977 she married Jaques Redon with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978.
She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).
For the past twenty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President, a trustee and member of the Council of Management. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.
Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.
Three more thrillers followed, Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987) and Requiem (1991), which was published in the U.S. as The Killing Winds. Her first crime novel, Deceit was published in 1993, and dramatised for television in 2000. Four other highly successful crime novels have followed, and a highly acclaimed literary novel, Homeland. Her latest crime novel Unforgotten has just been published. Her books have been translated into 20 languages and published in over 30 countries.
Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, the younger of two sisters. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.
After five years at the Royal Ballet School she went to an A-level crammer in Oxford (where she appeared in the university revue Keep This to Yourself), then to University College London, where she obtained a degree in Economics. She worked in marketing for three years before taking a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.
What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures, Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.
In 1977 she married Jaques Redon with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978.
She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).
For the past twenty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President, a trustee and member of the Council of Management. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.
Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
March 31, 2010
Brilliant writer. Excellent story-teller. Lots of research led to a believable plot. This book was an absolute great stroy. I wish all novels were this well put together. Character development was fantastic. Prose was outstanding. a suspense-thriller to the end.
October 12, 2014
I listened to the audio book:
I was pleasantly surprised. This is a wonderful book. It's a little hard to get in to at first because it starts off introducing the character you end up hating and it's just a little vulgar to start. Once the book introduces it's other characters (including Julie) you will be hooked. The plot is set during WWII and follows the stories of several characters eventually bringing them all together in the end.
The writing is wonderful and the narrator was great to listen to. It was easy to distinguish between the characters and keep track of the story line and how they all related. Part of me loved this book for its historical nature, but it's full of adventure and suspense as well.
It's a fantastic read and I'd recommend it to anyone.
I was pleasantly surprised. This is a wonderful book. It's a little hard to get in to at first because it starts off introducing the character you end up hating and it's just a little vulgar to start. Once the book introduces it's other characters (including Julie) you will be hooked. The plot is set during WWII and follows the stories of several characters eventually bringing them all together in the end.
The writing is wonderful and the narrator was great to listen to. It was easy to distinguish between the characters and keep track of the story line and how they all related. Part of me loved this book for its historical nature, but it's full of adventure and suspense as well.
It's a fantastic read and I'd recommend it to anyone.
August 11, 2018
I had read this a couple decades ago and loved it. Decided to re-read it, and found that I still love it. I did find the initial set-up to be somewhat slow, ie, the first third or so of the book, before the three main characters' lives intersect. (I wonder: do we expect things to move along more quickly in this fast-paced modern world?) But as before, I found the harrowing trip across the English Channel to be absolutely gripping and unforgettable. As before, I loved the portrayal of a young woman and mother able to summon up an incredible amount of courage and fortitude in the face of extraordinary and dangerous circumstances. And also, I was glad to be reminded of the importance of the development of radar and U-Boats in WWII. Highly recommended.
March 21, 2016
This is about a young English woman who goes to France to live with relatives just before the start of WW2 and gets caught up in the resistance movement. Very suspenseful with an incredibly dramatic ending. Started a bit slowly but once the war is under way, the suspense builds. There are actually 3 parallel stories here. The main tale is the about the woman mentioned already. One of the other stories involves a Jewish scientist working on radar technology while the third story is about a French traitor who would sell his grandmother for a bit of money. The mystery is partly about if and how these 3 stories interact.
April 18, 2009
A 1980's perspective on WWII delivered via historical fiction. Interesting main female character. Interesting plot that could translate nicely to film.
May 28, 2021
In general, the book is well written and well researched as well but it's just boring.
May 2, 2025
Night Sky is the first book I have read from this author and one that has been gathering dust on my bookshelf for many years. It was published in 1983 and I understand it was Francis’s debut novel. I didn’t really know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. This was a terrific story and beautifully put together by the author. The character development was excellent. This essentially is a WWII historical fiction novel. A genre which has flooded the market in the past decade or two. Being published over 40 years ago however, this book was ahead of its time. It is evident that a lot of research was necessary in writing this book. Information about the French Resistance, German U-Boats and the evolution of radar. Some sections of the book went into excessive descriptive text which didn’t add to the story and I skimmed through. The ending was ok but not one that I would have preferred to see. I would have liked to see the villain dealt with by other criminals that he had crossed, rather than by Julie which seemed a bit unrealistic. But there aren’t too many faults with this book which I enjoyed a lot. Three intriguing storyline’s which converge nicely towards the end with plenty of suspense. Recommended.
October 22, 2009
Most excellent WW2 thriller - several different lives who intersect at this very interesting time in recent European history. I'm currently intrigued by stories of the French Resistance, especially where ordinary people have become involved and been extraordinarily brave and resourceful, and I loved reading the details of the escape systems for downed airmen. I also found the treatment of the Germans quite believeable, they weren't all evil and crazy as they're usually painted. I found this book to be the epitomy of a good thriller - I was literally on the edge of my seat for some passages! Recommended.
September 9, 2010
This book was both interesting and informitive. It gives the reader a glimpse of occupied France and the undergrond network that saved so many allied pilots.
February 8, 2021
Ooo boy, I have all the feelings about this book (all of them good). First off, this book provided such a wide variety of content: obviously, it was primarily historical fiction, including war strategy and survival, but it also seemed like a thriller at times, especially at the end. I really appreciated how the story varied, especially since it is such a chunker of a book! That is the one thing I am always worried about with longer books: that I will get bored with the storyline and characters halfway or more through. However, that was not the case with this book whatsoever! I really liked the array of POVs and the background it provided.
I also liked this book because I found that even though there was a main character that I absolutely despised, I still enjoyed reading his POV. With some books, when I’m not too fond of a character, it makes me dislike the book. However, Francis wrote his POV so that I loved to hate him and wanted to read his perspective.
World War II books always make me sad, and there were definitely scenes in this book that made me feel physically ill. Francis just wrote this in such a way that I found myself capable of reading 200-300 pages of this book a day. Overall, I am glad that I decided to read this book.
I also liked this book because I found that even though there was a main character that I absolutely despised, I still enjoyed reading his POV. With some books, when I’m not too fond of a character, it makes me dislike the book. However, Francis wrote his POV so that I loved to hate him and wanted to read his perspective.
World War II books always make me sad, and there were definitely scenes in this book that made me feel physically ill. Francis just wrote this in such a way that I found myself capable of reading 200-300 pages of this book a day. Overall, I am glad that I decided to read this book.
October 24, 2012
I was tempted to give this book five stars, because I am a sucker for well researched historical fiction, but somehow I never "lost myself" in the process of reading. Maybe I'll give a proper review later.
November 27, 2014
Very detailed, well researched.
August 23, 2019
Characters were well developed with the antagonist being introduced first - a nasty fellow. The backgrounds were well researched and despite having read many books about WWII I learned quite a bit more about the resistance, treatment of prisoners and radar. Some sections were too detailed (like the sailing, but then the author is a Yachtsman {Yachtsperson?}) but could have had more particulars about submarining. The U-319 was an actual German U-boat but not the one in the story. Characters were based on real life persons. The book was a quite the thriller in several sections as the heroine dealt with predicaments. I would have like a different ending but saying how would be a spoiler. There was set up for how it might of played out and if Spielberg was making it into a movie it would be the way he would have filmed it (that is not necessarily a good thing).
March 16, 2016
A good yarn with 'some heart in your mouth' moments. Set during the 2nd World War and showing the hardships many endured and the heroism of others. Julie's growth and strength through some very traumatic times shone through. David's realization that his brilliance mattered less than his being Jewish and his determination that no matter what the Germans were not going to get the knowledge of his invention. He would get it to the British if possible. Vasson - a badly damaged person thrived on the chaos and unpleasantness that the war brought and would do anything if the money was right. Clever, ruthless and unpatriotic, but no match for a very determined Julie when she realises that he betrayed her family, friends and the man she loved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2013
Not a bad book at all, though lacking in any real twists it still kept me entertained until the final ending. The baddy got his comeuppance and the goodies lived happily ever after, with the addition that some of it was true-ish. Not a re-reader for sure but enough to tempt me to read another one of CFs books in the near future. A fair 4 stars.
July 23, 2011
c1983. "'A thoroughly professional wartime adventure' Sunday Times." Totally agree despite this being a debut novel. The characters are well drawn and the pace is excellent. FWFTB war, interwoven, Resistance, horror, faith.
March 27, 2008
Another excellent thriller by Clare Francis, this one during WW II. High suspense story with a strong female lead character.
November 30, 2011
This one's been around a long time -- published in 1983. A really good read! This was Clare Francis' first novel. I read this a long time, and enjoyed it even more this time.
March 1, 2013
She's one of the best thriller writers bar none..
July 14, 2015
I enjoyed this book almost as much this time as the first time I read it years ago. I recommend it to those who enjoy books with a romantic twist set during the German occupation in Europe.
June 26, 2018
Plot good but way, way too much other stuff
I liked the plot but there was just way too many details that added nothing to the story. At least 100 pages of nothing.
I liked the plot but there was just way too many details that added nothing to the story. At least 100 pages of nothing.
Read
July 26, 2011I really enjoyed this book, I was able to get into the characters.
March 19, 2021
On a dark night in Brittany in March 1943, Julie Lescaux, and her 7-year-old son Peter shelter from the wind and rain in a cleft in the cliffs at the water’s edge. They watch in horror as German occupiers converge on the men below them, shooting or capturing everyone trapped on the narrow rocky beach. The prisoners and dead included their friends and relatives in the French Resistance, Allied servicemen they were trying to help, and the crew of the British naval vessel that had come to spirit them away to safety across the English Channel.
Along with Julie and Peter is a man the Germans are frantic to recapture: David Freymann, a Jewish scientist and expert in short-wave radar. The trio evade the German soldiers, and begin a desperate voyage across the Channel in a small sailboat with the Germans in pursuit. None of them have ever sailed before. David is too ill and Peter too small to be of much help; all three lives are in Julie’s hands.
Julie and David are two of the three point-of-view characters in this World War II historical novel. Julie, the foremost of the three, is English, with a French father. In 1935 she is unmarried and pregnant at the age of 19. At odds with her rigid and controlling mother, she flees to her father’s relatives in Brittany. She seems at first soft and uncertain of herself, but as her world grows more dangerous, she develops a steel spine to protect herself and her son.
The third character, Paul Vasson, is the villain: the collaborator who infiltrates and betrays the French Resistance in exchange for German gold. Vasson is a nasty piece of work and, rather unfortunately, is the first character we are introduced to. He was so repulsive I almost tossed the book out after the first chapter, but I’m glad I didn’t. Julie and David were both much more appealing.
This is a relatively old thriller (published in 1983) with a simple plot: Will they escape? Will the traitor be brought to justice? It starts off slow, introducing us to the characters and their problems before the start of the war. The pace picks up as the war begins, becomes nail-biting with the scene on the beach, and stays intense until the end.
The description of the race across the Channel is impressive for its immediacy and the heart-breaking quality of Julie’s battle with the sea in a small boat. That voyage is not the second-hand distillation of an armchair traveller listening to sailor’s tales. This author has been there, done that. That was obvious, even before I learned that she had twice sailed solo across the Atlantic, and was the first woman to captain a yacht on the Whitbread Around the World Race.
The race across the Channel is fictional, but many of the events this solidly-researched book is based on are real, including the importance of the development of radar to both sides and the history of the French Resistance. Vasson, in particular, seems exaggerated—How could anyone be that foul and still get people to trust him?—but he is based on a real person, Jacques Desoubrie, who penetrated at least two escape lines and was responsible for over a hundred British and American evaders being captured and sent to Buchenwald.
In opposition to such traitors, this novel celebrates the quiet heroism of ordinary citizens, and brings alive rural life in Brittany under the Germans. It’s a terrific story, well worth getting past the tedium of the first few chapters.
This review was first published on This Need to Read.
Along with Julie and Peter is a man the Germans are frantic to recapture: David Freymann, a Jewish scientist and expert in short-wave radar. The trio evade the German soldiers, and begin a desperate voyage across the Channel in a small sailboat with the Germans in pursuit. None of them have ever sailed before. David is too ill and Peter too small to be of much help; all three lives are in Julie’s hands.
Julie and David are two of the three point-of-view characters in this World War II historical novel. Julie, the foremost of the three, is English, with a French father. In 1935 she is unmarried and pregnant at the age of 19. At odds with her rigid and controlling mother, she flees to her father’s relatives in Brittany. She seems at first soft and uncertain of herself, but as her world grows more dangerous, she develops a steel spine to protect herself and her son.
The third character, Paul Vasson, is the villain: the collaborator who infiltrates and betrays the French Resistance in exchange for German gold. Vasson is a nasty piece of work and, rather unfortunately, is the first character we are introduced to. He was so repulsive I almost tossed the book out after the first chapter, but I’m glad I didn’t. Julie and David were both much more appealing.
This is a relatively old thriller (published in 1983) with a simple plot: Will they escape? Will the traitor be brought to justice? It starts off slow, introducing us to the characters and their problems before the start of the war. The pace picks up as the war begins, becomes nail-biting with the scene on the beach, and stays intense until the end.
The description of the race across the Channel is impressive for its immediacy and the heart-breaking quality of Julie’s battle with the sea in a small boat. That voyage is not the second-hand distillation of an armchair traveller listening to sailor’s tales. This author has been there, done that. That was obvious, even before I learned that she had twice sailed solo across the Atlantic, and was the first woman to captain a yacht on the Whitbread Around the World Race.
The race across the Channel is fictional, but many of the events this solidly-researched book is based on are real, including the importance of the development of radar to both sides and the history of the French Resistance. Vasson, in particular, seems exaggerated—How could anyone be that foul and still get people to trust him?—but he is based on a real person, Jacques Desoubrie, who penetrated at least two escape lines and was responsible for over a hundred British and American evaders being captured and sent to Buchenwald.
In opposition to such traitors, this novel celebrates the quiet heroism of ordinary citizens, and brings alive rural life in Brittany under the Germans. It’s a terrific story, well worth getting past the tedium of the first few chapters.
This review was first published on This Need to Read.
January 10, 2021
I picked this off my shelf looking for something substantial to get my teeth into for a few weeks, but devoured this 800-page beast in four days as I couldn't put it down. It definitely exceeded my expectations.
At first it moved a bit slowly and I found it hard to connect with two of the main three characters - Julie seemed more than a little but wet, and Vasson's beginning failed to show us his gripping dark side. But I fell in love with David's storyline from the get-go, and as the three plots developed and started to interweave I became deeply invested and desperate to find out how it would end up. I also appreciated the Brittany setting, as it was different from most other WW2 novels I've read which are usually based, predictably, in either Berlin or Bletchley Park, and I found this a refreshing new take.
After the first 50 pages or so this was a riveting read and the depth of the characters, the impeccably thought-out plotlines and the teasers given at every page turning kept me hooked. Would absolutely recommend as a war-time thriller for a rainy weekend.
At first it moved a bit slowly and I found it hard to connect with two of the main three characters - Julie seemed more than a little but wet, and Vasson's beginning failed to show us his gripping dark side. But I fell in love with David's storyline from the get-go, and as the three plots developed and started to interweave I became deeply invested and desperate to find out how it would end up. I also appreciated the Brittany setting, as it was different from most other WW2 novels I've read which are usually based, predictably, in either Berlin or Bletchley Park, and I found this a refreshing new take.
After the first 50 pages or so this was a riveting read and the depth of the characters, the impeccably thought-out plotlines and the teasers given at every page turning kept me hooked. Would absolutely recommend as a war-time thriller for a rainy weekend.
December 11, 2017
***He didn't know what was worse:living in hope of life or in certainty of death***
The first character we are introduced to turned out to be so despicable it was maddening especially as the book goes on and considering it was world war II he made you lose hope for anything but thank goodness there were other characters to restore it. This book is greatly detailed and any lovers of history out there will definitely love this book.
I haven't read a lot of historical fiction books but after reading the Night Sky i'm thinking of picking up other historical fiction books.
The first character we are introduced to turned out to be so despicable it was maddening especially as the book goes on and considering it was world war II he made you lose hope for anything but thank goodness there were other characters to restore it. This book is greatly detailed and any lovers of history out there will definitely love this book.
I haven't read a lot of historical fiction books but after reading the Night Sky i'm thinking of picking up other historical fiction books.
March 30, 2025
I’m not one to read historical books or World War books. But, I think this book combined a really great storyline with real-life events. Although I didn’t understand much about the U-boat stuff or the specifics of H*tler’s schemes, I really enjoyed the side stories of Vasson and Julie.
My only struggle with this book is that it felt too long overall. I think the storyline was developed thoroughly, but could’ve been shortened in certain aspects.
My only struggle with this book is that it felt too long overall. I think the storyline was developed thoroughly, but could’ve been shortened in certain aspects.
October 17, 2019
If you love historical novels about WWII, you will love this one. I only gave it 4 stars as it took a while to get into. It tells the story of 3 characters, in the first part of book, separate chapters from each perspective. Eventually their stories start to intersect. Julie is a great WWII female heroine!
May 19, 2021
Good, compelling read! It took a while for some of the storylines to develop but once it got going it was very good. Especially for one of the main characters (Julie) - the first half of the book she does not do anything and comes across as a dull non-addition to the story, but by the end she really develops into a great main character!
February 24, 2019
A great story. Complex interweaving of several characters who ultimately have a horrible impact on each other. Strong, interesting female lead with other believable characters at an amazingly dangerous time in our history.
The author is worth looking at for other books.
The author is worth looking at for other books.
September 7, 2025
I read an abridged version of this book so did not suffer with it being too long.
Really enjoyed the story and liked the fact that the first person you are introduced to in the book is the person you just want to hate.
Lots of insightful details about WWII.
Really enjoyed the story and liked the fact that the first person you are introduced to in the book is the person you just want to hate.
Lots of insightful details about WWII.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews