Dragonfly by Liela Meacham
Book review by Josephine Berglund
In 1942, five idealistic, young American men and women from very different backgrounds receive a mysterious letter from the OSS, asking them to fight for their country. There’s the Texan athlete, an upper-crust son of a French mother, a dirt-poor Midwestern fly-fisherman, and orphaned fashion designer, and a ravishingly beautiful female fencer. Each chose to answer the call of duty, for secret reasons of their own. They bond immediately, and their group code name: Dragonfly.
Five begin the journey, but only four return.
Twenty years later, their OSS case officer, Alistair Renault, stumbles across a clue that the one who didn’t return may have survived.
A complex, richly woven novel with more than two parallel plots which is due to the five Americans recruited by the OSS. This makes it a beautiful addition to the genre, one that is well woven and easy to follow through its clever signals painted on a mural. The history of the OSS and Paris during WWII is well researched to provide a rich cultural foundation.