Churchill’s Secret Messenger by Alan Hlad is the story of the life and experiences of Rose Teasdale, who begins the book as a typist in Room 60 of Winston Churchill’s underground Cabinet War Rooms in February 1941 on the 159th day of bombing Britain. She is a capable typist and fluent in both English and French, which she speaks like a native because of her French mother’s family. Her brother has been shot down in his Spitfire over the Channel. And one day while she is busy typing, a bomb totals her mother and father’s shop, killing both of them. Churchill sends Rose a personal note sympathizing for her losses.

Some days later, she is brought into Churchill’s private quarters to serve as a substitute interpreter when Churchill is negotiating with General De Gaulle and Commandant Martel. Recognizing her linguistic skills, Churchill has her sent to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Hlad inserts the second narrative point of view with a young Jewish man in Paris called Lazare Aron, who lives in restrained circumstances with his parents as the Nazis terrorize the once beautiful, creative city. Because of an accident, Lazare’s hand was crushed, so he wears a wooden prosthetic, which prevented him from being able to join the French army. He turns his hatred of the occupying army by joining forces with the French Resistance. Rose and Lazare meet and fall in love when she is parachuted into France.

They experienced horrible things that made me wish that the war would end so that the pain and suffering would stop. Hlad’s writing is skillful in inflicting that sort of empathetic anguish. There is a great deal of inner dialog, wondering, wishing, and hoping. And there is much that is repeated, which caused me to skip passages I had seen before.

It is a strong, well-written, and well-researched uncomfortable read.