Operation Broadsword

By Hannah Howe

Eve’s War is a series of twelve novellas. Each book contains approximately 20,000 words and a complete story. Kindly note that the price throughout the series will be set at the minimum level and that Eve’s story arc will be concluded at the end of the series.

The books in series order:

Operation Zigzag
Operation Locksmith
Operation Broadsword
Operation Treasure
Operation Sherlock
Operation Cameo
Operation Rose
Operation Watchmaker
Operation Overlord
Operation Jedburgh
Operation Butterfly
Operation Liberty

Full synopsis to follow soon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goylake Publishing
• Release date: Nov 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781838011857

Hannah Howe

Hannah Howe is the bestselling author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series (Sam's Song, book one in the series, has reached number one on the amazon.com private detective chart on seven separate occasions and the number one position in Australia). Hannah lives in the picturesque county of Glamorgan with her partner and their two children. She has a university degree and a background in psychology, which she uses as a basis for her novels.Hannah began her writing career at school when her teacher asked her to write the school play. She has been writing ever since. When not writing or researching Hannah enjoys reading, genealogy, music, chess and classic black and white movies. She has a deep knowledge of nineteenth and twentieth century popular culture and is a keen student of the private detective novel and its history.Hannah's books are available in print, as audio books and eBooks from all major retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, iBooks, etc. For more details please visit https://hannah-howe.comThe Sam Smith Mystery Series in book order:Sam's SongLove and BulletsThe Big ChillRipperThe Hermit of HisaryaSecrets and LiesFamily HonourSins of the FatherSmoke and MirrorsStardustMind GamesDigging in the DirtA Parcel of RoguesBostonThe Devil and Ms DevlinSnow in AugustLooking for Rosanna MeeStormy WeatherDamagedEve’s War: Heroines of SOEOperation ZigzagOperation LocksmithOperation BroadswordOperation TreasureOperation SherlockOperation CameoOperation RoseOperation WatchmakerOperation OverlordOperation Jedburgh (to follow)Operation Butterfly (to follow)Operation Liberty (to follow)The Golden Age of HollywoodTula: A 1920s Novel (to follow)The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War SagaRootsBranchesLeavesFruitFlowersThe Ann's War Mystery Series in book order:BetrayalInvasionBlackmailEscapeVictoryStandalone NovelsSaving Grace: A Victorian MysteryColette: A Schoolteacher’s War (to follow)What readers have been saying about the Sam Smith Mystery Series and Hannah Howe..."Hannah Howe is a very talented writer.""A gem of a read.""Sam Smith is the most interesting female sleuth in detective fiction. She leaves all the others standing.""Hannah Howe's writing style reminds you of the Grandmasters of private detective fiction - Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker.""Sam is an endearing character. Her assessments of some of the people she encounters will make you laugh at her wicked mind. At other times, you'll cry at the pain she's suffered.""Sam is the kind of non-assuming heroine that I couldn't help but love.""Sam's Song was a wonderful find and a thoroughly engaging read. The first book in the Sam Smith mystery series, this book starts off as a winner!""Sam is an interesting and very believable character.""Gripping and believable at the same time, very well written.""Sam is a great heroine who challenges stereotypes.""Hannah Howe is a fabulous writer.""I can't wait to read the next in the series!""The Big Chill is light reading, but packs powerful messages.""This series just gets better and better.""What makes this book stand well above the rest of detective thrillers is the attention to the little details that makes everything so real.""Sam is a rounded and very real character.""Howe is an author to watch, able to change the tone from light hearted to more thoughtful, making this an easy and yet very rewarding read. Cracking!""Fabulous book by a fabulous author-I highly recommended this series!""Howe writes her characters with depth and makes them very engaging.""I loved the easy conversational style the author used throughout. Some of the colourful ways that the main character expressed herself actually made me laugh!""I loved Hannah Howe's writing style -- poignant one moment, terrifying the next, funny the next moment. I would be on the edge of my seat praying Sam wouldn't get hurt, and then she'd say a one-liner or think something funny, and I'd chuckle and catch my breath. Love it!""Sam's Song is no lightweight suspense book. Howe deals with drugs, spousal abuse, child abuse, and more. While the topics she writes about are heavy, Howe does a fantastic job of giving the reader the brutal truth while showing us there is still good in life and hope for better days to come."

Book preview

EVE’S WAR

OPERATION

BROADSWORD

EVE’S WAR

OPERATION

BROADSWORD

Hannah Howe

Goylake Publishing

Copyright © 2020 Hannah Howe

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Goylake Publishing, Iscoed, 16A Meadow Street, North Cornelly, Bridgend, Glamorgan. CF33 4LL

Print ISBN: 978-1-8380118-6-4

eBook ISBN: 978-1-8380118-5-7

Printed and bound in Britain by Imprint Digital, Exeter, EX5 5HY

Author’s Note

The characters in Eve’s War are fictional. However, all the stories and the incidents within these stories, from the personal to the public, are based on real events.

The series is structured into twelve books, each of approximately 20,000 words, set roughly two months apart. Within the back matter of each book, you will find potted biographies of the real heroes and heroines of the SOE, the people whom Eve Beringar, Guy Samson and Mimi Duchamp are based on. It’s been an honour to read about these incredibly brave and principled people. I hope you will enjoy their stories and the exploits of my characters in Eve’s War.

Hannah’s books are available in print, as eBooks and audio books with translations in progress

Eve’s War

Operation Zigzag

Operation Locksmith

Operation Broadsword

Operation Treasure

Operation Sherlock

Operation Cameo

Operation Rose

Operation Watchmaker

Operation Overlord

Operation Jedburgh

Operation Butterfly

Operation Liberty

Ann’s War

Betrayal

Invasion

Blackmail

Escape

Victory

Stand-alone Novel

Saving Grace

The Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam’s Song

Love and Bullets

The Big Chill

Ripper

The Hermit of Hisarya

Secrets and Lies

Family Honour

Sins of the Father

Smoke and Mirrors

Stardust

Mind Games

Digging in the Dirt

A Parcel of Rogues

Boston

The Devil and Ms Devlin

Snow in August

Looking for Rosanna Mee

The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War Saga

Roots

Branches

Leaves

Fruit

Flowers

To my family, with love

Chapter One

Our masters at the Special Operations Executive, Major-General Cunningham and Vera Penrose, had moved us, Captain Guy Samson, Mimi Duchamp and me, to a country house near Tangmere. I’d spent eleven days there, pacing my room, waiting to leave.

The days followed a regular pattern: I awoke at six hundred hours, enjoyed breakfast with Guy and Mimi at seven hundred hours then we waited until noon.

We spent the mornings chatting, walking around the grounds, playing tennis and preparing for our mission, even though the preparations were well in hand.

The mornings were tense affairs as we anticipated the telephone call at noon: would we parachute into France tonight, or would this tortuous waiting continue?

We had a twelve-day window, blessed by the moon. However, for eleven straight days the message remained the same: not tonight, Guy, Mimi and Eve.

The reasons varied: an aeroplane wasn’t available or was undergoing repairs, the ground conditions in Dol-de-Bretagne were not quite right, the weather was unsuitable, or there was a shortage of pilots. Today represented our last chance, our final opportunity before we moved beyond this month’s moon period.

On day twelve, I awoke as usual feeling fresh, eager, excited. However, after breakfast with Guy and Mimi, a wave of tiredness washed over me and I retired to my room. There, I slept until noon.

At noon, the telephone call informed me that our mission was on. I staggered into the bathroom, washed and stared at myself in the mirror. My flushed features and red eyes plus the beads of perspiration on my brow told me that I had a fever. I’d caught the winter bug, in April. I washed again then joined Guy and Mimi in the reception room.

Guy, our organiser and leader, was my age, thirty. He possessed regular features, thick dark hair, swept back from his forehead and a small scar on his chin. His shoulders were broad, filling his blouson, while his blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

Mimi, the ‘baby’ of our party, was little more than a teenager. Short and slight, she possessed an oval face, an intense stare and blonde hair braided in the German style. When amused she displayed an easy, natural smile. Mimi would serve as our wireless operator, a perilous position that required high security and great care.

Guy frowned as I joined him in front of a blackboard. He was dusting the board, wiping away information about our mission.

The country house was secure. However, Guy’s actions were good practice for when we arrived in France. Indeed, Major-General Cunningham had informed us of one agent’s mishap; in a hurry, he’d left a message on a blackboard; subsequently, he was captured.

Are you all right? Guy asked, canting his head to the left.

I’m fine, I said.

You look rough, Mimi insisted.

I’m fine, I said.

Mimi stepped forward and removed a thermometer from her travel bag. Let me take your temperature, she said, shaking the thermometer.

You’re not a nurse, I said.

But she is, Guy reminded me. For the purpose of our mission, Mimi is a nurse and we should always regard her as such.

Okay then, I sighed, you can take my temperature.

Mimi slipped the thermometer under my tongue. With a deep frown, she studied the mercury. You have a fever, she said. You should return to bed.

I’m not staying behind, I said. This is the last night of the moon period. They will break up our team and assign someone else. We’ve build up a level of trust. It would take some time to establish that level of trust with a new member.

We can’t afford to carry any passengers, Guy said.

I won’t be a passenger, I insisted. I have a temperature, but I’m fine. It’s a twenty-four hour bug. By this time tomorrow, it’ll be long gone.

It’s your decision, Mimi said to Guy.

Okay, Guy said after a period of reflection, a moment of deep thought, we leave as planned; you travel with us.

"I will repay