CODE NAME: LISE

“The stuff of classic World War II thrillers.”

—Newsday

CODE NAME: LISE—winner of the Florida Book Awards silver medal and a Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist—was described by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times Book Review, Newsday, Orlando Sentinel, Military Times, Daily Mail (UK), Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Apple Books as a “nonfiction thriller.” BookBub, Woman’s Day, Bustle, Amazon, Book Riot, and CrimeReads named it to their “Best Books” lists. In the UK, a train and a thoroughbred racehorse were named after the book. At the train ceremony in London, a signed copy of CODE NAME: LISE was presented to Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, after she made the dedication.

Videos

See Larry and CODE NAME: LISE on The TODAY Show!

Watch CODE NAME LISE—the racehorse—win at Ascot!

What People Are Saying

“Crackles with suspense. It had us in knots—and it's all true!”

—Apple Books

“A true-life thriller...page-turner...Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger...A vivid history of wartime heroism.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Continues the scholarly thriller style of Into the Lion’s Mouth.”

—Orlando Sentinel

“A great book! A remarkable story. I hope someone's bought the movie rights.”

— The TODAY Show

“Reading like a thrilling spy novel and the most exciting sort of non-fiction—well researched, well written, and fast paced enough to keep the pages turning—this will interest fans of the history of espionage, World War II history, military history, women’s history, and biography.”

—Library Journal (starred review)

“A nonfiction thriller.”

—Wall Street Journal

“A well-researched, novelistic story of a heroine and patriot…Swift and entertaining, Loftis’s work reads less like a biography and more like a thriller.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Story

The year is 1942, and World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father’s footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and one plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer Captain Peter Churchill.

As they successfully complete mission after mission, Peter and Odette fall in

love. All the while, they are being hunted by the cunning German secret police sergeant, Hugo Bleicher, who finally succeeds in capturing them. They are sent to Paris’s Fresnes prison, and from there to concentration camps in Germany where they are starved, beaten, and tortured. But in the face of despair, they never give up hope, their love for each other, or the whereabouts of their colleagues.

In Code Name: Lise, Larry Loftis paints a portrait of true courage, patriotism,

and love—of two incredibly heroic people who endured unimaginable horrors and degradations. He seamlessly weaves together the touching romance between Odette and Peter and the thrilling cat and mouse game between them and Sergeant Bleicher. With this amazing testament to the human spirit, Loftis proves once again that he is adept at writing “nonfiction that reads like a page-turning novel” (Parade).