The Sobs of Autumn's Violins [Paperback]

In The Sobs of Autumn's Violins, A.R. Homer combines breathtaking suspense and spine-tingling adventure with a tender love story that grabbed me in the first chapter and didn't let go until the last page, which left me thirsting for a sequel.

As bloody as D-Day was, it was nothing compared with what it would have been had the Germans known the exact date and location of the Allied invasion, and the Allies went to extraordinary lengths to keep the D-Day secret safe. Against the rich backdrop of historical fact, Homer weaves the stories of the individual men and women whose bravery assured that the master plans of the Allies would succeed.

The novel opens with a diary entry - one in a series that occur throughout the novel - by an English spy who is out to steal the secret for his Nazi paymasters. In the first chapter, we meet Jeanne, an English agent on her way to France on a mission she is most reluctant to carry out: she's been ordered to kill a top French Resistance leader, Philippe Josse. In Devon, England, where over a million American troops await the big day, Tom Ford, an American Intelligence officer, doesn't think he'll be one of them until a buddy - an officer who is a `BIGOT' (codeword for one who knows the details of the invasion plan) - is captured by the Germans in a raid during a disastrous rehearsal for D-Day off the Devon coast, and Tom is sent to France to rescue him.

As the plot hurtles forward at breakneck speed, you'll meet Gwen, the Englishwoman with whom Tom, hastily married before his posting to England, falls in love; Sally Fortescue, an upper-crust but down-to-earth English servicewoman who makes a horrific discovery and must risk her life to act upon it; her working-class friend, Danny, embittered because his family was moved off their Devon farm to make way for the American invasion rehearsals; Richter, the fiendishly clever and uber-motivated SS Commander in Normandy; and Philippe Josse, the enigmatic Resistance leader who flits down seamy alleyways pursuing a dubious agenda. There's also Celeste, a French orphan who, despite her frailty and tender years, plays a memorable role in saving the secret. While Eisenhower and Patton struggle to preserve it, Hitler - in an accurate representation by Homer - believes he has unraveled it. Then there's `CD' - the British spymaster - who masterminds Operation First Violin, the ultimate plan to protect the secret.

As the Author's Afterword, which differentiates fact from fiction in the novel, shows, Homer has researched his novel well. I enthusiastically recommend The Sobs of Autumn's Violins to World War II buffs, lovers of historical fiction, or anyone who enjoys an exquisitely-told and fast-paced tale. This riveting novel about the two weeks leading up to D-Day deserves to become a classic of this genre

It seems to me that D-Day was the biggest secret ever kept under the worst possible circumstances. In addition to Hitler's espionage network, the Germans even had the good luck to stray into an Allied operation (Operation Tiger) that was practicing beach assaults in England shortly before D-Day. The heroes and heroines that guaranteed the safety of the secret feature in A.R. Homer's tightly-crafted and well-written novel of war and love, along with an English traitor of unknown identity, a consummately evil SS commander, and a Resistance leader with disturbingly puzzling loyalties. In "The Sobs of Autumn's Violins," Homer deftly weaves the strands of their individual stories of love, courage, betrayal, and suspense into a rich pattern, and the novel culminates in two spectacular denouements. Through it all, there is humor, longing, romance, and an adorable nine-year-old French girl.

The title of the book comes from the first line of a Verlaine poem ("The long sobs of the violins of autumn") that was broadcast by the BBC to France to alert the Resistance that the invasion was imminent, since preparations for the big day were happening on both sides of the Channel. Scenes within chapters alternate between England and France, and I enjoyed the fact that each chapter of the novel is one day in the two week time-span preceding D-Day. The story moves forward rapidly; there is little let-up of tension in this book.

History may tell us that success in epic ventures like the Normandy invasion was due to troop movements and battles fought. A.R. Homer's beautifully-written novel reminds us that all noble undertakings consist of the actions of individual human beings, many of whom were - like the characters in this book - fighting wars within their own personal lives. As in his first book, "The Mirror of Diana," all of Homer's characters live and breathe. I quaked, fought back a tear, and rejoiced for the heroes and heroines I met in this fine novel. I think you will, too.

At a time of bitter debate about the worth of shedding American blood, it is gratifying to recall a time when the justification for decisive action was crystal clear. That time: D-Day, evoking patriotic visions of brave men in battles that ultimately decided the course of history. Equally miraculous, however, was the safeguarding of the D-Day secret - where and when the invasion would take place - from desperately prying eyes, ears, and stealth as over a million American servicemen waited in England to cross the Channel.

In A.R. Homer's stirring novel, The Sobs of Autumn's Violins (the title comes from the Verlaine poem broadcast by the BBC to tell the French Resistance the invasion was imminent), we learn that the D-Day secret was protected by an elaborate offensive campaign of deception, described vividly in the novel by none other than General George S. Patton. Defensive tactics were fallen back upon when things went wrong as Tom Ford, an American intelligence officer and the protagonist of the novel, finds out when another officer, privy to the D-Day secret, is captured by the Germans during a rehearsal for D-Day off the coast of Devon, England (this bit of plot is based on the April, 1944 Operation Tiger disaster, kept secret by the American government for decades). Jeanne Busson, a British agent courier, on the other hand, is unwittingly mired in the campaign of deception when, parachuting into occupied France, she finds she has been betrayed. Perhaps by Philippe Josse, French Resistance leader, who double-deals with both the British Secret Service and with Richter, an odious Nazi Gestapo boss.

But where were all the German spies? As Homer relates with historical accuracy, they had all been captured early in the war and either executed or "turned" to aid the deception effort. But what, poses Homer, if there had been a sleeper spy embedded in England before the war? The author gives life to such an agent: through anonymous diary entries, we learn the plan to steal the secret and get it to the Nazis in France through ingenious means.

In this historical adventure are fascinating depictions of the mores of the time. Tom, married, laments his hasty marriage before his posting to England: he is one of thousands of American servicemen who chose - or were led into - quick weddings before shipping out. His love affair with an Englishwoman spotlights cultural differences between the Yanks and the Brits, as when Tom is introduced to an English dessert called `Spotted Dick.' Then there is the friendship between an upper-class Englishwoman, who has joined the WRENs (Women's Royal Naval Service), and a working-class English serviceman. Homer shows the effects of war on that rigidly class-divided society of 1940s England, when debutantes hung up their ball gowns to don uniforms and venture into the unfamiliar world of hard work and danger in the company of those who might have been their servants.

This fast-paced and beautifully-written novel involves several simultaneous themes playing in counterpoint on both sides of the Channel and resolving in two stunning climaxes. In the end, everything that precedes is pulled into sharp and surprising focus.

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