Double Cross

Starred review from May 14, 2012
“Any method of seeking the truth can also be used to plant a lie.” Therein lies the root of the brilliantly dangerous Allied plan (which MI5 called Double Cross)—recounted by Macintyre with the same skill and suspense he displayed in Operation Mincemeat and Agent Zigzag—to throw off the Germans and launch an assault at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The key to the plan—convincing Germany that the impending attack would come either at Pas de Calais or in Norway—was the careful manipulation of five double agents, each feeding misinformation back to their German handlers. Polish zealot Roman Czerniawski volunteered his services to his German captors, only to defect to Britain and become “Agent Brutus.” Serbian playboy Dusan Popov (“Agent Tricycle”) became one of MI5’s most prized assets. Failed Catalan chicken farmer Juan Pujol (“Agent Garbo”) badgered both German and British intelligence services into accepting him, eventually becoming the linchpin of the D-Day ploy. Lily Sergeyev (“Agent Treasure”), a high-strung Frenchwoman, had the opportunity to blow the whole operation with a single punctuation mark, while Elvira de la Fuente Chaudoir (“Agent Bronx”) transformed from a gambling Peruvian society girl to solid double agent. Macintyre effortlessly weaves the agents’ deliciously eccentric personalities with larger wartime events to shape a tale that reads like a top-notch spy thriller. Photos, map. Agent: Ed Victor, Ed Victor Ltd.

Starred review from December 24, 2012
It would be hard to imagine any narrator doing a better job with the rich material contained in this true-life thriller than John Lee does in this audio edition. Macintyre is a master of the art of digesting massive amounts of material and winnowing out the details that matter. He's done just that in this riveting account of the British Double-Cross System, which waged a covert disinformation campaign against the Nazis to maximize the chances of victory on D-Day. The account proves that truth is stranger than fiction, and the twists in the story and the eccentricities of the characters present the narrator with a serious challenge: he must convince the listener to accept that these events and people were real. For the duration of the audiobook, Lee knocks it out of the park, proving equally adept in voicing action scenes and bizarre incidents. His deadpan, dry delivery allows the material to speak for itself. The result is an entertaining and unforgettable listen. A Crown hardcover.