The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour and Jude Dobson ~ Review

by Donna Huber

The world recently celebrated the 80th anniversary of V-E Day - the day Germany surrendered and ended WWII in Europe. 80 years ago, Pippa Latour signed off and made her way to Paris. She served as a radio operator in occupied France for the British Special Operations Executive. The Last Secret Agent is her story.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

May 2025; Macmillan Audio; 9781250401809
audio (7h 52m), ebook, print; memoir

I'm a big fan of WWII fiction and have really enjoyed the biographical fiction about women in the war that has come out in the last few years. I've been trying to read more nonfiction WWII history so The Last Secret Agent is totally up my alley. And it turned out to be a really good book.

For a long time after the war, no one in the SOE could talk about their service. While men being tight-lipped about their service was a big deal, as people figured that they did something important that they couldn't talk about. For women, though, their contributions have long been overlooked. The only jobs anyone thought that they were doing were clerical, but many served in occupied territory. Until recently, no one could imagine women parachuting into France or breaking enemy codes. 

At the beginning of the book, Pippa says she never told anyone about her time in the SOE - not even her husband. They knew of some of her earlier war work with barrage balloons. I wonder if the family member hadn't found a reference to her SOE work on the internet, if she really would have taken her secrets to the grave.

I'm glad she shared her story. Like many people who lived during this era, she lived an extraordinary life. She grew up in Africa. She was born in South Africa to a British mother and a French father - this mix served her well in the SOE.

Unlike some history that I've read, this isn't filled with dates and places and names. It is not dry or boring. I had to remind myself a few times that this was not a novel. Listening to the audiobook made it feel as if I was sitting with Pippa and listening to her tell her story. Jilly Bond was a good narrator for this book. I do wonder how much she mimics Pippa's real speech patterns.

If you've read The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck, Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon, or Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis, then you will want to read or listen to this book.

Be sure to read/listen all the way through the end to learn more about Pippa Latour's post-war life, including why this book is titled The Last Secret Agent.

 

Buy The Last Secret Agent at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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