Codename Lionel is an historical novel following real-life French Resistance fighter Robert Benoist from his days as a WWI combat pilot to his time as a race car champion and later fighting the German occupation of France during WWII.

The book begins during WWI as Benoist survives harrowing air battles. At war’s end, the protagonist wins fame driving for Bugatti in world racing competitions. When the Germans invade France later, he supports Resistance fighters, escaping to England to train with the Special Operations Executive and returning to France to help run a team of saboteurs preparing for the Allies’ invasion of France.

Back home, he must deal with his brother, who is working with the Germans, as well as try to escape notice of the German security forces, who are ruthlessly compromising and capturing Resistance cells.

Benoist is a complex character. Skilled and brave, he’s restless, always promoting schemes for a newly designed car or race, even opposing his superiors to make them happen. Eager to free his country, he sometimes threatens missions by acting impulsively. While married with a child, he has affairs with other women and spends so little time at home that his wife eventually leaves.

The novel, narrated by Benoist and written in a flowing style, is replete with action and intrigue, from dogfights and rooftop escapes to torture and paranoia as Resistance members are betrayed and captured. Benoist is even forced by the German security services, which has threatened his family if he doesn’t comply, to deliver a package to a British plane carrying Resistance supplies.

A lengthy book, Codename Lionel features scenes that, while entertaining, could have been cut. Additionally, the ending contains an extensive explanation of each scenes’ mix of fact and fiction. While informative, this feels unneeded and adds to the book’s heft.

Regardless, readers looking for a fictional portrait of a Resistance warrior with all his complexities will enjoy Codename Lionel.