Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. This novel joins a popular genre of WWII historical fiction. Did you find that it brought a fresh perspective to the era? What elements, like the focus on the SOE or Operation Jericho, felt new or particularly compelling to you?

2. In what ways does Churchill’s Secret Messenger compare to Alan Hlad’s other novels, such as The Long Flight Home? If you’ve read his work before, what recurring themes or narrative styles did you notice?

3. The story blends a high-stakes espionage plot with a developing romance between Rose and Lazare. How did you feel about the balance between these two narrative threads? Did one aspect of the story resonate with you more than the other?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Throughout the novel, Rose and Lazare continue loving people they cannot protect or save. Have you ever experienced a relationship dynamic like this? How did it change the way you understood care or responsibility?

2. Much of Churchill’s Secret Messenger explores the tension between what people publicly perform and what they privately carry. Have you ever felt pressure to hide part of yourself in order to function or survive in a difficult environment?

3. Several characters struggle with survivor’s guilt after the war ends, particularly Rose and Lazare. Have you ever felt a similar feeling?

4. In Ravensbrück, Rose’s sabotage in the tailor workshop is a small but powerful act of defiance. Have you ever found that small, seemingly minor acts of resistance can hold significant personal meaning?

5. Felix initially dismisses Rose’s intuition that their network has been infiltrated. Have you ever had a strong gut feeling about a situation that others doubted? What does Rose’s experience suggest about the value of intuition versus hard evidence?

6. Muriel’s final letter to Mabel becomes one of the novel’s emotional centers. If you had to leave behind a message for someone you loved, who would it be for and what would it say?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel is grounded in the real history of the Special Operations Executive, which recruited civilian women for dangerous missions. In what ways does Rose’s story challenge or expand your understanding of women’s roles in World War II? Do you think narratives like this are important for correcting the historical record?

2. Lazare’s story is deeply rooted in the Vél’ d’Hiv Roundup, where French police arrested thousands of Jewish citizens. In what ways does the novel’s focus on French collaboration complicate the typical narrative of occupied nations as unified resistance movements?

3. In the end, Churchill confirms that the details of Operation Jericho and the Conjurer network will be classified for at least a century. What does this decision reveal about the tension between national security and the public’s right to know its own history?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Lazare’s prosthetic hand is a recurring symbol. How does its meaning shift throughout his journey, from a mark of shame to a tool of his mother’s love and finally to a target of his torturers? What does its evolution reveal about his character?

2. How does the alternating narrative between Rose’s perspective and Lazare’s perspective enhance the story’s tension and provide a more comprehensive view of the war?

3. Consider the setting of the Paris catacombs. Beyond being a physical hiding place, what symbolic weight does it carry in the story, particularly for Lazare?

4. Many novels, like Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, explore women’s roles in the French Resistance. How does this book contribute to that conversation? If you’ve read similar stories, how did Rose’s experience as a trained SOE agent differ from portrayals of civilian women fighting the occupation?

5. What role do secondary characters like Lieutenant Clarke and Felix play in developing the theme of female resilience? How do their initial doubts or misjudgments of Rose serve to highlight her unique strengths as an agent?

6. Think about the novel’s pacing. How does Hlad create suspense during action sequences like the Amiens Prison raid, and how does that contrast with the quiet tension of scenes like Rose’s encounters in Kieffer’s hotel suite?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. SOE headquarters offers Rose a chance to be evacuated from France after the network collapses. Imagine she had accepted the offer. What do you think her life would have been like, and how might the story have ended differently for her and Lazare?

2. The agents use codenames like Dragonfly, Conjurer, and Sporran. If you were recruited into a clandestine network, what special skill would you bring? What would your codename be, and why?

3. The epilogue reveals that Rose wrote a manuscript detailing her wartime experiences to defy their official classification. If you were her editor, what would you tell her about the importance of her story for modern readers?