Dean Hughes is one of my favorite LDS authors, as I have proven by repeatedly acting like an idiot whenever I’ve had chance to meet him. “Saboteur” is his 2006 release, a story of espionage, danger, and love set during World War II.
Andy Gledhill’s mother is French and he speaks the language well. When he decides to leave his hometown of Delta, Utah, and become a paratrooper, his skills catch the eye of the Office of Strategic Services, and they ask him if he’d be willing to undertake an unusual assignment. They want to drop him into France to work with the Resistance movement there, acting as a spy. He agrees, knowing that the danger of his mission is more than he had originally bargained for, but wanting to do his part.
He leaves behind Whisper Harris, the proverbial girl-next-door who grew up to be the most-desired-knockout in town. She’s had a crush on Andy practically her whole life, and when he finally realizes what he’s been missing all these years, they seem a perfect match. Andy asks his little brother, Flip, to keep an eye on Whisper while he’s gone, to take her to dances and keep the guys from swarming around her. Flip has always liked Whisper and agrees to the assignment.
Once Andy is out in the field, he finds that fulfilling his mission will be harder than he ever imagined. He’s expected to kill, quickly and without remorse, over and over again. He wonders if he’ll ever be the same again, and feels unworthy to marry Whisper. Flip, meanwhile, has fallen for her, and hates the fact that he’s far too young to do anything about it.
This story ties the Japanese internment camps, romance, and the internal struggle of murder vs. the necessities of war together into a tight package. I enjoyed the read beginning to end and proclaim it another Dean Hughes winner.
(This book was published in 2006 by Deseret Book.)
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