I am going to read a lot of books in 2026, but I doubt any will have a better title than The Nazi Ghost Train by Greg Lewis. I mean, come on! Yes, you might be holding back a little bit because of one word in that title, but I assure you they lose in the end. They always do.
Lewis tells the story of a lot of people. Mostly, the characters are downed Allied airmen trying to make it back to the safety of England or the Resistance members who risked it all, quite literally, to help these men get back in the fight. Oh, there is also a dastardly scum of a human who is a double agent that sent many good people to their deaths. The less we discuss him, the better.
If you have not read a lot of World War II literature, especially about the Resistance, then this is a great start. Lewis covers a ton of ground and there are literally dozens of characters who pop up and come back later in the narrative. Lewis stays very focused on the people so there aren’t long diatribes getting the reader caught up on the war or overall strategy. This is a street-level view of the war, and it is fantastic in this regard. The titular train is only at the very end of the book, so train enthusiasts beware.
By dint of being a huge history nerd, I have read a lot about these operations and the Allied Resistance. For me—and this is a minor criticism—the book had a bit too many characters and we don’t get to know anyone too intimately. Of course, clandestine operations means sometimes there just isn’t a ton of information to pull from, but some of the characters could have stood to have a longer spotlight. Again, this is a minor quibble. I highly recommend this book, even if it’s not perfect for World War II-centric audiences.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by Pegasus Books.)
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