The Crimson Thread cover art

The Crimson Thread

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Crimson Thread

By: Kate Forsyth
Narrated by: Aaron Tsindos, Zoe Carides, Socratis Otto
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

May 1941. German paratroopers launch a blitzkrieg from the air against Crete. They are met with fierce defiance, the Greeks fighting back with daggers, pitchforks and kitchen knives. During the bloody 11-day battle, Alenka, a young Greek woman, saves the lives of two Australian soldiers.

Jack and Teddy are childhood friends who joined up together to see the world. Both men fall in love with Alenka. They are forced to retreat with the tattered remains of the Allied forces over the towering White Mountains. Both are are among the 7,000 Allied soldiers left behind in the desperate evacuation from Crete's storm-lashed southern coast.

Alenka hides Jack and Teddy at great risk to herself. Her brother Axel is a Nazi sympathiser and collaborator and spies on her movements.

As Crete suffers under the Nazi jackboot, Alenka is drawn into an intense triangle of conflicting emotions with Jack and Teddy. Their friendship suffers under the strain of months of hiding and their rivalry for her love. Together, they join the resistance and fight to free the island, but all three will find themselves tested to their limits. Alenka must choose whom to trust and whom to love and, in the end, whom to save.

©2022 Kate Forsyth (P)2022 Penguin Random House Australia 20th Century Historical Historical Fiction Romance Fiction Espionage Solider
All stars
Most relevant  

I now must go to Crete. What a new and insightful perspective On war people and country

New perspective

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So many threads so skilfully woven through this rich and engaging story… WW2 history in Crete, resistance and patriotism, Greek mythology, Greek traditions and culture, codes, classical music and poetry, loss, tragedy, bravery, love, friendship, loyalty, treachery, threads - of crimson and cotton, even a clever subtle study of masculinity… An epic tale…

Brilliant weaving of so many threads…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great portrayal of a period of wartime history and a beautiful crafting of the characters who lived through it. I found this book really interesting and moving, and easy to listen to. The performances were excellent.

Interesting and moving

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this novel absorbing and very interesting as it was based on WW2 experiences in Crete. Prior to listening to this story I had no idea about what happened there during that War. The local resistance and the Australian Defense force part was remarkable. The author backed her own family history Sevice in the Australian army and thorough research intertwined with her love of Greek mythology. As a story inspired by real experience and events it was one that kept my interest throughout. So pleased I came across it.

Fascinating story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved it. the story and characters were very real made a riveting listen by superb narrators

outstanding history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.