It’s 1947 and the world is a different place in the aftermath of the war. But not such a different place that an American socialite still finds herself on the cusp of being disowned by her family for being pregnant and unmarried. Charlie St Clair is desperate, not due to the “little problem” growing within her, but to find her beloved cousin Rose who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France. When Charlie is banished to Europe to have her problem taken care of, she breaks free and heads to London to track down the woman who may hold the answers to her questions.
In 1915, one year into the Great War, Evelyn Gardiner yearns to join the fight against the Germans. When a chance meeting sees her being recruited as a spy she is sent into enemy-occupied France. Trained by the “Queen of Spies” herself, Eve begins to hone her skills and use her past disadvantages to slip right under the enemy’s nose. Thirty years later Eve is a bitter woman who spends her days hidden away in her London home trying to drown out her memories with whiskey. That is until a young American comes barging into her life uttering a name Eve has desperately tried to forget.
Bound together by a single mission this unlikely pair, along with Eve’s ‘man of all work’ Finn, set out to find the truth…no matter where it might take them.
This book first came to my attention last summer when it was chosen as book of the month by Reese Witherspoon’s book club. It piqued my interest, as a lover of historical fiction, but sadly I had missed the boat on requesting an ARC through NetGalley. I therefore decided to wait until the price came down on Amazon, unluckily for me by the time it was 99p I had a very long list of books to get through to a deadline hence only having got around to it now.
I was concerned at first that, after such a long wait, I wouldn’t enjoy this book as the reviews are extremely divided. The most common theme amongst the negative comments seems to be that half of the story was found lacking. This worried me, as I too am the kind of reader that often finds myself disappointed with one side when a story is told from two points of view or across dual timelines. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case for me this time, and I am firmly in the “loved it” camp. I felt the crossover between the timelines was exceptionally well written easily bringing together the thirty-year time gap through reminisces and storytelling.
When reading this genre, I often find myself googling bits and pieces throughout the book, looking to learn about the subject at the same time. I was astounded that so much of this story was true, from the people to the scenarios that took place, the way Quinn has managed to blend fact and fiction seamlessly is nothing short of genius!
Eve is a brilliant character, stubborn to a fault and filled with so much bitterness. The only thing that keeps her going is the need for revenge, and by the end of the story who can really blame her. Charlie proves to be no less admirable, she shows real gumption as the story passes and it’s wonderful to watch her evolve. For a novel with such a serious tone the author manages to weave in a lot of comical one-liners, mostly from Finn, lending the story a much-needed air of camaraderie in an otherwise bleak tale.
I’m now torn equally between “I wish I hadn’t read it yet” and “I can’t believe I didn’t read this book sooner”! What an amazing story – and beautifully written.