2008: #36 – The Unlikely Spy (Daniel Silva)
Book #36 was The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva. The back of the book reads:
The time is 1943, London. Professor Alfred Vicary, a mild mannered academic, friend of Churchill, is drafted into M15 to help break the most horrifying intelligence case of World War II–the existence of a Nazi spy ring in England that is ferreting out the secret of the D-Day invasion. Vicary’s “opponent” is Catherine Blake, a beautiful, perfect young Brit, a volunteer in the emergency wards during the Blitz, a heartbreaker–and deep German mole, a trained assassin and a determined killer. Their game of cat and mouse, with the success of the European invasion at stake–is the riveting saga of The Unlikely Spy.
I am a big fan of Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, so I didn’t hesitate to pick up this, his debut novel. Though it was in danger of being a bit too long, I found the plot engaging and it definitely kept me reading. Just when you thought you had the whole thing figured out, you find out you were wrong. The pacing at the climax was great, and really drove home the importance of what was happening. You almost find yourself rooting for Catherine, wanting her to find some peace. I’m happy to add this to my collection of WWII historical novels.
Page count: 529 | Word count: 170,658
2007: Trouble in High Heels (Christina Dodd)
2006: The Mummy Case (Elizabeth Peters)
2005: North and South (John Jakes)
I couldn’t help but notice HIDE on the right. I totally loved that book. 🙂 For me, it was her best book ever!
I was a little leery to pick this one up because I had read most of the Gabriel Allon books first. But I’m glad I did because it was one of the best World War II books I’ve read. I’m in the middle of another one right now that spans several decades of European history including WWII and the Cold War. It’s called Bear Any Burden and is a good mix of family epic and political intrigue with enough twists and turns so far to keep me in the dark as to the ending. So far I haven’t given in to temptation to check out the last chapter yet! 🙂