Elena Standish, whose grandfather, Lucas Standish, once headed Britain’s M-16, is now on her first assignment for M-16, in the second installment of the Elena Standish series, A Question of Betrayal, by bestselling author, Anne Perry. Elena, who is a photographer, goes to Trieste to bring back Aiden Strother, the spy she was in love with previously and who was responsible for the scandal that came from their relationship that cost Elena her career. It has been six years, and it is widely thought that Aiden is a traitor to Britain, but Peter, Elena’s boss and her grandfather’s confidant, has his doubts. Aiden’s handler, Max, has disappeared, and Britain is no longer receiving vital information that could prevent another war.

One of the trademarks of Anne Perry’s novels is that although her characters are fictional, the background and scenarios are well-researched facts about the time period. Her characters are well-developed and believable; they seem true-to-life and definitely fit into the time period. While Elena is the protagonist, the other characters are also interesting and will appeal to readers. The stories are well-written, and this particular novel is no exception. Perry takes readers into the minds of those citizens who lived during the time of Hitler and it seems that it was a struggle not unlike politics today – good versus evil. Elena is likeable and proves that she has more backbone than previously thought.

The historical aspects of the novel are fascinating, and it’s nice to gain a little historical knowledge while reading an enjoyable and suspenseful novel. One of Lucas’ friends is murdered, and Elena’s sister, Margo, attends a wedding where her close friend marries a Nazi officer, adds intrigue to the story.

Anyone who loves a good historical novel will enjoy this excellent book.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Anne Perry always does her research. She finds details about eras in history that open your eyes. As a huge Anne Perry fan (bias alert!), I’m very happy to see her again introducing young women characters with fiber who can mature and age through an important time in history.

A Question of Betrayal is the second book in Perry’s new series currently set in pre WWII England, Italy, and Germany. Elena Standish is working for MI6 and sent to Italy to rescue an embedded agent whose cover is blown and is also the lover who she believes betrayed her and England six years prior. At the same time, Elena’s sister Margot is in Berlin for a friend’s wedding to a Nazi officer. Margot overhears information about a possible Nazi plot. No one wants to go to war again only 15 years after the end of the war to end all wars. However. It is becoming impossible to turn a blind eye to Hitler’s activities. Perry demonstrates the two sides so well, using Grandfather Lucas - former head of MI6 who sees war on the horizon - and the girls’ father Peter - and ambassador who wants to do whatever he can to keep peace. With a suspicious death in England, the rescue in Italy, and the wedding in Germany, this tale keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I did not read the first in the series, but the author brings the reader the information pretty quickly. I read this in a afternoon, suspecting the ending but not in the way it happened. I liked the descriptions of the political unrest in the 30s leading up to WWII and the characters interactions. Also, an interesting portrayal of 3 generations of MI6 operatives.

I must admit I am a fan of well-plotted, historically informative, World War I and World War II spy novels. Even more so, when the characters are complex, enigmatic, determined and focused, yet vulnerable.
Anne Perry’s A Question of Betrayal is all that and more.
Three generations of MI6 operatives, and two wars, one leaving devastation and the lingering wounds of a lost generation, and then the foreboding and signs pointing to the one to follow.
Elena is the latest generation drawn into the service, a young woman, shamed by an operation gone awry, and betrayed by the man she loved.
Five years later, she is asked to go undercover as a photographer to Trieste to find a contact that has gone missing, and the MI6 operative he reports to- the man who betrayed her.
This is a well-researched narrative of the period of time in the early to mid-1930s when the intentions and allegiances of governments, leaders, the military and citizenry throughout Europe are amorphous yet filled with looming danger, focused on the man named Hitler. Who is on your side? What is the right side? Who can be trusted?
Throughout the compelling search for answers, there are lyrical descriptions of landscape, nature and human nature, reflected in photographic scenes, as well as in the depth of friendship and family relationships.
This is a story of fortitude, betrayal, choosing sides, seeking truth, and deciding what citizenship and allegiance mean. This is a story set in a specific time, that is really a story for all time.

"A Question of Betrayal" is another home run hit by Anne Perry. I don't know how I missed the first book in her new Elena Standish series, but am thrilled to see that she has another great series in the works now. The period of the 1930's was fraught with political and social developments, with a world weary from the Great War, and anxious not to repeat that calamity. Fascism was on the rise in Italy, Communism in the Soviet Union, and Adolf Hitler was just coming into power in Germany, and those three different political movements would lead to another war, the deaths of millions, unless it could be avoided, which is the crux of this book, the lengths some would go to, to avoid another war.

Women now had the vote, but they still were not truly equal to men, except in one area: spying for their countries. Women had been part of the Allied spy service during the Great War, and they continue to be of use after that war, in order to hopefully prevent another one. Elena is young, but has grown considerably in the last few months working for MI6, and she is called upon to rescue her former lover in Austrian controlled Trieste. How she handles herself, and her ex lover, reveals her growth and maturity.

Elena's whole family, it seems, is in the spy business, as her grandfather was head of MI6 during WWI; her father is an ambassador, and her sister travels to Germany for a wedding and uncovers information which ties in to what Elena AND her grandfather have discovered.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this book, and the ending was smashing! Nothing like what I was expecting. I am looking forward to the next book in this series, as I also look forward to reading EVERY book that Anne Perry writes!

My thanks to NetGalley for providing a gratis digital ARC of this book; all opinions are my own.

Disclaimer: This is book #2 in the Elena Standish series. I did not read book #1 and I do not think that I really missed out on any of the back story.

This was quite enjoyable. The story follows Elena Standish, photographer and member of the British MI6 agency, to Trieste, Italy so that she can locate her former lover and fellow MI6 agent. Did he betray his country and Elena to work for the Nazi's?

Elena's sister, Margot is in Berlin to attend a wedding of childhood friend who is to marry a German officer.

These events (and so much more) are all happening as Europe is recovering from WWI and as Hitler is rising to power. This book truly has it all; mystery, intrigue, espionage and more.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House - Ballentine Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in September, 2020.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read this book and give an honest opinion. I have to be honest, I was drawn in my the description and the cover of the book, as this is my first Anne Perry book. I didn't realize that this is the second book in a series. Honestly, I didn't need to have read the first one to pick up this book. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement. This book was set in England about 15 years after the end of World War 1. The book starts off with Peter, who is part of MI5 asking Elena to go to Triste Italy to contact Aiden and tell him he is in danger. (What I missed from the first book is that Elena and Aiden were lovers and he was believed to be a traitor which ruined Elena's career.) Elena's grandpa Lucas was the former head of MI6 and is still close to Peter. Lucas is visited soon after Elena leaves for Triste by an old friend Stoney who is also part of MI6. Stoney believes money is being funneled by MI6 to support HItler's plans of war and invasion. Margot, Elena's older sister, travels to Germany to go to her friend Cecily's wedding to an officer of the Gestapo (although they never name what group he is in). Margot meets a former prisoner of war (I am leaving that there because I don't want to ruin that scene!!!!) Back in Triste, Elena finds Aiden (who now goes by Anton) and he is up to his old tricks again. Aiden introduces Elena to Gabrielle who has an adorable son named Franz (we need another book to find out what happens to Gabrielle and Franz!!!) Elena and Aiden go looking for his missing handler and Aiden again is called out as a traitor. This book, especially the last few chapters, fly by. I highly recommend it. #AQuestionofBetrayal #NetGalley

This is the 2nd book in the Elena Standish series, I was already a fan of the William Monk and Thomas Pitt series and will add this series to the list. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. In true Perry fashion, the reader is left guessing until the very end. Elena is such a likeable character, I will go back and read book 1 and any future books.

This is the second story in Anne Perry's new series on a young photographer who finds herself caught up in spying in pre-WWII. The series is quite a departure from Perry's usual writing, and I found the first one to be a little uneven, but the character becomes more fully developed in this second story. While I've not quite warmed up to Elena Standish, the main character of the series, there is more to her in this story. Her romantic background, which crushed her and hijacked her fledging career, is explored here. Indeed, it is a primary point of this story. By the end, and it is an exciting finish, Elena has truly found herself, and readers can expect a more mature, hardened spy operative in the subsequent stories. Often a writer will begin a series with a mature character and perhaps give readers a backstory novel later. But Perry is doing the harder bit first - creating a portrait of a young, naive, unsure woman who slowly matures into a forceful personality. I look forward to more in this promising series.

Another outstanding mystery from an excellent writer, hard to put down. Characters are fully developed, excellent use of details in settings and a very satisfying read. Highly recommend, especially for lovers of British authors and settings.

Really enjoying this series about a young British woman becoming involved in espionage in the years before WWII. In this, the second book, Elena goes on her first mission for MI6 (the events of the first book being more accidental), to extract her former lover from Trieste, Italy. I loved the description of the city, and the events of the story had me in complete suspense as I swung wildly back and forth about whether Aiden had good intentions. There are also subplots about Elena's sister attending a wedding of a childhood friend to a Gestapo officer in Berlin and her grandparents solving a murder back home. I especially loved the grandparents! Hope they continue to have prominent roles in future stories. I'm ready for the next book in this series asap!

This is the second in Perry's newest series set in pre-World War II England and Germany, featuring Elena Standish, talented photographer and daughter of a former ambassador to Germany. In the first volume of the series, Elena discovered her beloved grandfather was the former head of MI.6, Great Britain's international spy network, and she had successfully completed an errand that sent her to Berlin and put her in great danger. In this outing, Elena has an even more difficult mission: extricate her former love Aiden Strother, a man who revealed himself as a traitor to the country and got her fired from her job at the British Embassy, from Italy, since it turns out he was a double agent all along. The man who customarily passed Aiden's reports to England has not been heard from in weeks and it may be that Strother, too, is in danger. Can Elena get him out of Italy while putting aside her personal feelings?

In a subplot, Elena's older sister Margot goes to Berlin to attend the wedding of a dear childhood friend, who she realizes is marrying a heartless member of the Gestapo. Margot wonders: is her friend just too besotted with love to understand the hate within the man, or is there something more sinister going on?

I probably would have been better off reading the previous book first so I would know the particulars about her grandfather and how losing her job affected her and her family, but this can be read pretty much stand-alone if you don't mind being missing some background information. There's the distinct Perry touch of two capable women surviving in hostile environments, detailed descriptions of the ladies' fashions at the time, and welcome detail to 1930s life, and there's a tense plot right until the very end. The buried sinister machinations under German bonhomie is especially well done, making for uneasiness in many chapters. However, I don't find I like Elena or Margot as well as her two other leads, Charlotte Ellison Pitt and Hester Latterly Monk; the sisters don't seem to have the depth that either of Perry's Victorian protagonists have.

Again Anne Perry managed to get you engaged in the turbulent pre-WWII years.
This is the second book in the Elena Standish series and if you have not read the first one "Death in Focus" I highly suggest you read that first. It is not a 100% needed but I think you will enjoy this book a lot more if you do. This book is historical friction. You get to know each character and their way of thinking. The story makes you aware of the political unrest and intrigues of the times. The mystery plot keeps you guessing. Is Helena going to be betrayed a second time by the man she ones loved?
Both Margot and Elena find their inner strengths more as the story processes and hopeful we will see a closer working together of the two of them in the future.

On her first official mission for MI6, photographer Elena Standish is sent to Trieste, Italy to track down her former lover who has been working as an undercover agent. MI6 has lost contact with Aiden Strother’s handler and they need to get Aiden out of Italy with all his information concerning Austria and Nazi Germany before his cover is blown. Despite wanting to do with the man who betrayed and humiliated her, Elena knows that she is the only person properly equipped for the job—she will be able to immediately recognize Aiden and make contact. Finding Aiden is the easy part. Getting out of Trieste alive will be the hard part—especially when Elena still is not sure if she can trust Aiden. Meanwhile, Elena’s sister, Margot, is keeping her eyes and ears open while attending a friend’s wedding in Berlin and her grandfather is unofficially investigating the mysterious death of an MI6 agent back in England.

A QUESTION OF BETRAYAL has a very intricate plot. While not directly linked to each other, the separate plots involving Elena, Margot, and their grandfather Lucian all tie into together as they uncover traitors to England and a splinter group of Hilter’s Nazi party that is about to cause some serious trouble. Elena’s past relationship with Aiden plays a major role in their escape from Trieste. She must rely on her past with him to determine how to go about their present situation. Their backstory is carefully weaved into the story. There are several twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing at the outcome. The social unrest following World War I plays a heavy role in this novel and shows the buildup to World War II as Germany.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Fun period piece. Set in the 1930s as Europe begins its inexorable path towards another war, Elena Standish begins her official career with MI6 with an assignment in Italy. We learn more about Elena's ill-fated affair with a supposed traitor that resulted in her banishment from her Foreign Office post as she uncovers a conspiracy that goes deep into the British government. A good escapist read.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for access to a digital ARC.

Anne Perry really knows how to spin a tale in 'A Question of Betrayal,' which is the second book in the Elena Standish series. This is an excellent historical fiction novel that kept me reading and my heart-pounding. This book picked right up where the first one ended. I love this series so far, and look forward to more. This book will keep you reading, with its excellent plot, mysteries and intrigue, wonderful characters, both old and young, and the twists and turns. You won't know who to believe at times. I highly recommend you read this series from the beginning.

Thoroughly enjoyed this latest installment in the Elena Standish series.
Anne Perry has once again created a series that will immerse us in the period, this time the beginnings of WWII.
Enthusiastically recommend this book. #netgally #aquestionofbetrayal

This was a riveting story of pre-WWII espionage that held my attention from beginning to end. The sense of time is faultless, as is the analysis of the political lanscape of the era. Elena, the main protaganist, is portrayed believably as an inexperienced but able operative. She's put in the impossible position of having to risk her life to extract her former lover who betrayed her, from Italy together with his information. The action flips from her situation to her sister, who's attending a friend's wedding to a Nazi in Berlin and then back in England where members of MI6 are trying to analyze where the danger to Elena and her lover is coming from before disaster strikes. There is danger everywhere from members of the rising Nazi party as well as those who are willing to appease them for the sake of peace at any cost. The action is constant and I was so involved I couldn't put the book down.

A Question of Betrayal by Anne Perry is the second book in the Elena Standish series. This is an excellent historical fiction novel that literally has it all: an excellent plot, murder, mystery, intrigue, amazing characters, twists, turns, deception, and truly kept me engaged throughout.

I had the privilege to read the first book in this series, Death in Focus published in 2019, and I really feel that this book picked up wonderfully where the other ended. Being able to follow along again with some of my favorite characters really was a treat.

This book starts off only a few months after the other ended: in the early years during the rise of Hitler into the forefront of power and the beginning of Elena’s new career working for MI6. Just as the winds of change are really picking up is where we find ourselves immersed into the hotbed of fighting factions trying to rise into power, espionage just kicking up into high gear, and the first years of what we know that will come to be the blocks of foundation placed for WWII.

I absolutely loved the intricate plot and the best part was the ability to visit each character’s mindset with perfectly alternating viewpoints of: Elena, Margot, Lucas, and Peter. It added so much more to the richness of the novel. Each character had their own small subplot that perfectly weaved together to join one another and into the overall plot. It was nothing short of genius.

I loved all of the characters. Truly. I hope Peter can move up the ranks, I hope we get to see more of Margot, and I hope in future books we can see Lucas, Peter, Margot, Josephine, and Elena be able to work together. There is so much material that the possibilities are endless, and that makes me very, very excited.

Easily one of my favorite books of this year!

If you love historical fiction, a great espionage concept, creative and intriguing stories, agent/spy plots, and WWII era fiction, then this is for you.

5/5 stars enthusiastically


Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

For those who enjoy historical mystery stories, it was an interesting book. Anne Perry managed to tell a story of how master spies were used in the period between the two world wars in order to establish what was factual and what was fallacy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.