“…all you have to do is look at the recent history of Auschwitz and Stalin’s gulags to realize that blind obedience to authority is the exact opposite of patriotism.” Stephanie Marie Thornton, A Most Clever Girl.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Most Clever Girl. This novel offers a fascinating exploration of the world of espionage on American soil, based on the true story of Elizabeth Bentley, a notorious double agent during the Cold War. The book masterfully blends historical fact with fiction, painting a vivid picture of Bentley’s transformation from a naïve idealist to a key player in a dangerous Soviet spy network.

The story begins in 1963, with Catherine Gray seeking answers from Bentley after discovering a shocking family secret. As Bentley recounts her life, she draws the reader into a world of espionage, love, and betrayal. Bentley’s recruitment by the American Communist Party during World War II leads her into the world of Soviet spy operations, where she becomes deeply involved, even falling in love with her handler, Jacob Golos. The tension builds as Bentley’s loyalty to the Soviets becomes increasingly dangerous, forcing her to make a life-altering decision to become an FBI informant.

Though the book starts slowly, it quickly picks up pace, offering a thrilling ride through history. Thornton does a fantastic job weaving in historical details, including the surprising prominence of the American Communist Party and the complex figure of Stalin. Some aspects felt less authentic, but overall, the eBook was enjoyable, and the audiobook narration was excellent. Loads of read historical figures. 4 stars.

** Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this novel. The opinions are my own.

I love historical fiction books, and especially those that explore topics outside of World War II. The premise of A Most Clever Girl peaked my interest and sounded exactly like something I would enjoy reading. This held true for the beginning of the story. It gripped my attention right away and left me wanting to know exactly what Catherine's connection to Clever Girl was. However, as the story progressed it felt like it was dragging out and there wasn't much forward movement. I appreciated the backstory about how Clever Girl got her code name and how she became the spy she was but something was just lacking. I found my investment in the connection waning and ultimately, my boredom outweighed my investment. I got about halfway through when I decided to move on to read something else. I felt that the switch between past and present was also a bit jarring because it would happen in the middle of a scene.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the advanced review copy. The premise drew me into to the book and I liked the concept.

I tried several times to get into this one and failed. There was something about the description that sounded so promising, a spy story is always fun....but maybe the main character was not likeable enough for me or how it seemed that she accidentally became a spy. It just fell flat and it was a DNF for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Actually 2.5 stars
Elizabeth Bentley was a double agent for both the Russians and the United States. Elizabeth Bentley is most famous for accusing over eighty Americans for being Communist spies. These accusations have made historians wonder if they were truthfully baseless defamations. In this biographical novel, Elizabeth recounts her life to a woman who has been affected by her accusations. Is Elizabeth really telling the truth?

I usually like all of Stephanie Thornton’s novels, but I was not impressed with A Most Clever Girl. This is because Elizabeth Bentley was not a likable character. The author attempts to make her sympathetic by having her narrate her own story. Even on a personal level, I could not relate to her. Elizabeth did many terrible things, and even though she is trying to justify herself, there is no justification. Elizabeth really seems to be on no one’s side except herself and what benefits her. Thus, I found her selfish and ruthless. I could not trust her. I did not empathize with Elizabeth, nor was I convinced when the author tried to make her redeemable. I had no emotions towards her at all.

Overall, this novel is about lies, secrets, and redemption. The only character I found relatable was Cat. The rest of the characters were bland. The novel is very well-written and meticulously researched. The author did a fabulous job in showing the tensions of the Cold War between Russia and the United States. Because this is a spy novel, there were some exciting moments. The romance itself was a bit bland and could have been unnecessary. Thus, this novel is perfect for fans of spy novels. I recommend A Most Clever Girl to fans of The Invisible Woman, The Lunar Housewife, and Our Woman in Moscow. However, for fans of Stephanie Thornton this was not her best work. I advise you to skip it and read her other works because you are not missing out on much here.

Richard Osman returns with the follow up to his sleeper hit from last year, The Thursday Murder Club. This engaging, big-hearted, and humorous series features four individuals (Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron) living at Cooper’s Chase, a retirement community in the English countryside. Elizabeth is contacted by an agent with whom she worked when she was in MI5. He has been accused of stealing $20 million worth of diamonds and needs a safe place to hideout so Elizabeth agrees to shelter him at Cooper’s Chase. Filled to the brim with entertaining and well-drawn characters and a clever mystery, The Man Who Died Twice is a joy from start to finish, and I am already eagerly anticipating book 3. While this book is the second in a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone as well.

A Most Clever Girl is based on the life of the American communist spy Elizabeth Bentley. She was recruited in New York City at the beginning of World War II to fight against fascism. Elizabeth was a well-educated loner working in dead-end jobs. On a personal level, becoming a communist meant she suddenly had a coterie of friends, something she’d been lacking. The American communists soon realized that Elizabeth was preternaturally gifted at spycraft and espionage, hence her code name Clever Girl. After the war ended and the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were at odds, Elizabeth became a Cold War double agent spying for the Russians and the United States.

Stephanie Marie Thornton cleverly unfurls Elizabeth Bentley’s complicated story through the device of Elizabeth answering fraught, exhaustive biographical questions. In the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination and her mother’s death, Catherine (Cat) Gray shows up on Elizabeth’s Connecticut doorstep brandishing a gun. Cat is incandescent with rage.

“You ruined my life, you Communist bitch. And now you’re going to pay for it.”



She’d thought she’d be able to just pull the trigger, to end all this and escape the lethal undertow of pain. But when the moment came . . .



Cat hesitated.



Can I really end someone else’s life? Am I capable of that?



To Elizabeth’s credit, she merely blinked. Was she really so accustomed to staring down the muzzle of a gun? “Well, Catherine Gray, unfortunately I ruined a lot of people’s lives. Why don’t you come in and we can discuss like civilized people what I did that was so heinous that you want to kill me?”



Whatever Cat had been expecting while she rehearsed this scene in her head on the train ride up from Washington, DC, a civilized chat was decidedly not it.

Cat decides to briefly talk with Elizabeth, but when she gets her answers, she intends to kill Elizabeth and then turn the gun on herself. She tells Elizabeth she has an hour to talk before Cat decides whether to kill her. But threats don’t phase Elizabeth. She lights up a Lucky Strike and takes a deep drag.

“I’m fifty-five years old, Catherine, and I was a spy, for God’s sake. It’s going to take longer than one hour to recite my entire life’s story.”

But Cat’s a cool customer too and she tells Elizabeth to start talking before winding the kitchen timer for an hour. In rather Dickensian fashion, Elizabeth’s story begins with her standing in front of an open casket, after being freshly orphaned. Elizabeth forcefully reminds Cat that what she visualizes emerges from Elizabeth’s imagery and words. Cat will be led, like most people, to see what she wants to see, hear what she wants to hear. Elizabeth is a powerful storyteller. She continues, “Let this be my first lesson to you: words matter. Use them carefully, like bullets.” A relationship between Elizabeth and Cat develops in the wake of hours and hours of questions and answers although Cat is hard-pressed to distinguish between Elizabeth’s truth and lies.

A picture on the mantlepiece is the only photograph in the entire apartment. A man with “dark hair, boxy jaw with the hint of a one-sided dimple, expressive lips.” Cat asks Elizabeth if it’s Levin, her handler. Elizabeth responds that it is before taunting Cat’s avid curiosity.

“Everything in its time, Catherine. Unless you have somewhere to be?”



They both knew she didn’t.



Elizabeth took it upon herself to wind the kitchen timer this time, then raised a hand to the photograph of Levin and stroked a thumb across his jawline. “God, but I worshipped the ground that man walked on . . .”

Perhaps it’s not surprising for a young woman to be blown away by her handler, considering the intimacy of their work, but Yasha (his real name) is the love of Elizabeth’s life. She is shocked when he tells her that he’s Russian and that he has a wife there, but she believes Yasha when he says she’s the wife of his heart. Yasha neglects his health, possibly because of his precarious, secret status in America. While still a relatively young man, he dies of a surprise heart attack. Afterwards, Elizabeth painstakingly burns all evidence of his ties to the Communist party.

I continued my vigil until there was nothing left.



Yasha was gone. But his legacy—his life’s work—was not.



Because he’d entrusted it to me. I was alone now, but I had one thing that would keep me going.



I was still Yasha’s Umnitsa.



I was still Clever Girl.

In the wake of Yasha’s death, Clever Girl transforms herself into the uncrowned Red Spy Queen. Foreshadowing alert: Elizabeth and Cat’s lives are linked in surprising ways. Only a woman steeped in the dark arts, someone who lies as convincingly as she breathes, can give Cat the truths she needs to understand her life.

A Most Clever Girl complements movies like The Majestic and television series like The Americans, satisfying our continuing interest in Russian espionage on American soil.

Dnf at 20%

I am always intrigued by books about Cold war/Communist spies, but this one was just too dry and detailed for me. I honestly was just bored with it and with such a backlog of books I've been wanting to pick up I'm giving myself permission to set it aside for something else.

This book was just what I was in the mood for! It was everything. This is a historical espionage thriller! Wow! All of those fantastic elements in one book. This novel tells the story of an American Spy, Catherine Gray during the Cold War.

I was glued to A Most Clever Girl. It was riveting and I couldn't put it down.

5 Stars!

It’s1963 and the Cold War era. Catherine Gray believes Elizabeth Bentley has killed her mother. She shows up at Elizabeth’s home intending to shoot her but gives her an hour to tell her side of the story. What Catherine doesn’t expect is to become engrossed in the story of a young and naïve loner, who is recruited by the American Communist Party to spy on fascists during World War II; falls in love with her handler, Jacob Golos; helps to build the biggest Soviet spy network in the US; refuses to give up her network to the Soviets after Jacob dies; and ultimately turns FBI informant to avoid death at the hands of the Soviets.

A Most Clever Girl is based on the true-life events of Elizabeth Bentley, code named Clever Girl, who from the author’s note, volunteered her vast network of Soviet agents long before Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. It focuses on the development of Elizabeth as a spy, a traitor, but also as a woman. Elizabeth joins the American Community Party for friendship and agrees to do things for acceptance. Jacob’s death changes her from the naïve and God-fearing young woman to a tough and dominant presence. Alone again and with nothing to lose, she stands up to the Soviets who want her dead and then to the FBI, who want her knowledge.

A Most Clever Girl is a recount of Elizabeth’s story in a mostly one-way conversational format. The format, however, removed me from the story as opposed to putting me in it. The novel doesn’t reveal some big and previously unknown Cold War event, as I hoped, but focuses on Elizabeth and her redemption.
Reviewed for the Historical Novel Society

I am always a sucker for a good historical fiction and let me tell you, this book was captivating. A Most Clever Girl is about Elizabeth Bentley, a Cold War double agent. Before this novel, I had never heard of Elizabeth and I was stunned that I hadn't. Honestly once I dove into this book, if I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. Thornton creates a gripping tale about the Red Spy Queen. Throughout the book, I felt such a wide range of emotion that left me loving and disliking Elizabeth Bentley but most of all I was just plain intrigued by this woman.

I highly recommend this book to historical fiction lovers.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for my eARC of this fantastic book.

This book was a really great trip into history, and you could tell the author did painstaking research to get every little detail as historically accurate as possible. Of course, there is license taken for the sake of storytelling, so some of the bigger plot points (including one whole character) are completely made up, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment. I don't mind if my historical fiction is, well, *fictional*. If you like stories about spies, stories set during World War II and the time period right after, stories about brilliant and intense women, or just to be kept on the edge of your seat, this book is for you. I highly recommend it. I especially love the twist that, instead of being a book about an American spy in Russia, this is a book about an American who is spying FOR THE RUSSIANS in the U.S. Very interesting and a part of our history I didn't know much about. This makes for a very interesting character too, who tries to explain herself so that she is sympathetic. I'll definitely read more by this author.

I love Cold War-era espionage novels almost as much as I love WWII novels. However, from a historical perspective, I have very little knowledge of the period as none of my history classes went past WWII. Of course, I knew of McCarthyism and the Red Scare but it was picked up based on my own interest and mostly from fiction. I kind of thought that was what this book would be about when I saw 1963 in the description. What I got was much more and oh, so good.

Before I read this novel I had never heard of Elizabeth Bentley. But she was a real person and she admitted to being an American who spied for the Russians. A Most Clever Girl is a fictional account of her life.

While the book starts in 1963 in the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination, Bentley's story begins much earlier - in the waning years of the Great Depression, prior to the U.S. entering WWII. While some nation's moved towards Fascism (like Germany and Italy) to deal with the worldwide economic disaster the other end of the spectrum (Communism) was taking hold in other countries (like Russia and eastern Europe). Both promised prosperity. Because Americans were already being warned about communism, most organizations did not openly call themselves communists.

When Elizabeth attends a rally with a neighbor she is taken with the message - better wages, improved conditions for workers, etc. Particularly, when her job opportunities are limited and she is barely making enough to keep herself out of the soup kitchens. But when she is at the organization's headquarters later she is shocked to learn they are communist. Her introduction to the Communist Party is easy to understand. And when you add to it that they are against fascism, it is even understandable when she sees it as her patriotic duty to aid the Party as the U.S. enters a war that is against fascism.

I have to say Elizabeth's story is fascinating and at times completely heartbreaking. My intrigue for Elizabeth Bentley woman rivals that which I felt for Nancy Wake after reading Code Name Hélène. I didn't want to put this book down and I was glad that I was able to get the audiobook from my digital library so that I could continue with the story even when I didn't have the time to sit down with the book. (By the way, it is one of the very best audiobooks I've ever listened to - kudos to narrator Tavia Gilbert).

So why does the story start in 1963? The one truly fictional character of the novel Catherine Gray is reeling from not only the shock of a presidential assassination but also information revealed to her by her dying mother. With no one else to turn to for answers, she seeks out Elizabeth. Answers aren't all she wants - vengeance is in her heart so she arrives at Elizabeth's with a gun that has 2 bullets (one for Elizabeth and one for herself).

I did not like this opening. But like Catherine, I was soon swept up in Elizabeth's story and my irritation with the storytelling method Thornton choose faded into the background. But really this is the only negative thing about the book. (Again, I have to complement the narrator as sometimes in the middle of retelling the past we are brought back to 1963 with an aside from Elizabeth to Catherine and the subtle change in her voice from the past Elizabeth and 1963 Elizabeth immediately clued me in to this change in time.)

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction. I am so glad that so many of these untold stories about women are now being shared. If you haven't picked up this book yet, make sure it is on your list of must reads and if it is already on your reading list then move it up to be your next read - you won't be disappointed.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Friday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/10/a-most-clever-girl-by-stephanie-marie.html

I absolutely LOVED this WWII/Cold war spy story featuring Elizabeth Bentley, an American woman spy code named "Clever Girl" who falls for her handler (a Russian spy) and ends up running an international espionage network. Told in dual perspective from the 'present' in 1963 post Kennedy assassination where Catherine Gray has shown up to confront Elizabeth and her past actions, and Elizabeth's life as a spy in the previous two decades. We get to know how these two women's lives are intertwined along with Catherine.

Elizabeth Bentley was such a smart, strong woman. I listened to this on audio and Tavia Gilbert does an absolutely AMAZING job narrating!! HIGHLY recommended for anyone who enjoys good spy stories like The secrets we keep, A woman of intelligence, Our woman in Moscow, American spy or An unlikely spy. A little long but I didn't mind it because the story was just so juicy and hard to put down! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC!

This is the second book of a fictionalized account of a woman becoming a spy during WWII that I have read this year. This time, the spy is in America and not spying for America, but instead for Russia. The book opens with a shocking first chapter that grabs your attention and leaves you breathing fast and wondering, “What the heck?”. Catherine Gray shows up at Elizabeth Bentley’s apartment and knocks on the door. When Catherine enters, she is holding a gun at Elizabeth demanding to know the truth. Once she gets the truth, she plans to kill her. It’s 1963 and Catherine’s mom has just died and President Kennedy has been assassinated. Catherine is reeling from her mother’s death, some newly uncovered secrets, and the loss of the country’s leader. She is not in a good state. But, neither is Elizabeth. Elizabeth agrees to Catherine coming in and answering her questions but she has to hear the whole story.

Elizabeth Bentley is a real American spy, recruited by the American Communist Party to spy on the fascists and report back to her handler, Jacob Golos. These two are real people and this novel is based on their relationship, the spies they handled, how she eventually turned on all of them and became a traitor.

“There is no peace for a revolutionary except in the grave.”
Elizabeth Bentley

The novel flips back and forth in time to 1963 in Elizabeth’s apartment with Elizabeth and Catherine and to the 1940s and 1950s at the height of WWII and the Cold War between the US and USSR. As Elizabeth shares her story with Catherine, more and more pieces to Catherine’s puzzle begin to come together and her connection to Elizabeth eventually changes everything for her. We also learn more about why Elizabeth chose this double life and how she believed she was truly on the “right” side of the fight.

Thornton takes a bit of liberty with Elizabeth’s story for the sake of storytelling, but after looking up Elizabeth myself, I was quite impressed with the detail and meticulous research that went into this novel. There is a lot of buildup as to how Catherine and Elizabeth are connected and it is very near the end before the reader finds out. There are a lot of names and details to keep straight and an understanding of Russia’s part in WWII and in the Cold War would be helpful to the reader.

Elizabeth Bentley’s story is quite fascinating and Thornton tells it with suspense, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of history. One of the main characters is a total creation of Thornton’s imagination and you find that out in the author’s note at the end. I have to admit, this detail was disappointing to me and left me feeling a bit differently about Elizabeth’s story. But, I still appreciated the extensive research and attention to Bentley’s life story. I will never look at red lipstick the same after reading this and may need to find myself a tube of my own Victory Red.

Elizabeth Bentley also wrote her own memoir of her time as a spy titled, OUT OF BONDAGE if you want to dig deeper into her story. The title for Thornton’s book came from Jacob Golos’ term of endearment for Elizabeth, Umnitsa, which translates to Clever Girl, which became one of her many code names. Thornton hopes that by sharing Elizabeth’s story, part of her legacy will live on and her story will be more understood and less vilified.

“After all, sinners sometimes do make the best saints.”
Stephanie Marie Thornton, A MOST CLEVER GIRL

A Most Clever Girl was intoxicating from the first page. A young woman (Cat) shows up at an older woman's (Elizabeth, though she was known by many names) home. Cat demands to know about her mother, why Elizabeth killed her, and then she mentions she would kill Elizabeth after she learns what she wants to know. Surprisingly, Elizabeth does not seem taken aback by the brusque intrusion. In fact, she invites Cat in and offers her coffee or tea.

Elizabeth tells Cat that she will tell her the entire story, which she does, all the while Cat is brandishing her gun and telling her to get to the point. Cat winds up staying for hours, in fact making dinner for the two of them while she listens as the story unravels. Elizabeth tells it Sherizade style, making the reader, and indeed Cat, wonder if it is all true.

What I did not know before I read the book, is that it is based on a true character from history who was a communist and a spy for Russia. Elizabeth Bentley's life was made to be a novel and would also make a great movie. Stephanie Thornton sticks close to the facts, which makes the story that much more engaging, only veering in small ways to help the story move forward.

I also noted that there are some parallels to our present time. I would read for a while and think, that sounds like people today. The story takes place around WWII and during McArthy's hunt for communists. The book is very engaging and I highly recommend it even to people who normally do not read historical fiction.

Review Stephanie Marie Thornton, author of “A Most Clever Girl” has written a captivating, intriguing, and memorial historical fiction novel. The genres for this novel are Biographical Historial Fiction, and Biographical Fiction. The story is written in two timelines. This is a story of espionage, betrayal, danger, romance, and loyalty. I love the way the author has one of her characters weave her story much as the character Scheherazade who saved herself through many tales. There are twists and turns, danger and murder.

Catherine Gray has lost her mother and President Kennedy’s assassination has made her seek out Elizabeth Bentley. Catherine wants vengeance, and wants to understand a letter that her mother left her, as well as what motivates Elizabeth Bentley, who is known as a “Red Spy Queen”. What Catherine doesn’t expect is for Elizabeth to tell her how she got involved with communism in college.

I appreciate that the author has her character explain the reasons for her involvement, and some readers will be ambivalent and some sympathetic. The author describes her characters as complex, complicated, and determined.

Kudos to the author for the hours of research into the Communist Party in America and Russia. I would recommend this thought-provoking book.
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A Most Clever Girl provides an inside look into the life of Elizabeth Bentley, a Cold War double agent for Russia and the United States, as she tells her life story to Catherine Gray in order to save her life. Catherine demands answers regarding a shocking truth recently revealed about her family- what she doesn’t expect are the similarities between the two of them.

I enjoyed this perspective on an interesting part of history, especially how the novel dives into morals and truth. The main character is a well-developed antihero and unreliable narrator. The author’s note does an excellent job of outlining the facts from the fiction, and I enjoyed her personal connection to one of the characters.

Because this book is written as a story told between Elizabeth and Catherine, it really does read as if someone is telling you their story in-person. However, for me, that led the book to feel slow and repetitive. There are many moments that I felt could have been omitted or at least shortened, especially since there are a lot of musings along the way and frequent flips between Elizabeth's past and her present interactions with Catherine.

Overall, this is a solid historical fiction novel that provides an interesting perspective on the Cold War and espionage, which is most ideal for those that enjoy long-winded stories.

Thank you to Berkley Books and NetGalley for this eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

There is little better than a story of espionage, loyalty, and romance. This is based on a true story which made it even more intriguing. I had never heard of Elizabeth Bentley until I read this book. She is an amazing woman who exposed spy networks. This book made me want to find out more about her..

I started reading Stephanie Marie Thornton’s books years ago and absolutely feel in love with her story telling style! One of the things I found the most compelling was she wrote stories about women in antiquity. Women that wouldn’t be likely to have a ‘story’ that was well known. For example the Empress Theodora and the women of Genghis Kahn. I loved that she took well known women in antiquity, but were unlikely to generate mainstream stories, and then created a story for them. I adored her early books and when I saw that she was making the shift into the more modern era, I was a little sad.

That said, I have read her more ‘modern’ books which, I am happy to report, were all wonderful too! Although I am still waiting for a story about Boudica, but I have loved her modern novels. But this book was one I was looking forward to above all others to date! I have been really enjoying books set in a post WWII world that include early espionage. This book is set a little later than I was hoping (set in 1963) but still compelling in content and espionage!

This is more of a ‘Cold War’ era spy type novel rather than immediate post WWII, but the content and suspense was on fire and I absolutely loved this one! I devoured it in like a day. It was so good and Thornton’s storytelling style just keeps getting better and better. I still have a special place in my heart for the ancient history novels but this more modern novel has a lot to recommend itself!

Summary
A thrilling tale of love, loyalty, and espionage, based on the incredible true story of Elizabeth Bentley, a Cold War double agent spying for the Russians and the United States, from USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Marie Thornton.

1963: Reeling from the death of her mother and President Kennedy’s assassination, Catherine Gray shows up on Elizabeth Bentley’s doorstep demanding answers to the shocking mystery just uncovered about her family. What she doesn’t expect is for Bentley to ensnare her in her own story of becoming a controversial World War II spy and Cold War informer…

Recruited by the American Communist Party to spy on fascists at the outbreak of World War II, a young Bentley–code name Clever Girl–finds she has an unexpected gift for espionage. But after falling desperately in love with her handler, Jacob Golos, Elizabeth makes another unexpected discovery when she learns her lover is actually a Russian spy. Together, they will build the largest Soviet spy network in America and Elizabeth will become its uncrowned Red Spy Queen. However, once the war ends and the U.S. and U.S.S.R. become embroiled in the Cold War, it is Elizabeth who will dangerously clash with the NKVD, the brutal Soviet espionage agency.

As Catherine listens to Elizabeth’s harrowing tale, she empathizes with her, that is, until she uncovers startling revelations that link the two women’s lives in shocking ways. Faced with the idea that her entire existence is based on a lie, Catherine realizes there can be many sides to the truth. And only Elizabeth Bentley can tell her what that truth really is. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
I wish I had Stephanie Thornton as a history teacher in school because, damn does she have a great way of making history exciting and interesting! This book hooked me from the beginning. Not only if the cover positively stunning, but the story within matches the beauty of the cover! Like Thornton, I have a passion for women in history and I have a whole list of female figures I would love to read stories about directly from Thornton’s brain!

This story is based on the real American spy, Elizabeth Bentley who spied on the Americans for the Russians but then later switched and spied on the Russian’s for the Americans. I couldn’t imagine what would have to go through someone’s mind to choose another country over their own but I thought that Thornton did a wonderful job providing the psychology and introspection for readers in Elizabeth’s character. No doubt it would have been a tough character to write but Thornton was equal to that task. Elizabeth Bentley was such a rich character who really came alive in this story under Thornton’s pen. I absolutely loved it.

I don’t know that I actually ‘liked’ Elizabeth’s character in the book or in general once I did more research on her. But I thought that Thornton crafted an interesting story and that story and psychology in Elizabeth’s character drew me in and made me not want to put this one down. It was an incredibly good book and I enjoyed every single minute. This book has a lot to process and unpack and I think would be a good one for book clubs. I think it would generate a lot of interesting conversations for sure! I simply love Thornton and I cannot wait for more books by her! It you love historical fiction about women then you need to read this one! So good!

Book Info and Rating
Format416 pages, Paperback

Expected publicationSeptember 14, 2021 by Berkley Books

ISBN9780593198407 (ISBN10: 0593198409)

Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: historical fiction, spy novel