What would you risk everything for?

I love a good spy book and thought it might be nice to shake things up a bit in my HF readings. WWI/II spy books are definitely not new to the market; in fact, there’s been a lot released the past few years. However, most of the war books I’ve read haven’t involved espionage. One of my favorite parts of Dual timeline stories is when the 2 perspectives or plots finally connect, and that part in A Shadow in Moscow did not disappoint! If anything, it upped the stakes even more.

I didn’t feel like I got to know Ingrid as well as Anya. Often times there were big skips in her timeline with only a brief description of what she did in that period. It was also odd that Ingrid’s chapters were in 3rd POV and Anya’s were in 1st. However, it was interesting to spot the parallels in their stories. Both initially struggle with their identity and place against the backdrop of Soviet culture and expectations. Spying gives each woman purpose. Ingrid’s marriage isn’t what she thought it would be, especially as her suspicious grow that her husband is KGB. She feels isolated and forced to hide her true identity. Anya is fueled by her best friend’s brutal murder—-spying could bring down the the people responsible. On the flip side, spying increases their isolation. As a spy , you have to hide in plain sight. You have to conform to what you despise. And especially in the Soviet Union, where you were encouraged to report anything suspicious even about your friends or neighbors, there’s no one you can trust. A Shadow in Moscow was a fascinating and detailed picture of life behind the Iron Curtain and makes me want to explore more of Reay’s historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this novel. I am grateful to have been chosen to read it. The narrator did a good job and I enjoyed it.
Thank you!

A Shadow in Moscow is the best book I've read all year. It has everything, spies, complicated relationships, questions about ideology, strong female characters. I was absolutely engrossed from the moment I started this book. If you are a fan of historical fiction, I would highly recommend this book.

4/5 ⭐️
Oooh I absolutely loved this! I listened to it in like 2 days! Definitely worth your time if you like spies, badass women, historical fiction, and dual timelines.

A Shadow in Moscow was a fast paced duel timeline novel about espionage, secrets, risks, a mother/daughter relationship, and romance taking place during the Cold War. Overall, detailed, well researched and well written historical fiction! I would definitely recommend to any reader who likes historical fiction related to the Soviet Union.

Published: 06/13/23
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Lisa Flanagan

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for accepting my request to audibly read and review A Shadow in Moscow. Both narrators were exceptional performers.

Right away I want to explain my 3.5 stars. My relationship with the writer may have been different if I had been reading the physical book. I would have been able to minimally tab/annotate. I needed a flow chart with an attached family tree. It's why blank pages are in the back of books. Front blank and the title pages you ask, main characters, surnames and places of course. I had the audiobook, and while the narration was award-winning, they could perform only what was written.

The first half of the book I was bored. At the halfway point, the book title was played and I was excited. However, quickly I was back to being bored. Around 70% to 90% the story came alive and was good. I even contemplated starting over believing I missed a major point. But, between 90% and the author's notes I realized Reay and I just don't play well together.

I believe there is a lovely story and possibly two within this book. And, I strongly recommend making notes of dates, names and relationships from the beginning. This isn't a complicated or cruelly written spy story, There is no swearing, no graphic sexual escapades and no physical abuse. Deep down I think it is a love story. A Shadow in Moscow is one of a handful of books in my lifetime that I would have loved to share with a reading group. In addition ASIM is on the less than ten books I would like to revisit at a later time.

Huge thank you to Katherine Reay for writing a smart, clean, educated story that I would be proud to confidently recommend to students and parents both at school and church. I rounded up to 4, respect for the artistry of writing and narration.

What a different book for Katherine Reay. I loved the history behind the book. Reay opens up the world of espionage with a completely different angle. The best spy the western world has ever known was a woman? Wow! and fun to read about.
I loved the split time of the story. How two very strong women did what they thought was the right thing to do and did it well. They did it to make the world a better place. They did it to keep themselves and their families safe.
I recommend this title to both men and women because of the history behind it. The wonderfully spun tale around a time in history I remember. The Cold War was a dangerous time in the world and sometimes I wonder if we knew how close to nuclear war we were. Reay brings that to light through Ingrid and Anja's stories.
Do yourself a favor and join them on their dangerous mission as spies in the middle of Moscow.

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay

I am not typically a historical fiction fan, but something about this premise hooked me. I love a good female spy! The characters, the dual timelines, the backdrop of the Cold War - they all worked together to make this a great read. In a nuanced exploration of loyalty, motivations, and love, Reay weaves a fascinating story of courage and intrigue. The story came together beautifully in the end.

I listened to the audio, and loved the narration. I have a harder time keeping characters straight in audio, and if you're the same way, I would suggest jotting down some notes. But the narrators - Saskia Maarleveld, Lisa Flanagan - were phenomenal and made each character unique.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarperMuse. I received a complimentary copy of this book (#AShadowinMoscow by Katherine Reay). Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was so good. This follows the lives of two Russian spies during the Cold War. There were so many pieces of these two women’s lives that intertwined seamlessly into one story of heartbreak, desperation, and what measures one may take in order to protect those they love.
This was my first Reay novel, and will not be my last.

Highly recommend if you like historical fiction stories.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A Shadow In Moscow is one of those rare historical fiction novels that captures your attention and your heart. The story follows two Soviet women during the height of the Cold War. Ingrid is a young woman who rushes into a hasty marriage to a Soviet government employee after losing everything in World War II. Anya is a college student participating in the Soviet Union's Foreign Studies Initiative. The story is told through the alternating perspectives of Ingrid in the 1950’s and Anya in the 1980’s until their stories converge in an unexpected way. Both women have remarkable stories and I love how courageous they are. This book was emotional but also tense and suspenseful. As this story reached its climax I was on the edge of my seat and dying for the answers to all my questions.

One last thing to mention, the audiobook t is narrated by Saskia Marleveeld who is arguably one of the greatest narrators of all time!

A Shadow In Moscow is a great book for fans of Kate Quinn or Beatriz Williams.

This audiobook had my full interest from the very beginning. This was a fascinating tale of two women turned spies during dangerous times. This book begins with the end of WWII and takes you through the Cold War.

When Ingrid hastily marries a Russian and moves to Moscow, she never dreams her life would change so much. She has to keep real identity a secret and she starts to suspect that her new husband is working for the KGB. For years, she chooses to live in a loveless marriage and look past the dangerous workings of the KGB. But after having a child, she can no longer ignore the situation. She offers to work for the MI-6, spying on her husband and his comrades.

Anya has recently graduated from Georgetown and leaves her whirlwind romance behind to return home to Russia. She is determined to do her duty for her country. But when tragedy strikes, Anya finally sees the truth of what’s happening in her country. She too starts spying for the MI-6 and soon finds herself in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

This book was full of war, political intrigue and espionage. Both timelines dealt with love and heartbreak. I found both women’s stories so compelling. These women showed an abundant amount of determination and courage. They both have to make many tough choices. I loved the slow buildup to how the women were connected. Once I knew the connection, the book become even more captivating. The ending blew me away and moved me to tears.

The audiobook was fantastic with two different narrators for both main characters. Both did a beautiful job with the voice inflections, emotions and accents.

Thank you Harper Muse Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

A shadow in Moscow is a story of family through the Cold War, in the postwar Austria and 1980's Austria. An espionage focused story. With a strong eye for detail regarding the Soviet lives of women during these times it was extremely thorough with its rich descriptions of the trials that the women would have experienced. I did find some of the narrative to be a little repetitive and it lost steam mid way but it did pick up again.

The end is found in the beginning. A tale of Russian spies and the danger they lived in to help bring about the end of the cold war. A stunning story that felt so real at times and was hard to put down. I listened to the audiobook thanks to an advance copy from Netgalley and loved the narration. If you are a fan of historical fiction this is one to run out and get.

I just reviewed A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay. #AShadowinMoscow #NetGalley.

A SHADOW IN MOSCOW by Katherine Reay is meant to be a Cold War novel focused on two female spies. One is Ingrid Bauer, a young woman whose parents were killed during WWII and who has adopted a new persona in order to protect herself. The other is Anya Kadinova, a young, privileged Russian who attended Georgetown University and returns to Russia. I listened to the audiobook and the narration, shared by Saskia Maarleveld and Lisa Flanagan, is strong. However, there was so little action and so much angst over boyfriends and romance that I stopped roughly a quarter of the way through. Decide for yourself – other reviewers have described A SHADOW IN MOSCOW as "riveting" or "nail-biting." I would recommend historical fiction like The Diamond Eye or The White Lady instead.

#AShadowinMoscow by Katherine Reay is excellent! Secrets, spies, KGB, MI6, CIA, from Vienna to Moscow with the USA visited. The Cold War era has never been more exciting to read about. If you enjoy historical fiction, war fiction, Cold War fiction, spy fiction, or women’s literature you will love this book.

The subject matter here was extremely fascinating! I loved the topic of the Cold War, especially as it's one I haven't often read about in other books.
While the audio narration was excellent, I may recommend that this book be read in a different format. There were simply too many people and acronyms to keep track of, and the middle portion seemed to drag a bit. I had a hard time following parts of the story, but I found the ending to be very satisfying.

An absorbing story of spies stretching from DC to Vienna to Moscow. I am fascinated by the Soviet Union’s treatment of its people, so that was of particular interest. I learned a lot from the story about the work of these spies, the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, languages, the KGB, and most of all, self sacrifice.

The main characters in this book were female, so this was a different and more thoughtful feel than most spy novels. The timeline of the book stretched from the end of WWII through the Cold War. Fascinating history in this well narrated audiobook.

Katherine Reay really did an amazing job with this book. Her historical accuracy woven into an enjoyable fiction that was very absorbing. As always Saskia Maarleveld did an outstanding job as narrator. She is a master. Lisa Flanagan did a good job, but her use of an American accent for a woman raised in Vienna from a British mother and Austrian father did not feel right. This discrepancy was highlighted when another character, Deloris, comments that Ingrid speaks to her baby in English. It is a small detail, but one that does impact the delivery.

With respect specifically to the story, Reay created wonderful characters with important back stories. The details work together well to create three dimensional characters. Anna's pivot point is credible. Ingrid/Inga is perfect. In all, it is a well written story and I look forward to more from Ms Reay.

I really enjoyed this book. I love a book with strong female main characters and I love seeing women’s contributions to war efforts. This was an exciting book full of spies, secrecy, risk taking, deception and all in the name of women standing up for what they believed in, in the ways they could at the time. If you are a fan of The Rose Code this book is for you.

3.75 stars

I haven't read very many historical fictions that take place during the Cold War, especially ones centred around Moscow, so this was a refreshing change. Although both narrators delivered a sublime performance, the narrator for Anya's perspective is one of my favorites so her performance in particular made listening to the book super engaging.

The story alternated between two women living in 1980's Russia during the cold war - Ingrid and Anya. Ingrid works as a spy for MI6 while Anya is recruited by the CIA. I absolutely loved both characters and the spy elements of their stories. The author did a wonderful job in capturing the essence of Russia during that time - the fear, the control, the paranoia.

This easily could've been a 5 star read except for the pacing of the plot. The middle of the book stalled for me at numerous times. It also got a bit muddled with the large number of secondary characters. I kept getting confused who was who.

However, the last part of the book more than made up for the middle part. I was blindsided by the ending and not expecting it at all! The two perspectives intersected brilliantly.

A gracious thank you to #NetGalley and #HarperMuse for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.