Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

In 1980 Anya was placed at Georgetown University as part of a Russian foreign student program where she was heavily monitored by the KGB with the intent that she will return to Cold War Russia and work for them. Living in D.C. opened Anya's eyes to all that America has to offer and is not quite the enemy she believes them to be. She returns to Moscow and begins working in her government assigned job but when her childhood best friend is murdered by the KGB her alliances shift and begins working as a covert spy for the American CIA.

In 1950 Ingrid is living in Vienna with her parents when one night she sees them pulled from their home by the Gestapo. Unbeknownst to her, Ingrid's parents had been working as part of the resistance. Her father had prepared for this scenario having forged papers for Ingrid which allows her to flee with Paul a man working with her father. She hastily marries a Soviet diplomat who is quickly climbing the ranks of the KGB. As she falls out of love with him she realizes she could pick up where her parents left off and begins working as a spy.

This is a wonderful historic fiction centered around two women living under the control of the Soviet Union and doing what they could to fight the harsh reality forced upon them. It is a dual timeline flipping between both main characters POV and while their timelines differ their pursuit of freedom at all costs is connecting. This is a face paced spy story with love, friendship, duty and choice at the center. I was enthralled by both storylines and thought the flow of the novel was well done. I enjoyed the nod to WWII with out it being the focus of Ingrid's story and found the setting of the KGB controlled Moscow unique. This is the first book I have read by Reay and can not wait to read more of her work. I highly recommend this book.

I had the audio version read by Saskia Maarleveld and Lisa Flanagan who were both spectacular. I enjoyed their performances so much. They were seamless in their transitions and very easy to listen too with a steady pace and unique character voices to delineate who was speaking.

A Shadow in Moscow
Katherine Reay
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
In the thick of the Cold war a betrayal at the highest level risks the lives of two courageous female spies: MI6's best Soviet Agent & the CIA's newest Moscow recruit.......

A Fantastic book about the brave Female Spies who risked everything to bring the Soviet regime down.
It was on dual timelines. Both characters were great & so were their stories. I loved everything about it! The romance, the history, the story, & the suspense.
I enjoyed learning about the Female Spies. I can't imagine what it must have been like for them. This was a great Historic fiction & such a fascinating story. This story will pull you in from the beginning to the end. A Wonderful story of Bravery, Sacrifice, & Love. What's not to love?
Thank U Netgallery for giving me the opportunity to read this great book!!
Thank you Katherine Reay for a great story that I really enjoyed. This was the first time for me with this Author. Looking forward to more.

Overall I really loved the novel A Shadow in Moscow. However, as an audiobook I struggled to put the pieces together of who was who because it is very character heavy. Once I was able to figure out the puzzle, the slow flowed and I felt the narrator did a great job.

Thank you Harper Muse for access to this ALC.

I listened to this book and enjoyed the narrators very much. The first part of the book was a little slow for me and I found myself wondering from it. I think because I was listening to it and there were a lot of different characters to follow. The second half however, was much more interesting to me. To find that the history of spying runs in the family was interesting, from World War II, the Cold War, and into present day. I don't see a lot of books written during the Cold War, let alone being about women spies during that time.

I enjoy Ms. Reay's books and will look forward to the next. Thank you Netgalley, Harper Muse, and Ms. Raey for this advanced copy.

I have been very into spy thrillers and espionage books with female leads—though set in modern times. Historical fiction is not my preferred genre but this audiobook was a featured title and sounded interesting. It ticked 2/3 of what I have been drawn to lately and I decided to give it a chance.

I am so glad that I did! I live for dual timeline book—even better when the timelines are far enough apart to have multi pov and that leads to intersecting storylines—which A Shadow in Moscow gave me!

The narration was done well—this was my first book with both of these narrators and listening to them was pleasing to the ears.

I’ve never read a Cold War novel before—prior to this the most historical spy/espionage read was set in the early aughts—now I need more and lucky for me Katherine Reay has more of this time on the way!

CIA. MI6. KGB. Love. Betrayal. Sacrifice. This book has it all with unexpected twists and surprises that kept me turning pages!

In Vienna (1954), Ingrid Bauer agrees to a spur of the moment proposal in the hopes that she would escape all she had lost in the war. Will moving to Moscow with her new husband lessen her pain? In Washington DC (1980), Anya Kadinova is completing her studies at Georgetown as part of Moscow's Foreign Studies Initiative. Will returning to Moscow with her new knowledge and ideas help or hinder her? An exciting story of how these two brave women are determined to make a difference and change the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced ecopy of this book.

I'm a long-time fan of Katherine Reay’s novels. A Shadow in Moscow, her new release, is a dual timeline story set in Cold War Moscow. Both stories feature strong women characters who make brave choices in the face of intense danger.

Alone after her parents' deaths at the end of World War II, Ingrid marries a man she doesn't know well who takes her home to Moscow. Over time, she learns more about her husband and his suspected role within the KGB. With the hope of creating a better future for her newborn child, Ingrid becomes a spy, giving the British government Russian military secrets she learns while acting the part of a perfect wife and hostess.

In 1980 Washington, DC, Soviet student Anya treasures the freedoms she experienced and people she met while studying at Georgetown University. With her degree earned, she's escorted back to Moscow by a KGB agent and struggles to reacclimate to her homeland. Her best friend's murder drives her to share Soviet military plans she's privy to due to her job with the US CIA to end the 1980s arms race.

Due to my lack of knowledge about Cold War history, the first chapters were somewhat confusing as I became familiar with the characters. But the plot quickly became very interesting as each women realizes her circumstances and uses her unique situation to pass along strategic information. I was amazed by the amount of planning required to safely share even the smallest bits of intelligence, and more than once, I held my breath while Ingrid or Anya were in a particularly dangerous setting. The ending of this novel is very satisfying. Ms. Reay shares small clues that hint at the conclusion, but after I figured out the link between the timelines, there was a surprising aspect that I particularly enjoyed.

The audiobook was a meaningful way to read this title. Talented and prolific narrators Lisa Flanagan and Saskia Maarleveld each narrated a main character, making it simple to track whose story was being shared.

Thank you to Harper Muse, Uplit Reads, Libro.fm, and NetGalley for the print, ebook, and audio editions of this intriguing and inspiring novel.

Anya is a student at Georgetown University. She is sent by Russia under the Foreign Studies Initiative. When she graduates, she must leave the man she loves and begin her career in Russia. Life begins to deteriorate for Anya when her best friend is killed by the KGB. She reaches out to a contact from her Georgetown days and this begins her life as an informant to the CIA.

I don’t think I have ever read a novel that begins in college. Most operatives are a bit older and established in life. Anya is just a young girl but she faces so many challenges. As she grows older, her eyes are opened by many things and she refuses to take it lying down.

I have not had a Cold War novel in quite a while. This book hit all the marks! The intrigue, the characters, the mystery and the chase are worthy of an award! I also enjoyed learning about some of the rules and regulations in Russia. Plus, the way people lived within the constraints of the KGB was very fascinating.

The narrators of this tale are Saskia Maarleveld and Lisa Flanagan. They are a fabulous tag team and just did an excellent job. I have listened to several other books by each of these narrators and they are pros!

Need a fabulous, Cold War thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I believe this book was intended to be a follow up to The London House (not a sequel but in a similar sort of vein), which sadly I have not read yet. I shall read it soon.

It tells the story of a mother and daughter, Anya and Ingrid who over two generations struggle to survive in in the repression of the Soviet Union. Both women become embroiled in the dangerous world of espionage mainly for personal reasons. Ingrid’s decision is because she learned of the horrors wrought by Stalin in WWII including the horrific Katyn massacre.
If it the account is true, it’s even worse than I thought: I always heard that Stalin killed army officers, but this account tells us of how every male of “fighting age” was rounded up and murdered, regardless of whether they were in the military.

Ingrid, although marred to a KGB officer, never believed in the “ideals” of Soviet Communism and struggled to reconcile her love for her husband with the atrocities committed by the government and her own experiences of freedom. Anya hears of this as a child, but her turning point comes after studying in America and the death of a close friend. (Though it must be noted Anya was a pretty terrible spy!)

This novel is thankfully free of a lot of the “American perspective” on Soviet Russia that one might’ve seen in the past. It’s not “bad” Communists and “good”, heroic Americans. As in real life, things are complex: there are nuances and shades of grey – Americans and British people sell one another out, betray their countries and people: and Soviets serve something greater at the risk to themselves. One comes to understand why and how people served on regime or another and why they acted according to the beliefs their society encouraged.

Shadow in Moscow is more than just a spy story though: into it is woven a tale of love and sacrifice in some of the worst circumstances. What would we do to make the world a better place for our children, and it truly “better”? What if our version of “better” conflicts with what our families, government or world says it should be?

Ingrid has a motto: “duc in altem” which is Latin for Dig in Deep. It neatly sums up the theme of this story “It was her code phrase for me when I was young and doing the right thing was going to be hard and it was going to hurt…. It was her way of telling me I can survive and rise above the pain – that right has its own rewards – especially when I chose it for myself”.

This novel isn’t Inspirational like a lot of the other works by this author- at least not in the traditional sense of religious/Christian fiction but I would call it “inspirational” because of the hopeful and uplifting tale in which self-sacrifice, courage to do what’s right, and love prevailed despite the dark world in which the characters lived.
If you want a female-led story which avoids a lot of the pitfalls and cliches which are common in such works, this is an excellent choice.

I’ve listened to a couple of audiobooks by Saskia Marveeld before, and always enjoyed them but I think this one really benefitted from having two female narrators: one for the chapters told from the POV of Ingrid and other for the chapters told from the viewpoint of her daughter.
This way we literally heard their different voices. The audiobook is close to perfect from my point of view, although I did hear the American pronunciation of Moscow (which sounds by my British ears like moss-cow) a couple of times

Thanks to Harper Muse for approving my request for this title. This didn’t influence my review and all opinions expressed are my own.

What an amazing story! I have to be honest and say that the first half was a little slow. But I became very connected with the two main female characters and by the second half, I couldn't put it down. So much so that I lost sleep to finish but it was all worth it. Even after I finished, my heart pounding did not stop from the excitement and memorable scenes and the twist I didn't expect. The narrators, Saskia Maarleveld and Lisa Flanaga, were incredible. I thought the accents were spot on and performing surrounding characters including voicing male characters, they sounded great.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of the audiobook. #netgalley #AShadowinMoscow

I didn't know historical fiction without actual romance, in it could be so good. Yes, there are two love stories in the background of the novel, but not romance. And it surprised me to discover I was more than okay with it. The history and struggles of the Cold War, with in-depth truths of all humans who respect freedom and don't confuse it for socialism, get rolled up in this heroic tale of two female spies. It's a fantastic nod to the brave female spies of the free world. The story will hook you in from the start and make you sad and happy along the way. It will remind you of what true freedom is and why it should exist. In the end, the author details what parts of her story came from history and what portions were fact-based but fabricated, making this an excellent historical fiction read. One that won't leave you confused or misinformed. Granted, common sense is still needed to flush the fiction out, but kudos to the author for helping. What I liked most about this book is the twist that eventually unfolds. But I'm not a spoiler. You'll have to read it to find out. I listened to the audiobook, and the narration is hands down perfect. I would definitely listen to more audio using the narrator on this. -I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was attracted to this book (audiobook, actually) because of the publisher’s description and the narrators (Saskia Maarleveld is one of my favorite narrators.). Unfortunately, I found it fairly boring until about halfway through. Then the pace of the story picked up.

The author uses the dual POV technique, which bounced back and forth and back and forth between Ingrid (1940s through 1980s) and Anya (1980s). I’ve grown tired of this technique but others won’t mind. The story focuses on the Cold War, with most of the action taking place in Moscow over the years. Ingrid was born in Vienna, Austria and marries a Russian, and moves to Moscow with him in the 1950s. Anya is Russian, the daughter of prominent parents and is selected to attend Georgetown University in the US, after which she returns to the USSR, in 1980. There’s a lot of interesting information included in the book, in terms of what life was life in the USSR over those years, and how the party higher-ups had it so much better than ordinary people. Both of these women, for their own reasons, become spies, one for the British and one for the Americans, endangering their own lives and the lives of those they love.

I guessed one of the plot surprises but not the other one!

As stated above, Saskia Maarleveld is one of my favorite narrators, and she and Lisa Flanagan did a great job with all the voices and accents. It wasn’t their fault that I was bored until about halfway through the story.

Thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for access to this audiobook
 
A betrayal at the highest level risks the lives of two courageous female spies: MI6’s best Soviet spy and the CIA’s newest Moscow recruit. As the KGB closes in, a compromise must be struck if either woman hopes to survive.
 
Set between Moscow, Vienna and Washington DC this story is told from alternating points of view keeping readers on their toes as the past catches up to the present when an unprecedented act of treachery in 1985 threatens all undercover agents operating within the Soviet Union, and both Ingrid and Anya find themselves in a race for their lives against time and the KGB.
 
I enjoyed the narrator and the overall story of this audiobook however I found it a bit too much pro-American and at time lost perspective. I loved the stories of female spies and how the role of females in society at those times allowed them to perform their roles in a different way with often improved results.

Good

I liked this book. It starts with the alternating stories of two women, one in WWII and one in the 1980s. The first woman, the daughter of a couple who were killed because they helped forge documents in the war, marries a man who becomes a Soviet officer. The second is a Soviet woman who falls in love with a man while on a study abroad program in the US. The stories merge and the connection is apparent.

I liked this book, but I wasn't at the edge of my seat like it seems the other reviewers were. I found it interesting and appreciated that it was not gratuitously gory, but it never really grabbed me. i had no problem putting it down and sometimes switched to another book. But it was good and historical fiction fans would probably like it. I don't think if it as a real spy novel, like a Daniel Silva. But again, I did enjoy it.

The Cost of Freedom

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the audiobook copy of “A Shadow in Moscow” by Katherine Reay and read by narrators Saskia Maarleveld and Lisa Flanagan.

This historical fiction sets a mother and daughter against the Cold War era in a gripping spy story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Some of its themes are that stronger marriages occur when the couple nurtures its relationship over time and that the strength of blood ties never diminishes.

When the author describes Anya, a military research lab technician gazing at Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” in a Vienna art museum., she inadvertently creates a plot spoiler.

Overall, an interesting read.

I loved this book! It had everything I am looking for in a solid historical fiction read - strong female characters, dual timelines, interweaving stories, intrigue, and suspense. I was equally invested in both Anya and Ingrid’s stories, which isn’t usually the case in a book with multiple timelines. Both women were strong characters that I wanted to cheer on. The way their stories came together was fascinating. I also enjoyed the audio narration!

✨𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥✨

Vienna, 1954

After losing everyone she loves in the final days of World War II, Ingrid Bauer agrees to a hasty marriage with a gentle Soviet embassy worker and follows him home to Moscow. But nothing deep within the Soviet Union’s totalitarian regime is what it seems, including her new husband, whom Ingrid suspects works for the KGB. Upon her daughter’s birth, Ingrid risks everything and reaches out in hope to the one country she understands and trusts—Britain, the country of her mother’s birth—and starts passing along intelligence to MI6, navigating a world of secrets and lies, light and shadow.

Washington, DC, 1980

Part of the Foreign Studies Initiative, Anya Kadinova finishes her degree at Georgetown University and boards her flight home to Moscow, leaving behind the man she loves and a country she’s grown to respect. Though raised by dedicated and loyal Soviet parents, Anya soon questions an increasingly oppressive and paranoid Soviet regime at the height of the Cold War. When the KGB murders her bestfriend, Anya picks sides and contacts the CIA. Working in a military research lab, Anya passes along Soviet military plans and schematics in an effort to end the 1980s arms race.

Alternating points of view keep readers on their toes as the past catches up to the present when an unprecedented act of treachery in 1985 threatens all undercover agents operating within the Soviet Union, and both Ingrid and Anya find themselves in a race for their lives against time and the KGB.

𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨!
I love a good historical fiction and when it’s about strong female characters even better. A page turner.

Thank you @tlcbooktours and @harpermusebooks for this tour invite.

𝗔 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘄 by @katherinereay released June 13, 2023.

A Shadow in Moscow is one of my new favorite historical fiction novels. I absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop listening.

The novel follows two women who live in Moscow during two different time periods. One is after WW2 ends and the other is during the Cold War.

When Ingrid looses everyone she knows after WW2, she meets and marries a Soviet man she has come to love. When he finds out that she is part British the love fades and their marriage becomes cold. Her life is much different in Moscow and she has less freedom than she is used to. Not agreeing with the ideology her husband and his fellow KGB friends embrace, she decided to use her lack of importance to gather information to share with MI6. She becomes the overlooked quiet hostess for KGB gatherings.


Anya is from Moscow and spent time in DC as a fellowship student, but must return to the Soviet Union. While in DC, she fell in love and learned to respect the people and culture. While she missed home, she doesn’t truly fit in at home anymore now that she has experienced the freedoms in the US. A lot of little things add to her dissatisfaction of Soviet life, and then something big happens that convinces her to reach out to the CIA to help fight the oppression in her country.

I loved the title of this book and the strength these two women showed as they quietly helped to combat the KGB. I loved the complexity of patriotism and human rights. One of my favorite parts is when Anya confronts the bias those in her country have against Americans and the bias Americans had against her people. We are not a they or them, we are all individuals with individual thought.

This book was so emotional and suspenseful. I couldn’t stop listening. It made me think about how I view the world and others. It made me wonder what I do with my freedom of thought and how precious it is to safeguard freedoms of speech and education. It doesn’t take someone loud, boisterous or flashy to make a difference. Sometimes even someone who fades into the background can make a huge impact.

What's better than your standard spy novel? A women-led, intergenerational, multi-country spy novel! I loved the way this book wove together true historical facts and a touching family story. The book spans decades of time and slowly weaves together the stories of Ingrid and Anya, each trying to make the world a better place in their own ways. It all builds to a thrilling and tension-filled ending. Highly recommend!

This historical fiction book was fantastic! I don’t want to give too much away but I was hooked from the beginning with a plot twist and a story filled with love, bravery, and hope. The story was told in multiple viewpoints with two different narrators about two courageous female spies during the Cold War in Moscow. Highly recommend this one if you enjoy books about spies, unforgettable characters, plot twists and more!