I went into this with high expectations having enjoying Helen Dunmore's other works and they were met! Loved the retelling of the Railway Children - a thrilling and beautifully written novel.

Good pace book that keeps the reading going at a nice speed. Enjoyed the language and characters throughout. I would look up more books by this author.

The characters are complex and vivid. I felt their fear, hopes, frustrations and emotions. It was a very enjoyable book and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

A twisted mix of spies and thrilling events set in a generally not very well known era of the cold war. The characters are all well written and you want to know what happens next, If you enjoy John le Carre you will also enjoy this book

I have to say I was a little disappointed with Exposure. O found the story so outlandish and far-fetched that I struggled to get into it or to connect with the characters.

I also found the constant head-hopping and change of time when would hop between the present time and then suddenly hopping into a memory confusing.

Overall, it is a good book if this is what you like, but for me not so much.

No my usual speedy thriller but very engaing and good. I loved the subtleness and menace throughout. Lovely period piece and character study.

London - 1960. With the Cold War at its height, spy fever fills the newspapers, the political establishment knowing how and where to bury its secrets. A sensitive file goes missing, and Simon Callington is accused of passing information to the Soviets, and is arrested. His wife Lily suspects that this imprisonment is part of a cover-up, and that those higher than Simon are fighting to prevent their own downfall. Knowing that both she and her children too are in danger, Lily must fight to save Simon and protect her family. Little does she know that Simon is hiding many things from her, including a crime that may carry with it an even greater penalty.

As far as plot goes, that blurb is all I'm willing to share – this is a twisting, gripping tale that goes to places I really could not have imagined – yet keeps the reader on board and emotionally involved throughout. I can't deny that it took me some time to get used to the style and attached to the characters, and that's not an issue I've had with Dunmore's books in the past. However I feel that may be more down to the setting – the grey murk of the Cold War is somewhat more distancing than the immediacy of Dunmore's previous novels. The Betrayal, The Lie, and The Greatcoat all focused on war to a large extent – either the act of or the consequences that follow. There is less of an immediacy here, although tendrils of Dunmore's exquisite storytelling and well-crafted characters, soon take a firm hold and I was thoroughly swept away.

As ever, Dunmore has constructed a narrative that confounds expectations, sweeping past where one thinks the plot will end up, and somehow ending in a far more interesting place. Well-built too are the characters - particularly Lily. Whilst past secrets are uncovered and betrayals made, these nevertheless are likeable characters, layered and flawed but ever relatable, and their actions relatively excusable given the pressures and social rules of the time.

Intricate, gripping, and deeply moving, Helen Dunmore has another hit on her hands in Exposure. A great read for colder nights – lose yourself in this chilling, captivating and wonderfully crafted tale of the Cold War. Many thanks to the publishers for the copy.

For further reading I would recommend Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom. Much like Dunmore, Sansom excels in this atmospheric tale by taking a period of uncertainty, fear and danger, and weaving in a gripping and thrilling tale around the lives of his characters – never overwhelming their voices but working with them in tandem to weave a spellbinding tale.

(I acquired a copy of this book and sent it to this reviewer to review for Bookbag.)

Not really a thriller, a slow first half before the pace picks up. Not for me. Married Simon in top secret job in Admiralty who tries to help his lover Giles only to find himself suspected of treachery and thrown into prison. Throwing his wife Lily and their children's world upside down.

A fairly interesting book, but I felt it dragged a little at times, and could perhaps have been edited more to produce a slightly shorter, tighter book.

On the background of cold war tensions plays the emotional drama of loneliness, secrets and pain past and present.

The writing is intelligent, but the mood is noir, gloomy and a bit dull. Unfortunately my pet peeve in liking my reads or not is of I can relate to any of the characters or plot - and here I could not.
This might be not a bad read for people inclined to read noir drama (because this is not thriller) about complicated feelings and emotional grippings of the lives unfulfilled.

I really wanted to like this book because I had heard so much about it and have loved the author's other books. I just couldn't get into it - despite enjoying the writer's style. This one wasn't for me, sadly. Thank you for the opportunity to read it and provide feedback.

This is a riveting read from start to finish. Helen Dunmore is an immensely skilled writer, and I haven't been disappointed with anything she has written.

I thought Helen Dunmore did a great job creating a world where secrets abound and the tension of the Cold War permeates everything. I really enjoyed reading Lily's story, however I found myself nearly skimming through other sections to get back to it.

It's obviously a matter of personal preference, but I really didn't like the sections which focused on Giles, who was a deeply unpleasant character. This meant I didn't enjoy the whole book as much as I hoped to, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it unreservedly.

I thought his book was great. I really enjoyed the time period and the different characters. I thought the ending was good and didn't expect it.

Exposure is utterly compelling but equally stressful. Dunmore wrote characters so well and this is a thriller that unfolds by following the lives of people caught up in a tense situation during the Cold War.
I could not stop reading until I discovered whether the characters would be okay, especially since little children were involved.

Dunmore often said she was interested in showing what ordinary people would have gone through in dramatic times and she does this scarily well in this, one of her last books before she passed away last month.

Helen Dunmore had lived in Bristol since graduating from the University of York in 1971 and was the first winner of the Orange Prize. She died at the beginning of June from cancer, which she revealed she had when releasing her book Birdcage Walk. This last book of hers was the only one set in Bristol.

I thought Lilly was a great character and I liked how strong she was. Very little happened in the book but it was perfect for that. I'm really sorry to hear Helen has died!

I have loved Helen Dunmore’s novels for many years and so was delighted to have the opportunity to review her latest work, “Exposure.” It is November, 1960, and London is in the grip of the Cold War and spy fever. Lily Callington lives with her husband, Simon, in Muswell Hill. He is a rather unambitious civil servant at the Admiralty and Lily teaches part time and looks after their children; Paul, Sally and Bridget. The couple are happy with their peaceful life. Simon enjoys going train spotting with his son, while Lily enjoys evenings in listening to the latest play on the radio. However, their rather mundane existence is soon to come to an end when the telephone rings one evening…

This novel involves a missing Top Secret file, for which Simon is blamed and charged with espionage. Do not imagine that this is your traditional spy novel though, for Dunmore is always more interested in the personal, rather than in action, and she has created a wonderful set of characters here. Simon is a man who has always felt incomplete before he had his family – never happy with his bullish, bullying brothers or his wealthy, but unsympathetic, parents - in some ways he did remind me of a character in an Eric Ambler novel; the ‘everyman’ who stumbles into a nightmare.

Lily is possibly one of my favourite fictional characters of all time. Abandoned by her father, her Jewish mother brought her to safety in England before the war. She has been taught by her mother to fit in at all costs, but now her mere foreignness makes her suspect. All too aware of how life can suddenly change, Lily is determined to protect her children at all costs. The children themselves, along with other peripheral characters, really bring depth to the storyline. I really enjoyed the way the children tried their best to understand events and I also thought the invention of Giles Holloway, the rather seedy spy, and the sinister Julian Clowde; men who feel that their background and wealth entitle them to do exactly as they wish, were fantastically written. This novel is one of a mere handful that has made me cry and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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I loved this book, it gripped me from beginning to end. The characters were well depicted, especially the children, Paul in particular. All the adult characters are flawed, which makes the plot even more interesting and believable.Highly recommended.

Very evocative of the time period. The characterization is enthralling and keeps you engaged until the very last page.

1960’s cold war is the setting for this spook thriller. The story line feeds directly from the events of the spy fraternity that existed at the time – gay men educated and recruited at university. Giles Holloway has a habit of taking files home but has an accident and asks a favour of Simon Callington to return a top-secret file to the Admiralty office. This is where it all goes wrong and Simon finds himself being accused of spying. Simon is the accused however the star character is his spouse Lily a German refugee. The author paints a very austere picture of life in a Britain covered in a vail of cold war suspicion. You instantly start to imagine what it would be like to live in this era (I vaguely remember it), with steam trains, landlines, smog, no TV, no computers and no central heating. This is the best part of the book as without this vivid description of life, the plot would disappear in importance and would be much better with more action.