I picked this up at the local library's book sale, knowing nothing except what the cover copy said, and not expecting too much, since I suspected that this might be historical chick-lit with a thin spy varnish. Instead I was very impressed by Quinn's characters and her talent for writing vivid scenes!

I was particularly fond of Eve, who we see as both a young, talented spy struggling with the emotional impacts of her dangerous job, and as an older woman who is equally badass, and portrays a hard-drinking, gun-toting, shellshock-suffering war veteran in a role we almost never see women get to play. Of course, we have an inevitable romantic interest with a checkered past for our young runaway-lady character, who generally acts as an audience surrogate, and is the blandest of the main characters. These three play of each other very well, and human connections play a significant role throughout the novel. (The relationships between Eve's spy network are equally interesting, but harder to talk about without spoilers!)

The pacing and plot are not as strong, but my increasing fondness for the characters made pushing through pretty easy.

We also have some gritty wartime scenes and uglier sides of spy work, which the author writes in the same visceral manner as descriptions of Charlie's pregnancy or the beauty of the countryside. The result are a couple of stomach-churning scenes that may not be to every reader's taste, but I also found refreshing (in a grim way) to find in such a women-centric story, where even today there seems to be an assumption that a female audience doesn't want to see such depictions.

Sent out as a RABCK

Thanks, emmejo, for reaching out and offering this book on my wishlist. I’m looking forward to reading it, especially after seeing your positive review.

A very interesting fictional story that follows two timelines and is based on a real spy network that worked during WW1. Strong women protagonists. The beginning gives no clue of what’s to come and the momentum builds gradually but pays off. As often happens with me, reading this historical fiction book has prompted me to do some research about the real characters and places. In this case, Louise de Bettignies and the village of Oradour-sur-Glane.

Mailed this today to dabercro for the Wishlist Tag rabck. Enjoy!

usps tracking: 9549015075271147633863

The book was waiting for me whe I returned home from my weekend away. Thanks for the tag and for sending it to me.

Another interesting historical fiction of another aspect of WWI & II.
Women spies, the unsung heroes and the part they played in the war effort.

Added to my "Books I've Read and Journaled" bookbox.

Selected from dabercro's Books I've Read and Journaled bookbox.

The Alice Network is a piece of historical fiction which follows two timelines. Eve's timeline is during WWI when the Alice Network was operational, and Charlie's timeline is shortly after WWII.

I found Charlie's attachment to a cousin she saw once a year and the determination for why sought out Eve for help in finding her cousin to be pretty weak. This along with how Charlie, Eve, and Finn became a trio, travelling to France for answers made the beginning of the story a little far-fetched for me.

However, the beginning of the story was the only part of the book which I found unconvincing. After Charlie, Eve, and Finn joined forces, the two timelines worked well together. If this book would have been only Eve's story, it would have been a very tense, edge-of-your-seat spy novel. If this book would have only been Charlie's story, it would have been a somewhat cheesy account of a determined girl in search of answers. The two stories together were well balanced.

As with any historical fiction that piques my interest, I had to do a little research afterwards on Louise de Bettignies. Even though Louise was a minor character in the book, her spy network, the Alice Network, saved over 1,000 British lives during WWI. The fictitious character Eve was part of that network.

Adding to the My Armchair Travels to France bookbox.

I would have taken this out of the Armchair Travels to France bookbox, but it's already on my TBR pile, so it's still in the box. It looks good!

Chosen from the My Armchair Travels to France bookbox.

Mom and I loved it. She gave it to a friend at church and she loved it. It's already back and my uncle is taking it to Texas to read and release.

Traveling to Texas with my Uncle to be read and released as he decides. Enjoy!!