After reading The Huntress by Kate Quinn, I couldn’t resist reading her next novel, The Alice Network. Set against the back drop of WWII this is a novel that reveals the efforts of  the intrepid women who spied against the Germans in WWI and WWII. The intersection of these two wars and how one intrepid woman led a vast spy network to defeat the Germans is at the heart of this novel.

We begin, however, in America in 1947 with Charlie St. Claire a college girl who has gotten herself in “the family way.” Disappointed with their daughter, Charlie’s parents send her to a discreet clinic in Europe to take care of the problem. Charlie, on the other hand, has other ideas. She wants to find her cousin, Rose. who went missing in WWII somewhere in Europe. Determined to find Rose, who she loved like a sister, Charlie heads to London, to check out the one lead she has on Rose’s whereabouts and then plans to trace her movements from there.

In London, Eva Gardiner, lives a secluded life in a crumbling house, drowning her memories and anger at the destruction of the spy network she was a part of in 1915. Working with Lili, known as “the Queen of Spies,” Eva had been sent into occupied France, but the vast network collapsed with many lives lost when it was betrayed. So when Charlie comes to visit her, asking about a person that Eva hasn’t heard of in decades Eva is intrigued and decides to help Charlie and at the same time try to once and for all find out who was responsible for the betrayal she and her fellow spies suffered.

Quinn’s books are always well researched and full of intriguing details about the two world wars. She has interesting characters, although sometimes I wish they they were  more nuanced and less type cast. This however is just a minor quibble, and is more than made up for by the excellent pacing and suspense that Quinn builds and sustains until the very end. I hope to enjoy more books by Kate Quinn.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out Of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Keith. Marian and Sharon.

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.