Publisher: William Morrow
Published: June 1, 2021
Source: Publisher
Summary:
The New York Times bestselling author of Her Last Flight returns with a gripping and profoundly human story of Cold War espionage and family devotion.
In the autumn of 1948, Iris Digby vanishes from her London home with her American diplomat husband and their two children. The world is shocked by the family’s sensational disappearance. Were they eliminated by the Soviet intelligence service? Or have the Digbys defected to Moscow with a trove of the West’s most vital secrets?
Four years later, Ruth Macallister receives a postcard from the twin sister she hasn’t seen since their catastrophic parting in Rome in the summer of 1940, as war engulfed the continent and Iris fell desperately in love with an enigmatic United States Embassy official named Sasha Digby. Within days, Ruth is on her way to Moscow, posing as the wife of counterintelligence agent Sumner Fox in a precarious plot to extract the Digbys from behind the Iron Curtain.
But the complex truth behind Iris’s marriage defies Ruth’s understanding, and as the sisters race toward safety, a dogged Soviet KGB officer forces them to make a heartbreaking choice between two irreconcilable loyalties.
My thoughts:
It’s no surprise that I am a huge fan of Beatriz Williams. I love nothing more than getting lost in her stories. There is just something about her books – they are the perfect blend of historical fiction, compelling characters and fantastic writing that bring me back time and again. I just can’t get enough of this perfect combination!!!
I love how I become immediately engrossed in her stories, blocking out the rest of the world. I read this story in two days – I was so swept up in the characters and the story lines that I just didn’t want to do anything but read. The story is loosely based on the Cambridge Spy Ring that passed along secrets to the Soviet Union before then defecting there.
Beatriz Williams writes with such a witty, sassy, engaging style.. It’s one of the things I love most about her writing. The two main characters, twin sisters Iris and Ruth, each have their own personalities and I found that I was equally invested in what was going on with both of them. Told using multiple timelines, this story starts off slow to set the scene but builds to a frantic pace that has you flipping the pages to a brilliant ending. I was captivated the entire time and loved that it kept me on my toes…there were twists I definitely did not see coming, which I loved!
I also love that Beatriz gives her long-time fans little Easter eggs in her books. Characters from previous books have a tendency to pop-up again and again, somehow having connections to the main characters of the current book. It’s not necessary to have read the other books as they aren’t necessarily connected, but just know if you have, you might see some familiar names and places, which I always love!
This was one of my most anticipated reads for June and it totally delivered. Beatriz Williams is a must-read author for me and I loved that she not only gave us a fantastic historical fiction read, but also added in a little mystery to boot! I highly recommend adding this to your summer reading list…it won’t disappoint!
