Title: The Alice Network

Author: Kate Quinn

Publisher: William Morrow 2017

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 560

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsguar - Recommended by a Celebrity; Alphabet Soup - Q; Historical Fiction

1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.

1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.

Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.

After hearing so many friends yell at me for not reading this book, I picked it up and tore through the pages in just a few days. This is a gripping novel of spies in WWI and WWII. I was along for every twist and turn along the journey. I was worried that Charlotte’s story was going to be boring compared with Eve’s. But thankfully, Charlotte grew a lot in these 500 pages and become her own woman with a connection to Eve’s history. At times it was hard to read about the awful things down to some of the characters, but realize that these kinds of atrocities happened all the time during the wars (and even now, I know). Getting to the last page, I was satisfied with the ending of the story, but lingered, not wanting to leave the characters. Definite must read! Make sure to read the author’s note to find out what was historically accurate and what was embellished or made up for the book.

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