The Alice Network

This book has everything you want from a gripping historical novel – a pacy dual timeline plot which races along at breakneck speed featuring badass female spies, despicable villains, and moments of pure heartbreak, and it’s based on a true story.

I’m a sucker for an unlikely friendship and the one which develops between veteran spy Eve and young Charlie as they embark on a mission to find Charlie’s missing cousin, is a particularly special one. There’s a reason why Kate Quinn is one of the queens of this genre.

This story of sisterly love and endurance spoke to me because at the time I was reading it my own sister and I weren’t speaking. The courage and fortitude these two sisters possess in surviving the war and finding their way back together are remarkable and enviable at the same time. Reading it made me want to mend fences with my sister, which we have since done. Added to that is the inside look at life in war-torn France during World War Two. Highly recommended!

Like many of my favourite historical novels, this one combines real historical figures with fictional ones, and tells the story of female spies in World War I. Eve Gardiner is the sort of character who will stick with you forever: fierce and vulnerable, flawed and very, very real. Where so many female characters triumph through exceptional wit and beauty, Eve’s triumphs—and her failures—come about through grit and indomitable willpower. Tense, dark, and profoundly transporting, The Alice Network drops you into occupied France with nothing but your wits and the support of a sisterhood of amazing women determined to serve their… show more.

This book has parallel, connected storylines: an American girl, Charlie, teams up with Eve, a former British WWI spy. Charlie’s trying to find a lost cousin; Eve is out for revenge on the man who destroyed her life. The fact that they have a hot ex-convict Scotsman in tow just adds to the appeal. I love the glimpse into WWI espionage, something I haven’t seen elsewhere in fiction yet. 

I admit, I can’t read too many books set during wartime because they are so heavy and sad. But this book, while heavy and sad, somehow feels like an exception. The two storylines of this dual timeline novel are set in 1915 and 1947 and are connected by the Alice Network of women spies who served in the Great War. In the latter story, unmarried and pregnant Charlie sneaks away to look for her missing cousin and enlists Eve, a sad drunk who once was a member of the Alice Network, to help her. Together they unravel the truth of… show more.