The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
5 stars
The Alice Network is a dual timeline spy thriller.
When World War One broke out, Eve yearned to take part. Raised by dual nationality parents and brought up in a French town where she also picked up a third language, Eve became an ideal recruit for Britain’s spy network.
In 1947 Charlie St. Clair, an American teenager, comes to Britain searching for a woman who might be able to help her find her French cousin who disappeared during the Second World War. In London, she discovers a broken and grieving woman who finds nightly solace in a bottle of whisky.
As the story unfolds, Eve and Charlie connect and we are drawn into a tale of the Alice Network, one of the most successful spy rings of the first World War.
I’m so glad that I finally got to read this book. I’m a fan of well-written and atmospheric stories of espionage, particularly set during war times. The dual timeline worked well and I was equally invested in both women’s stories. It was one of those books that I didn’t want to end. The author’s notes at the back were also particularly interesting, giving a little more insight into the true events of the time.
Overall, give this a go if you enjoy books about women’s roles during World War One.
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In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
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.
Rosie Amber 
It sounds good! Thanks for the recommendation, Rosie!
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This sounds very good.
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It was Robbie. I then went on to read another by her that was also very good.
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