Stephanie Sullivan: Review - The Alice Network

TITLE: The Alice Network (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): 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, code name Alice, 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.

REVIEW: I have to admit I've become addicted to Kate Quinn's audiobooks with Saskia Maarleveld as narrator. Saskia does such a wonderful job making each character sound unique in their own individual way, and I'm pulled into the story from the very beginning. Although Kate's book The Rose Code is still my favorite, I thoroughly enjoyed The Alice Network, and I would highly recommend it to everyone. Kate does an incredible job bringing historical fiction to life, and I feel like I'm always learning something new when I read her books. I'm a huge fan of fiction based during the World War II era, and with Kate's impeccable writing and Saskia's exceptional narrating, I feel as if I'm part of the story. All of The Alice Network characters play an important role in this book, and I love how Kate makes each character beautifully flawed and REAL. I laughed. I cried. I gasped. I also cheered and clapped like a madwoman. (Revenge can be so sweet. If you know...you know). I look forward to my next Kate Quinn and Saskia Maarleveld encounter. I have no doubt it will be amazing.