355: A Novel

The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring (Women Spies, Book 1)

By: Kit Sergeant

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Who was the mysterious 355?

Culper Ring members such as Robert Townsend and Hercules Mulligan are well-known for the part they played in the Revolutionary War, but who was the mysterious 355 who could "outwit them all"?

Inspired by many of the same characters featured in AMC's Turn and the Broadway musical Hamilton, 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring chronicles the lives of three remarkable women who use daring, skill, and, yes, a bit of flirtation, to help liberate America.

British sympathizer Margaret (Meg) Moncrieffe expects to find the carefree America she remembers as a youth when she returns from her Irish boarding school. Instead, she finds the new country at war, with her father on one side and her new love, Aaron Burr, on the other. When her misguided attempt to end the war results in dire consequences for the Continental Army, Meg switches allegiances in order to amend the damage she caused.

After her husband, Jonathan, is captured by the British and dies aboard one of the notorious prison ships, a pregnant Elizabeth Burgin realizes she is stronger than she once thought. When a prominent member of the Culper Ring enlists her help on a heist of the prison ships, Elizabeth readily accepts, putting herself and her family in jeopardy in order to save the lives of strangers.

Patriot Sally Townsend wants nothing more than freedom for America. When her family is forced to take in enemy soldiers, Sally seizes the opportunity to garner information from them and pass it on to her brother, Robert, knowing one false move could result in the noose for both of them. Instead of finding herself in danger when British intelligence officer Major John Andre shows up at her family's doorstep, Sally finds herself falling in love. But Major Andre is playing the same dangerous game as her and Robert, albeit for the other side.

Told from the viewpoints of these three women - including the one operating under the code name 355 - 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring is an absorbing tale of family, duty, love, and betrayal.

©2017 Kit Sergeant (P)2018 Tantor

Best 355 Story Yet

I've read several 355 books so far and this one has been the best and the most informative. I enjoyed the prologue which gave further information on each of the individuals. I highly recommend this book

Don’t let the narrator discourage you from this enjoyable book

Are there better narrators? Yes. However, I’ve heard FAR worse. The quality of the story far outweighs the faults of the person reading. If you’re a fan of the show TURN or the musical Hamilton, you will enjoy this book based on real members of revolutionary war spies.

Women are smarter than men give us credit for!

It was enlightening to learn about the women who helped free our country during the American Revolution.

The series Turn followed this book and history well. I watched the series a few years ago.

The narrator was very good.

Interesting and engaging

While I was not a fan of the narration, I also didn’t want to stop listening. I am very interested in the Culper Ring and despite this being a novel, I still enjoyed the insights and familiar names. If you can get past the audio and just pay attention to the story, you won’t regret the listen!

Starts painfully slow but don’t give up

It’s a good book and I think uses a lot of historical facts to inform the story. I found it worth the time to read and I enjoyed it as well. Benedict Arnold’s betrayal of the Americans plays a central role in the story.

great story

I loved the story but thought the narration sounded automated. several times thought it was computer generated.

Revoltionary War Historical Romance

A fascinating story of spies during the American Revolution. Highlighted, were women on both sides, forced or volunteered into sharing secrets. Some acts were compassion, others were spite, and even more revolved around love.
There is an intimate scenes more liken to rape then love, that prevents me from labeling this as a Sweet Romance. In fact many couples in this book are having extramarital affairs and it is treated as commonly known and accepted.
But, the glimpse into this time, was educational and entertaining, (minus the last subject). I enjoyed learning about this time and the complexities of choosing a side were more understandable.
History is often glamorized, and this story with its ugly threads, seems more factual in its content.
The narrator's reading was very well done, but her narrator voice was not as enjoyable to listen to as her character voices were. I did not like Robert's voice at all. He sounded too old, grumpy and mean to me. But, this is a very long book, and I think she did an exceptional job keeping everyone straight and consistent.

the sound was off. I didn't finish

I couldn't get past the audio. I'm not sure if it was the narrator or the equipment used to record it. I tried to listen on my phone, I pad and computer, with and without headphones. The female voice would speed up and all the male sounding voices were very slow and fake sounding. I was looking forward to this book and will buy the hard copy.

Interesting story, but.....

This was an interesting look into 3 ladies of the revolution and some known characters in the Culper spy ring. However, the narration was incredibly difficult to overlook. I am sure I would have enjoyed the story more if it were narrated better - the man voices were the absolute worst. Hard to tell male characters apart. The cadence was slow and at times robotic. I really wanted to hear this story so I stuck it out and if nothing else, the epilogue really tied things up nicely. I would not recommend this and will probably trade it in for something better. Sorry, really wanted to leave more nice things and really wanted to love this book.

Not recommended...

I honestly could not finish this book because of the narration. I tried to overlook the awful slow dragging out of every word that sucks the life out of the story. But unfortunately I could not get into the book.