The Book Spy

By: Alan Hlad

Narrated by: Christa Lewis

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

1942: With the war's outcome hanging in the balance, President Roosevelt sends an unlikely new taskforce on a unique mission. They are librarians and microfilm specialists trained in espionage, working with a special branch of the Office of Strategic Services and deployed to neutral cities throughout Europe. By acquiring and scouring Axis newspapers, books, technical manuals, and periodicals, the librarians can gather information about troop location, weaponry, and military plans.

Maria Alves, a microfilm expert working at the New York Public Library, is dispatched to Lisbon, where she meticulously photographs publications and sends the film to London to be analyzed. Working in tandem with Tiago Soares, a Portuguese bookstore owner on a precarious mission of his own, Maria acquires vital information, including a directory of arms factories in Germany.

But as she and Tiago grow closer, any future together is jeopardized when Maria's superiors ask her to pose as a double agent, feeding misinformation to Lars Steiger, a wealthy Swiss banker and Nazi sympathizer who launders Hitler's gold. Gaining Lars's trust will bring Maria into the very heart of the Fuhrer's inner circle. And it will provide her with a chance to help steer the course of war, if she is willing to take risks as great as the possible rewards . . .

©2023 Alan Hlad (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Story Was Great, Narration Not So Much

The story about a New York librarian who specializes in microfilm was interesting. I had never thought about how they documented Axis publications, or how important they were. I also enjoyed Tiago’s story. His empathy for the Jewish people escaping France, Germany and Poland wasn’t overdone. Mr. Hlad hit just the right note.

Maybe it is me, but Maria seemed a bit too naïve and reckless at times. Okay, it is me. Every heroine in these WW II historical fiction novels do things I think they should no not to do. But hindsight is 20/20 and I have the benefit of knowing how everything ended. So, there’s that.

The story is excellent. The dialog was on point for the time in history. It is very challenging to get the dialog right, not using phrases or words that didn’t exist yet. That made the story more enjoyable. I wish there had been more descriptions of the clothes they wore, but I am a sucker to historical clothing.

The narration was not horrible but nothing spectacular. Ms. Lewis’s voice had no emotion, especially when Maria was supposed to be sad, or Lars was angry. I kept wanting some emotion, a warbling in her voice when Maria talked about the crash and her injuries. The only time I admired her cool, unemotional tone was towards the end of the book when she was negotiating terms.

The librarian spy is a new twist on this genre. I liked it. Who knew librarians could have so much fun?

Good story, excellent narration

The story and plot were good. Some "surprise" elements were telegraphed in the earliest chapters. I'm distracted by phrases like "I'll have your back" in 40's dialogue. I found the author's refusal to use past participles of irregular verb forms distracting, but if English is the author's second language, it's a very minor complaint.
Lewis has excellent control of accents and characters' voices. Her narration might have been the best thing about the book.
I would recommend this to people with an interest in fiction set in WWII.

Captivating

The first half of the story felt very familiar, almost as if I had heard it before. But the second half of the book… way more thrilling than the first half.

Fabulous

The Book Spy is a really good book. Strong characters and good plot. I hope you enjoy.

Gave up on it because of the narration

I was interested in the story, and the narration was fine except for the characters’ voices IMO. The saccharine-sweet voice the narrator used for the main character made me cringe, and the overly slow speaking pattern of the father and the bookstore owner characters were distracting. I had to stop listening.

Just a good story!

I loved the story of this book! Because it is so well written, I fell in love with the characters. The narration was a bit breathy, but once I grew used to how she read the story I was fine! Worth every minute of listening!

Alan Hlad is a very good descriptive writer and will "read" all of his writings if possible

One criticism and one alone- Baton is not pronounced "batten". That was very hard on the ears- so be prepared when you hear it. Editors should have caught it.
Christa is very good with voices.
Nicely crafted story-
-Women do not have to be superheros to be liked by women listeners.

Well Done

This is the third book by this author and all three are excellent in performance and story. I would highly recommend - especially if you enjoy books of history with a story line .

Captivating!

For a lover of WWII novels, this is at the top of the list. I listened to the Audible version, which was exceptionally well performed. The tension of war, romance, subterfuge, and double agents, this book keeps your heart pounding and tears flowing. Bravo! Well done!

The history aspect woven into this amazing storyline made me want to not stop listening!!

I loved everything about this book, and the person who read was spectacular! I would recommend this book to everyone!!