A Beautiful Spy

By: Rachel Hore

Narrated by: Sandra Duncan

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the million-copy Sunday Times best-selling author comes a thrilling story about a woman with an extraordinary life, based on a true story.

Minnie Gray is an ordinary young woman.

She is also a spy for the British government.

It all began in the summer of 1928....

Minnie is supposed to find a nice man, get married and have children. The problem is it doesn’t appeal to her at all. She is working as a secretary, but longs to make a difference.

Then, one day, she gets her chance. She is recruited by the British government as a spy. Under strict instructions not to tell anyone, not even her family, she moves to London and begins her mission to infiltrate the Communist movement.

She soon gains the trust of important leaders. But as she grows more and more entangled in the workings of the movement, her job becomes increasingly dangerous. Leading a double life is starting to take its toll on her relationships and, feeling more isolated than ever, she starts to wonder how this is all going to end. The Russians are notorious for ruthlessly disposing of people given the slightest suspicion.

What if they find out?

Full of suspense, courage and love, A Beautiful Spy is a stunningly written story about resisting the norm and following your dreams, even if they come with sacrifices.

©2020 Rachel Hore (P)2020 Simon & Schuster UK

Really? Rachel Hore?

I usually love Rachel Hore's writing and am loathe to see her books end. That isn't the case with this one. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but the pov starts out and--worse--remains very superficial. At the beginning I thought it was background, leading to a deeper, more intimate story. That doesn't appear to be the case, and I'm almost half-way through. The elements of an excellent story are definitely here, but there is no emotional depth. The author keeps us at a good distance from Minnie, the main character. If this approach was more exaggerated I'd maybe think that it was a device--to present the story like the reports that Minnie gives her "handler," but I don't think that's what's going on. Even when she is experiencing great hardship we are kept at a distance. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm not sure I can finish it.

Not your usual story of a WW2 female spy

This is a very well done book and the story line is excellent. Enjoying it all the way to the end.

A bit too slow

My wife and father are big fans of Rachel Hore so I gave this one a go as I thought I must be missing out. It is well written, but it really dragged for me. I kept waiting for something to happen, which it never really did. I will leave others to Rachel Hore and seek my audiobooks from other authors.

What a hidden gem

Brilliantly narrated Excellent story I loved this audio book The storyline was brilliant I was so invested in Minnie absolutely convinced Max was either a fraudster or double agent Such a great book

A bit tedious

I usual like Rachel’s books but this was a bit tedious - nothing really happened. It just felt lonely and bleak. Would not recommend….

A great....

storyline with some lovely characters and antics within the book but a bit slow to begin with. The narrator was very good at using different voices for the characters.

A period story

I felt I was in the 1930s by the book's language and the narrator's voice.

Not bad....

Quite enjoyable on the whole but story is a bit dull and OTT!? Minnie is annoying, Max? Not sure either. The narrator on the whole was good but sounds like she’s on the edge of emphysema which is off putting and rather irritating.

Believable and well read.

I loved it, the writing really carried you along and you could physically feel the tension. Gave an insight into how many woman must have felt about their prospective role of wife and mother in the 1930's and how one woman broke the mold.