The Last Goodnight

A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal

By: Howard Blum

Narrated by: Tristan Morris

The New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed Dark Invasion channels Erik Larson and Ben Macintyre in this riveting biography of Betty Pack, the dazzling American debutante who became an Allied spy during WWII and was hailed by OSS chief general "Wild Bill" Donovan as "the greatest unsung heroine of the war".

Betty Pack was charming, beautiful, and intelligent - and she knew it. As an agent for Britain's MI6 and then America's OSS during World War II, these qualities proved crucial to her success.

This is the remarkable story of this "Mata Hari from Minnesota" (Time) and the passions that ruled her tempestuous life - a life filled with dangerous liaisons and death-defying missions vital to the Allied victory.

For decades much of Betty's career working for MI6 and the OSS remained classified. Through access to recently unclassified files, Howard Blum discovers the truth about the attractive blond, codenamed "Cynthia", who seduced diplomats and military attachés across the globe in exchange for ciphers and secrets; cracked embassy safes to steal codes; and obtained the Polish notebooks that proved key to Alan Turing's success with Operation Ultra.

Beneath Betty's cool, professional determination, Blum reveals a troubled woman conflicted by the very traits that made her successful: her lack of deep emotional connections and her readiness to risk everything. The Last Goodnight is a mesmerizing, provocative, and moving portrait of an exceptional heroine whose undaunted courage helped to save the world.

©2016 Howard Blum (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

A Hero with a complex life

What did you love best about The Last Goodnight?

What a fascinating story, full of intrigue. As I was reading it was difficult not to alternate between loving and hating Ms. Pack. Read (or listen to) this book because it is an important, mostly untold story of the heroics that went on "behind the scenes" before and during WWII. It describes how people's lives were changed, guided, and sometimes destroyed by the bigger events altering their history.

Ms. Pack is a complicated woman. Some of her decisions and their consequences for those around her can anger the reader, but her life is a reminder we all have our flaws, and sometimes make turns others can judge on our path through life. But in the end, as the song goes, she can say, "I did it my way." She saved countless lives with her ingenuity and heroics. It is often the people we affected without ever having seen them we must remember.

interesting spy story

couldn't wait to hear more each day, found it compelling to see how it ended

Well written…fascinating story

Howard Blum did well in his story about Betty Pack. There were many suspenseful turns in Betty’s life and Howard Blum captured them. Truth is stranger…and more complex, than fiction. You will enjoy this book.

Superb history, Suspense. Couldn’t stop!

This book is a winner! Amazing courage of a strange and churning soul who served the Anglo American cause so well and faithfully.. heart stopping descriptions and drama. The kind of book where you don’t turn off your car in the driveway because you want hours more of the story! Narrator is very good but atrocious French pronunciation, British pronunciation is off too. Audible needs to vet these recordings before they go out.

Fascinating

This book tells the story of an American socialite who began to spy for the British before they even declared war on Germany in 1939. She was a complicated woman who did not hesitate to abandon both her children or to cheat on the British diplomat husband. At the same time, she used her beauty, charm and intelligence to help the British clandestinely in a cause she truly believed in, risking her life and willing to do anything to achieve her goal. Everything about this book is good. I had previously known about some of the wartime events referred to in this narrative but was surprised to learn that she had had a strong hand in helping the allies achieve success. I strongly recommend this book.

pretty good!

It was good, helped pass the time while I was driving! Some of the introspection of her motivations for launching into her affairs was a bit unrealistic, but I enjoyed it overall.

Total man’s view

I hope this gets rewritten by a woman who can explain and understand the psyche of a female operatives goals and the sense of danger she faced. This was written by a jealous man who barely had any respect for her accomplishments

Misleading to compare to Erik Larsen

Story reads like a list of facts cut and pasted together with Betty as the fragile thread that holds them together. The reading has more in common with a newspaper report than a spy novel. Exciting? No. Suspenseful? No. Factual? Probably. Disappointing? Oh yes!

Great Espionage Novel

Spellbinding tale of a real life unsung heroine who succeeded in life as a beguiling spy.

Great spy, important history

The book became a lot more interesting (after the author heavy-handed description of sexual behavior to hook you into reading). I rolled my eyes quite a bit during the beginning chapters. I kept listening and am glad I did. Betty Pack's spying seriously helped win the war. Good presentation of history prior to the war and during the war. Despite some of the writing, I really think this is a great book to read and I recommend it. The narrator was very good, he knew how to treat this story and keep you on the edge of your seat.