I've had my eye on this book since I saw the Richard & Judy programme where it was being reviewed back in February 2007. I subsequently bought it thinking my husband would enjoy it and finally got around to reading it myself last week.
Sally Gilmartin, a slightly eccentric English woman, mother to Ruth and grandmother to Jochen is feeling restless. She has binoculars so she can peer out into the woods, she asks her daughter to ring, hang up, then ring again so she knows it's her and has written a manuscript about her life before and during the second world war. When she was known as Eva Delectorskaya.
Just before war broke out in Europe, Eva, a Russian émigré living in Paris, met Lucas Romer on the day of her brother's funeral. It turns out her brother was working for Lucas who, in turn, works for the British Government. Lucas now wants to hire Eva. Eva agrees and is soon on her way to Scotland to be trained as a spy. She is trained very well and Eva is a natural. She then goes on to work for Lucas in his secret part of the government. Releasing pretend news as real in order to deflect the Germans and then later to encourage the Americans to join.
I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book. The blurb doesn't give much away (and I'm not giving anything away either) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were twists and turns and Boyd kept me guessing throughout, as though I was a spy myself. Who can Eva trust? Who can I trust as a reader? I became caught up in the tense atmosphere and was constantly looking around me. As Eva questioned events I became almost paranoid myself.
My only criticism is the structure of the book. We are treated to a chapter of Eva's life, then we jump back to the present (which is 1970's Oxford) to the first person narrative of her daughter Ruth. To be honest, I didn't warm to Ruth, I had no interest in her and was relieved when the chapter went back to third person Eva.
Even so, this is a great book. My husband gave up a few pages in, no doubt put off because the first chapter is Ruth's. He was surprised at my rating but has promised me he'll give it another go.
Rating: 4/5
Like this? Try The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (they're both about the second world war after all)
