A promising synopsis, but it didn't quite live up to it.
Rating 2.0/5
'When her cover is blown, SOE agent Elisabeth de Mornay flees Paris. Pursued by the Gestapo, she makes her way to neutral Lisbon, where Europe's elite rub shoulders with diplomats, businessmen, smugglers, and spies. There she receives new orders - and a new identity.'
I really wanted to like this debut novel from Mara Timon. The blurb conjured up images of spying, treachery and glamour in a World War II setting. I was looking forward to the intrigue and deceit of the world of espionage - and all taking place during one of the most fascinating periods of European history.
A supporting quote on the rear cover describes this as 'Casablanca meets Le Carré.' Well, it is certainly not Le Carré ... At times it is more reminiscent of something out of "The Girl's Own Paper", such as the "Worrals" stories by W.E. Johns featuring the adventures of the WWII female pilot, Joan Worralson. In other parts it was much edgier and these were the sections that worked best, but sadly there just weren't enough of them.
The story was at its most engaging in the opening 25% and then more notably in the final 25% of the book. In the main body of the piece, the central 50%, it lacked any real sense of direction and the plot just meandered around. This was the time when we needed to feel the sense of intrigue building, the time when we needed to be introduced to and engage with characters and scenarios in a way that made us speculate about who might be doing what and why. Instead there was far too much filler, with too many chapters contributing too little to the development of the plot.
I liked that the lead character, Elisabeth, was depicted as a brave, intelligent and strong-minded woman in a male-dominated environment, but I was disappointed that there were times when she slipped into stereotypical genre conventions more associated with romantic fiction - man desires woman, plucky woman resists, but ultimately succumbs to his masculine charms. It made for much better reading when Elisabeth was using her womanly wiles to gain the upper hand or when she displayed a ruthless streak to extricate herself from a dangerous predicament.
Mara Timon is clearly passionate about her subject matter and it was well researched. It is equally apparent that "City of Spies" was very much a labour of love - but at times it just felt too self-indulgent.
'When her cover is blown, SOE agent Elisabeth de Mornay flees Paris. Pursued by the Gestapo, she makes her way to neutral Lisbon, where Europe's elite rub shoulders with diplomats, businessmen, smugglers, and spies. There she receives new orders - and a new identity.'
I really wanted to like this debut novel from Mara Timon. The blurb conjured up images of spying, treachery and glamour in a World War II setting. I was looking forward to the intrigue and deceit of the world of espionage - and all taking place during one of the most fascinating periods of European history.
A supporting quote on the rear cover describes this as 'Casablanca meets Le Carré.' Well, it is certainly not Le Carré ... At times it is more reminiscent of something out of "The Girl's Own Paper", such as the "Worrals" stories by W.E. Johns featuring the adventures of the WWII female pilot, Joan Worralson. In other parts it was much edgier and these were the sections that worked best, but sadly there just weren't enough of them.
The story was at its most engaging in the opening 25% and then more notably in the final 25% of the book. In the main body of the piece, the central 50%, it lacked any real sense of direction and the plot just meandered around. This was the time when we needed to feel the sense of intrigue building, the time when we needed to be introduced to and engage with characters and scenarios in a way that made us speculate about who might be doing what and why. Instead there was far too much filler, with too many chapters contributing too little to the development of the plot.
I liked that the lead character, Elisabeth, was depicted as a brave, intelligent and strong-minded woman in a male-dominated environment, but I was disappointed that there were times when she slipped into stereotypical genre conventions more associated with romantic fiction - man desires woman, plucky woman resists, but ultimately succumbs to his masculine charms. It made for much better reading when Elisabeth was using her womanly wiles to gain the upper hand or when she displayed a ruthless streak to extricate herself from a dangerous predicament.
Mara Timon is clearly passionate about her subject matter and it was well researched. It is equally apparent that "City of Spies" was very much a labour of love - but at times it just felt too self-indulgent.