The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

The Alice Network is a story told over two timelines, from the perspectives of two women – Eve, a female spy and Charlie, an American socialite.

1915 – Eve Gardiner is recruited to join The Alice Network (based on the real-life Network) during World War I. Eve is trained by Lili and soon learns the price she will have to pay whilst working as a spy in enemy-occupied France.

1947 – In the aftermath of World World II, American socialite Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and desperately looking for her cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France.

Thirty years after the betrayal that tore apart The Alice Network, Eve meets Charlie, who utters a name that Eve hasn’t heard in years. Together they join forces to find out the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 1915 storyline centered around Eve and was gripped by the tenacity and bravery shown by the female spies during wartime. But I found the 1947 storyline centered around Charlie very difficult to read and at times, frustrating. Her character was not likeable, her storyline was unrealistic and her affection for her cousin Rose, way overdone.

I don’t want to ruin any storylines so I will stop my review here. My personal rating for this book is 4 stars, almost all of which because of Eve’s storyline. I also enjoyed the Author’s Notes about the real-life Alice Network at the end of the book. I would have rounded my rating up to 4.5 stars if it weren’t for the totally unnecessary reference to the hunting of animals within the Epilogue.

Bewitched by Books Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️