Welcome to my tour stop for this new release from one
of my favorite authors! Find my full review below...
A Shadow in Moscow:
A Cold War Novel
By Katherine Reay
Historical Fiction, Dual Timeline, Espionage Thrillers, Inspirational Fiction
Paperback, Audiobook & eBook, 384 Pages
June 13, 2023 by Harper Muse
Summary
In the thick of the Cold War, a betrayal at the highest level risks the lives of two courageous female spies: MI6’s best Soviet agent and the CIA’s newest Moscow recruit.
Vienna, 1954
After losing everyone she loves in the final days of World War II, Ingrid Bauer agrees to a hasty marriage with a gentle Soviet embassy worker and follows him home to Moscow. But nothing within the Soviet Union’s totalitarian regime is what it seems, including her new husband, whom Ingrid suspects works for the KGB. Inspired by her daughter’s birth, Ingrid risks everything and reaches out in hope to the one country she understands and trusts—Britain, the country of her mother’s birth. She begins passing intelligence to MI6, navigating a world of secrets and lies, light and shadow.
Moscow, 1980
A student in the Foreign Studies Initiative, Anya Kadinova finishes her degree at Georgetown University and boards a flight home to Moscow, leaving behind the man she loves and a country she’s grown to respect. Though raised by dedicated and loyal Soviet parents, Anya soon questions an increasingly oppressive and paranoid regime at the height of the Cold War. Then the KGB murders her best friend and Anya chooses her side. Working in a military research lab, she relays Soviet plans and schematics to the CIA in an effort to end the 1980s arms race.
The past catches up to the present when an unprecedented act of treachery threatens all agents operating within Eastern Europe, and both Ingrid and Anya find themselves in a race for their lives against time and the KGB.
Praise for the Book
“In her nail-biting latest . . . Reay builds an immersive world behind the Iron Curtain, full of competing loyalties and a constant, chilling sense of paranoia. Readers will be enthralled.”— Publishers Weekly
”Rich with fascinating historical detail and unforgettable characters!”— Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times Bestselling author of The Wedding Veil
· “…intrigue, twists and turns, acts of bravery and sacrificial love, and an unforgettable cold war setting with clever daring women at the helm.”— Susan Meissner, USA Today Bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things
(Affiliate links included.)
My Review
A SHADOW IN MOSCOW is one of those stories that is poignant as it shows the past while also being very applicable today. It switches time periods from the end of WWII to the 1980s until both storylines overlap. The story has a family aspect with a touch of faith and romance. However, the main focus are two women spies and their experiences under Soviet rule and the risks they take to fight against what they feel is wrong. It's a heartfelt story and suspenseful from beginning to end.
I loved getting to know both Ingrid and Anya as their storylines unfold. They both make some rash decisions, but they also exemplify the bravery and danger spies undertook during this era. There were lots of emotions and the suspense definitely kept me engaged all the way to the end. I thought the author did a really good job of showing the different ideologies as well as the historical background and implications of both. It was a learning experience while also being entertaining. The first half was especially enjoyable, as was the intense conclusion.
I also had a few issues with the story. One was the repetition in some places that wasn't needed. The other was that as a reader I was being told things, almost like reading an historical nonfiction, in the second half of the book. Time was passing and it seemed that the writing turned to summarizing facts instead of continuing to immerse me in the story and these characters' lives.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was an intense read. It was also heartwarming, educational and entertaining. A story that gives readers a glimpse into espionage during the cold war and maintains the suspense from the first page to the last.
Content: Some references to marital affairs, torture and violence, but clean.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Austenprose PR, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Other Books by the Author & Harper Muse
(Linked to my review.)
About the Author
Do you enjoy reading historical fiction or dual timeline stories? What most interests you about this one?
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