Today, I'm delighted to share my review of The Traitor Beside Her, a gripping WWII novel by Mary Anna Evans. If you love intriguing spy stories, don't miss it!
It's currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Make sure to catch up with the other posts over the coming weeks here.
The Traitor Beside Her
Mary Anna Evans
We are thrown straight into the action when we find Justine Byrne, our main protagonist, working undercover at a steelworks. She's a fairly new recruit, sent to uncover secret plots. But when she reports a suspicious scene, she's in for a surprise.
Soon after, she is sent on a new mission, to Arlington Hall, the base where every day thousands of coded messages are decoded by a brainy team of workers. But it appears, there's a spy – and murderer – in their midst, selling secrets to the enemy and removing anyone in their way.
On her arrival, Justine – despite her disguise as a drab young woman who arrived from the countryside to do her bit for the war as a secretary – is immediately recognised by an old friend of her academic parents, and with her cover blown, she starts working for the old scientist. As a result, her friend and co-undercover agent, Georgette, takes up her original place.
Soon, the young women find plenty of suspects, but without any proof, their hands are tied. Jerry, another member of their team, is also brought in, to keep an eye on them and their safety, and through Jerry, Justine manages to smuggle important details to their boss, Paul, a man with two faces, who she feels drawn to, despite his, at times, rather cold, professional persona.
But soon, more girls disappear, and a renewed sense of urgency pushes Justine and Georgette on to take greater risks. When Justine herself comes under attack, the team go on the offensive. But will they secure the spy before another woman loses her life? Find out!
From the start, we find that Justine is a resourceful young woman, not lacking in courage or ingenuity. She has her moments of uncertainty, which makes her human, and we also see glimpses of her growing feelings for Paul, her boss at the agency. She is a likeable character, honest (despite living a lie, something she berates herself for at times), and reliable. But also not adverse to taking risks, which lead her into trouble.
Georgette, her sidekick, is from a different social background, and a far more earthier character than Justine. She's very down to earth. This leads to interesting exchanges between the young women. Georgette feels drawn to wheelchair-bound Jerry.
Jerry and Paul are the other members of the immediate team, with Paul being the boss – the connector between the team members and the top of the agency. We see him under pressure, which is portrayed very well, as agencies have to show results.
There is a plethora of other characters, at Arlington Hall. Some become friendly, others not so. It can be a little confusing, keeping track of who is who, and I had to retrace my steps occasionally, especially when the plot refers to the many women working on the site. But this doesn't detract from the overall story, which twists its way to a satisfying – and surprising – conclusion.
The setting itself is realistic, and we get a true sense of the important site, the necessary security, the heightened sense of secrecy – even between friends – and the life spent uncovering messages that may be depressing, shocking, and even dangerous. There is a strong, realistic spectre of war hanging over the institution and their inhabitants, although they do try to have fun occasionally. But there's always the niggling reminder that, in other parts of the world, people die that very moment.
The Traitor Beside Her is an intriguing, clever murder mystery set in the dangerous world of decryption and spies. It got me hooked right from the beginning, and I read on deep into the night.
Oh, and I do hope we'll see more of Justine and her brilliant team in future...
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Blurb:
"Evans's characters are vividly drawn, elevating this story and its revelations about women's little-celebrated contributions to the war effort."
~ Washington Post
"An exciting read with historical tidbits, a hint of danger, and a touch of romance."
~ Kirkus Reviews
The Traitor Beside Her is an intricately plotted WWII espionage novel weaving together mystery, action, friendship, and a hint of romance perfect for fans of The Rose Code and Code Name Helene.
Justine Byrne can't trust the people working beside her. Arlington Hall, a former women's college in Virginia has been taken over by the United States Army where hundreds of men and women work to decode countless pieces of communication coming from the Axis powers.
Justine works among them, handling the most sensitive secrets of World War II—but she isn't there to decipher German codes—she's there to find a traitor.
Justine keeps her guard up and her ears open, confiding only in her best friend, Georgette, a fluent speaker of Choctaw who is training to work as a code talker. Justine tries to befriend each suspect, believing that the key to finding the spy lies not in cryptography but in understanding how code breakers tick. When young women begin to go missing at Arlington Hall, her deadline for unraveling the web of secrets becomes urgent and one thing remains clear: a single secret in enemy hands could end thousands of lives.
"A fascinating and intelligent WWII home front story."
~ Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author for The Physicists’ Daughter
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About the Author:
Mary Anna Evans
Mary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her Justine Byrne series, which began with The Physicists’ Daughter and continues with her new book, The Traitor Beside Her. She describes Justine as “a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker.”
Mary Anna’s crime fiction has earned recognition that includes two Oklahoma Book Awards, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, and the Benjamin Franklin Award, and she co-edited the Edgar-nominated Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie.
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