Happy book birthday! We share the same birthday 🙂
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review
DOUBLESPEAK – Alisa Smith
This is the follow up to Smith’s hugely popular SPEAKEASY
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars!
It’s no secret that I love historical fiction and I love mysteries, well when you combine them then it’s a surefire hit for me. DOUBLESPEAK by Alisa Smith hit the elements from both genres that I love. This is book two in the series, but I think this read just fine as a standalone because I never felt lost. I do, however, want to go back and pick up SPEAKEASY because I’ve heard nothing but incredible things.
We follow Lieutenant Lena Stillman from her code-breaking mission in Alaska to her recuse mission in Bangkok. She is reunited with pieces of her past and everyone’s alliances come into question as the story progresses. Smith does a great job setting the post-WWII scene for us and illustrating the tensions and adjustments to life now that the war has ended. We get such a wide range of scenery thrown at us and none of it feels disjointed. We are dropped in Alaska with Lena and then transported to exotic Bangkok as she embarks on her next mission.
This historical fiction/mystery novel also has the espionage and spy element that I love. I think the pacing stayed consistent and quick, the characterization was solid and I felt like I got to know Lena without having anything lost in translation (not having read book one), and there was plenty of action. Who can she trust? Who has ulterior motives? Who is good and who is bad? So many questions and I think Smith seamlessly wove this complex plot.
Overall, if you’re looking for a solid historical fiction meets espionage/spy mystery, then this is the book for you! Off to pick up book one in the Lena Stillman series and I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from Smith.
