TITLE/AUTHOR: Northern Spy; Flynn Berry
PUBLISHER: Penguin Audio
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2021
GENRE: Fiction / Thriller
FORMAT: audio download / LENGTH: 7 hours 52 min.
SOURCE: Publisher download
SETTING(s): Northern Ireland
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: A spy story that offers something more, geared to appeal toward readers who usually avoid reading them.
BRIEF REVIEW: Tessa Daly is a single mother of an infant son, she is close to her mother and her sister Marian. Tessa lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland where the conflict between the British territory and the IRA has long been a part of life. Working as a BBC producer, one day Tessa sees video footage of a robbery with a suspect that appears to be her sister Marian, pulling a ski mask over her head. The authorities believe that Marian is part of the underground IRA. How can this be - Tessa knows her sister so well?
When the authorities come to Tessa to question her about her sister and later the truth comes out about Marian's seven year involvement, family ties are tested especially when Marian asks for her sister's help.
I liked the way this story was written with short chapters and a plot that keeps the story moving along at a quick pace. It's a story that gives the reader a lot to think about especially for someone like me who was pretty unfamiliar with the IRA conflict and the general political climate. It's a story that makes you think about the choices and sacrifices that one must sometimes make for the greater good. Tessa's character held my interest but, I found it a little hard to believe a young mother might take some of the risks she considered. I also thought that Marian's character could have been further explored. There were also a couple other characters that I would have liked to know more about like Seamus and the MI5 agent. Despite this I was happy I tried this one.
I was on the fence about this book but, once I began listening, it was hard to take a break. The audio was read by Katharine Lee McEwan whose accent seemed to made the story all the more compelling.
RATING: 4/5
Thanks go to Penguin Audio for allowing me access to this audio book at no charge in exchange for my unbiased review.
That one sounds really good. A friend of ours just finished narrating an audio book, a first for her.
ReplyDeleteWell, that is pretty cool. The right reader for the right story is so important to overall enjoyment for me.
DeleteI am glad to hear you liked this one as it is on my TBR shelf and I am looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be curious what you think of it. I put if off for several months as I wasn't sure the story would work for me bit, it was pretty good.
DeleteI love listening to audiobooks with authentic to the setting voices. Adding this to my Listen List!
ReplyDeleteMe too but, for some reason I have difficulties with an Australian accent.
DeleteI read it in print and liked it enough but probably would have enjoyed it more on audio. It was an interesting Reese pick.
ReplyDeleteI just saw her new pick, A Paper Palace - it's been on my TBR since I first heard about it.
DeleteWhile I don't really read spy stories I think because of the background on the IRA, I might find this interesting. I don't know much about the conflict either so this seems like a good introduction.
ReplyDeleteI really wasn't sure this one would be for me but, I'm glad I tried it.
DeleteMe either but, occasionally I like to try something outside of my comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteYou don't seem to hear as much about the IRA now as we once did, probably because there's so much else going on in the world. I guess they're still a hot-button issue. I will definitely be reading this as some point.
ReplyDeleteI agree that is what appealed to me about this one.
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