Hello and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for City of Spies by Mara Timon. Thanks so much to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for the invite and to the publishers for my ARC via NetGalley. Before I share my review here’s what the book is all about:

From Goodreads: “LISBON, 1943. After escaping from Nazi-Occupied France, SOE agent Elisabeth de Mornay, codename Cecile, receives new orders: she must infiltrate high society in neutral Lisbon and find out who is leaking key information to the Germans about British troop movements. As Solange Verin, a French widow of independent means, she will be able to meet all the rich Europeans who have gathered in Lisbon to wait out the war. One of them is a traitor and she must find out who before more British servicemen die. Complications arise when ‘Solange’ comes to the attention of German Abwehr officer, Major Eduard Graf. As they get to know each other, she struggles to keep her lies close to the truth. But in a city that is filled with spies, how can she tell who is friend, or foe?”

Available from: HiveWaterstones AmazonAudible UKGoogle Play Books

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My Review

I absolutely loved this book, a wonderful espionage story set in Europe during World War Two!

I knew a little bit about Lisbon being a city full of spies during World War Two, from reading Solitaire, the fifth book in the Clara Vine series by Jane Thynne. I didn’t realise to what extent the government of Portugal played though, keeping all the different spy networks under surveillance, and benefiting from them.

Elizabeth de Mornay was a fantastic main character, who I rooted for right from the start of the book. I loved following her escape from Paris, through France to Lisbon. It was an intense journey she took, both physically and emotionally.

There were so many twists and turns in this book, with some brilliant unexpected moments, that had me gasping with shock at times. The author certainly knew how to surprise me!

There were lots of dodgy characters, and situations that had my heart in my mouth hoping that Elizabeth would be safe and not discovered by her enemies! Who exactly who were her enemies? Who could she trust?

A brilliant novel that I thoroughly recommend and can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next!

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About The Author

Mara Timon PhotoRaised in New York, Mara Timon moved to the UK almost 20 years ago; and fell in love with London and the way it melds the old and the new. Growing up with one parent fascinated with literature and the other with history, she started writing from an early age, although it wasn’t until a programme on the BBC caught her interest, and one ‘what if’ led to another, and another, that her first book began to take shape. Mara lives in London, and is working on her next novel. When not writing, she enjoys running, Pilates, travelling, and spending time with friends and family.
You can follow Mara on Twitter, Facebook and through her website.