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A review by marilynw
An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson
3.0
An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson
Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s but his parents are able to get him sent to the US in the late 30s, as the noose tightens around the Jewish community. Nathan's dad is a theoretical scientist, and his work and the protection he thinks he gets from the work he does, keeps him from getting the rest of his family out of harms way before its too late.
In the US, Nathan joins the military and he's specially trained to lead others through German territory since he knows the language and the area. He's pulled away from his unit for a special mission. He's to escort a French speaking scientist into Germany so they can help a nuclear physicist defect. What this physicist knows could be very important to the Allies war program and the Manhattan Project.
This story seems more like a cozy WWII spy story than most historical fiction that I read. We get a lot of history and science and it's heavy handed as characters will bombard each other with facts that often the other characters already know. Many facts are given to us in an almost infomercial manner. Both Nathan and Dr. Allison Fisher, the scientist he escorts into Germany, seem to be more immature than their twenty eight years of age when it comes to decision making.
Nathan can't remember to call Allison by her alias and calls her Allison, instead. He gives away vital information that puts the people fighting for our side in great danger, all because he wants people to contact him about his family. Allison does a little sightseeing on her own one morning, they both do more sightseeing together, and they manage to get into situations they should not be in because they aren't discrete. They don't focus on the mission but instead stray off course.
The story is clunky and the characters didn't seem to act naturally to me. Nathan seems so ill suited for what he is sent to do but then everything seems a bit off. I do appreciated how any attraction between the characters is handled.
Pub September 13, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s but his parents are able to get him sent to the US in the late 30s, as the noose tightens around the Jewish community. Nathan's dad is a theoretical scientist, and his work and the protection he thinks he gets from the work he does, keeps him from getting the rest of his family out of harms way before its too late.
In the US, Nathan joins the military and he's specially trained to lead others through German territory since he knows the language and the area. He's pulled away from his unit for a special mission. He's to escort a French speaking scientist into Germany so they can help a nuclear physicist defect. What this physicist knows could be very important to the Allies war program and the Manhattan Project.
This story seems more like a cozy WWII spy story than most historical fiction that I read. We get a lot of history and science and it's heavy handed as characters will bombard each other with facts that often the other characters already know. Many facts are given to us in an almost infomercial manner. Both Nathan and Dr. Allison Fisher, the scientist he escorts into Germany, seem to be more immature than their twenty eight years of age when it comes to decision making.
Nathan can't remember to call Allison by her alias and calls her Allison, instead. He gives away vital information that puts the people fighting for our side in great danger, all because he wants people to contact him about his family. Allison does a little sightseeing on her own one morning, they both do more sightseeing together, and they manage to get into situations they should not be in because they aren't discrete. They don't focus on the mission but instead stray off course.
The story is clunky and the characters didn't seem to act naturally to me. Nathan seems so ill suited for what he is sent to do but then everything seems a bit off. I do appreciated how any attraction between the characters is handled.
Pub September 13, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.