The Alice Network is one of the best war novels that I have read. That is saying a lot since that is a favorite genre of mine and I have read dozens of World War novels. Find out what makes this novel so special in our summary review.
The Alice Network Summary
The year is 1947 and Charlotte (Charlie) is going to Switzerland with her mother. She is an American college student who is pregnant and is going to get an abortion overseas. But Charlie has other plans that include finder her French Cousin Rose Fournier who disappeared during World War II.
Charlie and her mom stopover in England and Charlie slips away from her mother and locates Eve Gardiner. She is a World War I British spy whose name appeared on a report Charlie’s father received while trying to locate Rose.
The narration switches between Charlie and Rose and between WWI and after WWII. We learn of Eve’s undercover job as a waitress in France serving German soldiers. In the present tense, Charlie Eve, and her butler make their way across Europe while tracing Rose’s path.
The past and the present cross paths and Eve has to once again relive her past. But she is not the same person as before and must overcome her guilt and find out what actually happened during her undercover job.
Commentary
I have been coming across this novel for a while now which is why I find it hard to believe it was published in 2017. Maybe because it feels timeless and. the writing and storytelling is top notch. A modern classic if I say so myself.
What I loved about this book is that it isn’t what it seems at first. We are given a great mystery that gets more convuloted as the novel unfolds. What’s more, we begin to see how everything is tied and how it all connects to the present. Eve Gardiner is as strong as a protagonist as you will see in any novel and Quinn really makes her come to life.
The protagonists in this novel are well written and some of the best characters I’ve come across, male or female. Quinn’s plot and her spy tale are great but her characters make the story come to life. Without them, I would not have been as invested as I was.
Conclusion
There are a lot of novels that center around World War II but I think this book stands out in this crowded genre. The writing is great, the characters feel very real and the mystery keeps you hooked. This is writing at it’s finest and not many authors can do that regarding a complex plot and an interesting mix of characters.
I definitely recommend this novel to any fans of mystery and spy novels, World War 2 novel fans, and fans of great female protagonists. Great writing and great characters and the perfect mystery seldom come together like this but when they do, it makes for a great read.
One of my top reads in 2020!
This one is on my reading list. Excited for it!
You’ll enjoy it a lot