Madeline Martin

From the New York Times bestselling author of "The Last Bookshop in London" comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America’s library spies of World War II.

Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.

Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.

As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.

A Novel of World War II

The Librarian Spy

J. L. Askew

Recently, on Goodreads, casting about for something to read, I saw this book. Although not prone to women’s fiction (other than Austen, the Brontës, and Eliot I read as a youth), a World War II spy tale was appealing.
The main character, Ava Harper, is a DC government librarian doing her best to support the war effort; “she had complied [with rationing] long before it became law. She gave blood [as often as allowed].” “Rather than dance and drink at the Elk Club like her roommates “, she worked with the Red Cross, “repairing uniforms, rolling bandages”, and doing anything else asked of her. 
Ava is reassigned to the American Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, a neutral country free of the war strictures she’d known at home. Her job is to gather intelligence by acquiring newspapers and photographing them on microfilm that is regularly sent back to the states for analysis.
Chapter two introduces another main character, Helene Belanger, a member of the French underground in Lyon, who runs a partisan press, disseminating news of Nazi atrocities to their countrymen. Before joining the resistance, Helene acted within societal norms in the role of a housewife. 
Early in the book Helene changes names (becoming Elaine), acquiring fake identity papers to avoid arrest. Other characters take on false names for the same reason, a necessity in the clandestine world of the French Resistance. The juxtaposition of identities could be confusing, but I kept it straight, taking notes.
Author Martin skillfully writes dual plots with each heroine’s story told in alternate chapters as the narrative threads gradually shift toward each other, becoming more entwined until the final chapters where the stories merge. The plots are based on the good hearted nature of the two main characters, both wanting to salvage lives from the suffering humanity they see around them every day. 
Elaine, in occupied France, sees Jews rounded up for the death camps and members of the resistance detained and tortured. Ava, in Lisbon, sees throngs of refugees in ever growing lines at the embassy, many who have sold everything in an effort to get a visa and gain transit to America. Both women carry separate burdens, Ava worried about her brother, a U.S. soldier on the front lines, and Elaine, fearful for her husband, arrested by the gestapo. The author writes delicately of relationships strained by the uncertainties of war and with sensitivity for her character’s feelings.
Eventually, Elaine is detained and brought before German torture master Werner. In her mind she slips back into the role of housekeeper, becoming steadfast, claiming she is a “mere housewife”, stating her chores one by one. 
Martin surprises us at every turn as the two heroines face setbacks and reversals in their individual quests to save lives and ease suffering. These events don’t feel contrived but rather have a sense of inevitability as the author skillfully resolves each reversal. 
In one instance the story seems to rely on a deus ex machina for resolution but even here Martin’s use of language keeps the reader from feeling cheated. As the two plots steer toward one, both heroines go through emotionally wrenching events, suffering losses themselves and among friends and companions. 
The author uses vivid prose to reveal the emotions of the two heroines, allowing the reader to feel what the characters are experiencing. In Ava and Elaine’s clandestine world, there are persons who may not be whom they appear to be. The possibility of deception is a constant worry for both women, especially Elaine who at any moment could be arrested and taken away to be tortured. The reader is right there, frayed nerves and all.
Martin artfully blends emotion with action, fulfilling Conrad’s dictum, “to make you hear, to make you feel – it is, before all, to make you see.” This is a modern day classic on more than one level. Reading Martin’s work gave me a better understanding of the female mind than John Gray’s pop psychology classic.

Carissa 

The Librarian Spy is a beautifully written and a very well thought out ans well-researched work of historical fiction that enlightened me about the important role of librarians during World War Il. This novel shows the power of words and their ability to bring fourth hope, even in the darkest hour and with all people all over the world.
The main character is Ava. a librarian in the United States who loves her work with the Library of Congress and with no trepidation she accepts an offer to work undercover gathering intelligence in Lisbon during the war.
Another important character is Elaine whose story line has much more tension and anxiety, as she is constantly at risk of discovery by Nazi forces. Ava's story has its own moments of intrigue and fear, though, and both women show courage in their own way. Both also had some moments where I just wanted to shout at the book and ask them what they were thinking, but perhaps bravery looks like taking a risk for a good cause that other people simply can't understand. And when we finally see how their paths cross late-ish in the book, the risks they've taken seem a lot more understandable. This is a great read and I would give it 4 Stars.

Cecilia

3.5 stars. Any read about Nazi Germany and WWII breaks my heart. I liked this book but didn’t love it. I wasn’t picking up on the emotions around the women that I was hoping the author would make me feel.

Cheri McElroy

Two women, one American, one French, are drawn into WWII as they do what they can to help their countries. Their stories intertwine as they seek to help a Jewish woman and her son.

I loved reading about Ava and Elaine. They were strong and vulnerable women.

Somya Verma

From the New York Times bestselling author of "The Last Bookshop in London" comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America's library spies of World War II.

Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.

Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It's a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.

As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.

The Librarian Spy A Novel of World War II

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