Who is Vera Kelly? is a spy novel with a difference - one where you really get to know the character and delve into an unhappy family history. Rosalie Knecht gives us a convincing Cold War scenario with a naive operative spying on government officials and radical students in Bueno Aires in the time leading up to a military coup. With her CIA handler far away and no friends in a politically volatile city, Vera is alone and in danger, with no-one to trust. What happens after the coup is a surprise to her and to the reader. Vera is a compelling queer heroine and I'm happy to learn that there is a sequel to this book as I'm keen to know what she does next.

I really enjoyed this - I went in with no expectations, and it was very nearly a 5 star read for me. It scratched a very particular itch - when I was going through my Le Carre obsession (did it ever stop?) I searched desperately for a female-led, queer espionage story. My searching at the time was unfruitful - I'm very glad that that is no longer the case.
The scenic descriptions are really visceral - as are the representations of food (this made me hungry several times).
The only downfall is that, although it's 240 pages, Who Is Vera Kelly? reads almost like a novella - it feels short. This does lead to some pacing issues.
Overall, I was enthralled by Vera, and hearing her story. I've already pre-ordered the sequel, and can't wait to see what our heroine gets up to next.

This book is not what I thought it would be. It is more of a literary character led book than a spy novel which did disappoint me initially. It also started strangely as if the first chapter was missing and I kept reading to try to understand what was going on. So after starting off as if I was missing the start of the book and not being what I expected, it did eventually find its footing but I found the writing style confusing and I kept putting it down, reading another book then picking it back up again just to get it finished. Its has an interesting main character in Vera, a great setting and eventually a good story but it just didn't work for me.
I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exciting and refreshing book. Totally different to my usual style but a great read all the same.

I really enjoyed reading this little novel about a lesbian spy in the 50s/60s. There were some great characters and the scenes were quite vivid. The gayness wasn't too overt that it becomes lesbian erotica but was subtle enough to be enjoyed by a WLW such as myself!

My only critique would be that the actual plot wasn't as pronounced or clear as it should have been. We vaguely begin to understand why Vera is in Argentina, but the story wasn't quite fully fleshed out. It left me wondering a bit about why she was chosen and was there.

However, overall, a thoroughly enjoyable book and would recommend to anyone looking for an easy read!

trigger warning
<spoiler> homophobia, racism, being held hostage, trauma, grief, familial estrangement, domestic abuse, gaslighting </spoiler>

Vera Kelly is a spy. Her current post brought her to Buenos Aires, to keep an eye on possible KGB agents in an unstable political climate.

I didn't like this. I got the kind of feeling that Vera is a very passive person, despite her doing things, making decisions. Maybe that's because of the ending of the book, which was mostly waiting in agitation.

I think you need a basic level of American patriotism, which I as a Middle European person don't have, to understand the politics. I mean... the urge to go out and save other nations from themselves, or just thwart people who you think might be communists but really have no reason to believe so. This book had me in a constant state of "what, why?".
It's this "you're not for us so you must be against us" without any kind of nuance which feels kinda juvenile. The world is made of more than of black and white.

Apart from that, due to trauma and the need to force herself to do things she'd rather not, Vera comes across as numb. Since I, myself, am kinda numb at the moment due to bad mental health, this was not a good combination.

Added on to that, if you're a spy you have to focus on your work. There is nothing but work, you're a workaholic by default, which means we have no real bonus through the setting or Vera's personal interests because there were none.

This was bland and I'm already forgetting details despite just having finished this.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Who is Vera Kelly is such a wonderful and refreshing read.
Or let's say it would have been, had I been able to properly read instead of just having random sentences thrown into one long word - after 40% I had grown bored of trying to untwirl the sentence into proper words. It grieves me to rate this book so low, because I really enjoyed the content and setting; I adore a good spy novel and if it's a sapphic one, I am a very happy human being. But that formatting issue really irked me and I regrett not finishing this book. Maybe I am quitter or a wuss for not trying to finish despite the technical error, but honestly? I don't care. I couldn't properly focus on the book and for me, that's a deal-breaker. Even if I enjoyed the content so far.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just begin with saying that is you liked Atomic Blonde, you'll like this book. It's a spy novel set in the period of history, in which all the coolest spy stories are set-- the Cold War. This time it's not Berlin, but Buenos Aires. I don't know how accurate the descriptions of the city are, I've never been, but it didn't seem to be exoticized, which is always a great start.

The main character is Vera, a mysterious and badass American operative, who describes herself as left wing and who has a mysterious past involving a suicide attempt and possibly a girl.

It's one of those books that are exactly what they are supposed to be. And I can appreciate that. The title poses a question and the story answers it.

The current events--and when I say current, I mean happening in Argentina in 1966--are mixed with flashbacks from late 1950s and early 1960s America, through which Vera's past is explaine. Those flashbacks slowed the novel down, but I didn't mind--they offered insight into who Vera is and that was ultimately the point of the book--discovering who she is. The book is extremely slow-burn, so don't expect to find out until you reach the last page.

And there are book club questions at the end of the book! I always appreciate that, because such a simple thing makes some book club organizer's job easier.

All in all, it's a solid 4,5-star read. Maybe even 5. I liked it 👍👍👍

"I lived for nearly a decade as if I had come from nowhere. But there are so many ways to cross a border."

Set in two timelines, we follow both Vera's past in New York City, as she moves away from her family home, integrates herself into New York's underground gay scene, and works nights at a local radio station, and then her life in Argentina as a spy for the CIA in the 60s - wiretapping congressmen and infiltrating a group of student radicals as a governmental coup becomes more likely.

What I Liked:
- Easy read, kept my attention.
- Although it was about the lead-up to the Cold War, and my historical knowledge is poor, it was written in a very accessible way - it never felt boring or condescending or info-dumpy.
- The exploration of sexuality between the 50s and 60s was interesting - if sad.
- The writing was atmospheric throughout - I felt like I could see Buenos Aires.
- The tension in the latter half was excellent.

What I Didn't Love:
- Sometimes the writing style felt overly simplistic. While I definitely appreciated it at times (war-stuff, am looking at you), at other times it felt a little too simple.
- I wish the flashbacks were longer - I wanted more about Vera coming of age, the exploration of her sexuality, and of her being recruited by the CIA.

Overall this was a well-paced, engaging, sapphic spy novel. I loved Vera, I loved the setting. The conclusion is action packed and you'll feel like you've been holding your breath for the last 50 pages - the stifling and 'stuck' situation is written so well. Would definitely recommend.

Big thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Verve for the eARC. I believe this one's been out in the US for a while, but it's now available to purchase in the UK too!

Vera Kelly is posing as a Canadian student in Buenos Aires in 1966, but she is actually working for the CIA, monitoring the regime for alleged KGB links. She is using her technical skills to plant bugs and monitor conversations, and forming relationships with students who are suspect. However, when the coup that everyone is expecting comes, here escape does not go to plan and she is forced to improvise.

While most of the plot of Who Is Vera Kelly? occurs in the Buenos Aires story, there are alternating chapters giving vignettes of her life from adolescence in the US up to the point that she travels to Argentina. These show the genesis of Vera Kelly as spy, as she comes to terms with a troubled family history and her growing awareness of her attraction to women.

I love the distinctive voice in this novel. The writing is beautifully understated. There are also some wonderfully atmospheric descriptions of Buenos Aires and of Vera’s time in New York, struggling to connect to the lesbian scene. You see how her earlier struggles to blend in have shaped her ability to adopt different personas as a spy, and her intuitive grasp of the loneliness and sense of estrangement of others.

I think it will appeal more to literary than thriller readers. While Vera does demonstrate her tradecraft, there aren’t any major twists or revelations, either in personal or political terms. The second half of the novel, when the tension should have ramped up, actually felt less interesting. I was also left with one or two questions about the plot. However, there is a growing sense of the cruelty and absurdity of the players across the political divide.

Who Is Vera Kelly? is a literary coming-of-age story, told with spare, stylish prose and a vivid sense of period and place. There is now a second novel, Vera Kelly is not a Mystery, in which she becomes a private investigator in New York. While this book doesn’t obviously feel like a series opener, I’d be interested to see where Vera Kelly goes next.
*
I received a copy of Who Is Vera Kelly? from the publisher via Netgalley.

This is an enjoyable, well-written novel about Vera Kelly, a surveillance operative in Argentina in 1966. Told with a timeline in the present and one starting around a decade earlier and closing the gap between then and the present story.

There were some lovely descriptions in the novel, and I found Vera to be a memorable protagonist. Smart but not able to do much about some of the situations she finds herself in, a bit heartless when necessary but ultimately a resourceful and talented woman. She finds herself drawn to emotionally unavailable women for a lot of this novel and her first visit to an underground lesbian bar in New York is skillfully rendered showing a woman who wants to fit in but doesn't quite know how to go about it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was disappointed by this book, not helped by the ARC that I received that contained such bad text placing that it made the book much harder to read. It's a slow burn of a spy novel set in Argentina in 1966, I was hoping for intrigue and glamour, given the cover. It's engaging enough but maybe get a print copy.

With thanks to the publisher and net galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Who is Vera Kelly by Rosalie Knecht

Synopsis
A young undercover spy is forced to improvise after her handler goes dark during the Argentinian coup in 1966. In 1957, Vera Kelly is a suicidal teenage girl living in Chevy Chase, Maryland, struggling to come to terms with her sexuality; she's sent to juvenile detention after multiple conflicts with her mother.

Review
I chose this book based on the front cover for my reading challenge so I didnt know what it was about before I started.
It was a slow burner, quite well written and Vera was a great character.
Overall fairly enjoyable but didnt wow me.

Rated 3/5

I was attracted to this book due to the concept of it being 1960s spy thriller a twist of the lesbian as a spy. It didn't This book is shorter than I expected it to be however, I do feel that the author could have had many opportunities to go into more detail and extend the story, for example in creating more of a detailed setting and the chance to look deeper into the sexuality of the main character. The narration of the story feels more like a memoir as if the author has known this spy in the past which was interesting and unexpected. It was a book which i felt moved slowly, which is not the expected pace for a spy book.

<i>3.75</i>

<b> Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an e-Arc of this book on NetGalley! </b>

<i>Who Is Vera Kelly? </i> is a spy thriller following Vera Kelly, a young adult on a mission in Argentina, attempting to blend in with the gay student crowd and work surveillance on the uprising on the horizon. Despite being described as a thriller, this novel is - in my opinion - more of a character piece, it's more about seeing how Vera acts and works whilst maintaining her cover; reminiscent of the style of </i> The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo</i>.

The book is told in dual timelines, the 1966 Argentina and flashbacks to Vera's childhood, which I found to be extremely interesting and gave Vera such depth and connection. Seeing the ways in which her young romances echoed her later decisions was perfectly done. The whole cast of characters was really interesting, particularly Victoria - the only thing I would have loved to see is some of Victoria's POV, I think that would have been really interesting.

As someone who doesn't typically read spy-related novels, I found <i>Who Is Vera Kelly? </i> to be a perfect entry into the genre, bridging the gap between dramatic fiction and the high-action spy thrillers you might expect.

I would highly recommend this book for readers looking to enter the spy-thriller genre, and fans of the style of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I expected the book to start in NYC, because the summary says so, but the book actually jumps back and forth between Vera's teenage years up to her NYC move and the "newer" (1965/1966) time line.
Vera is in Argentina for the CIA trying to sniff out communists.
I loved Vera as a protagonist, and was very disheartened by the reality of a lesbian woman in the 60s who could be fired just for loving who she loved. I know it's still not the case everywhere in the world and that is so so sad.
I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good spy-novel. During this unending epidemic, it's so lovely to be able to travel through books.
It's a historical novel, though I am not familiar with Argentina in that time, so I can't say if it's accurate but from what I googled it seemed to be.
The book made me want to read the sequel straight away, which in a different way maybe was even better.

Who is Vera Kelly?

Well she is lots of things: high school dropout, teenage delinquent chain, smoking operative for the CIA in Argentina during the 1967 military coup.

Which makes her remarkable as she settles into life in Argentina well wiretapping politicians and pretending to be a student so she can infiltrate possible communists.

When the coup does happen though Vera is cast adrift and has to manage her wits as a foreigner to get out of Argentina.

What comes out of Rosalie’s novel is not the Argentinian coup as the politics are almost incidental and she doesn’t delve to deeply into them. There is the Argentinian Government, the military who want to take control, communists who are everywhere the Americans who are suspicious of everyone. What comes out is a character study of the people who lived the coup who were still trying to get around their lives. There is Jazz, chain-smoking, record players and shock horror miniskirts all under the might of the military junta.

Vera is confident, sassy and well able to look after herself. How she gets out of Argentina is almost hilarious without delving into slapstick or farce. (Bear in mind I am British, and I can remember Argentinian foreign policy in the early 1980s). And what emerges here is a 1960s spy novel with very rare female protagonists.

Book review - 3.5/5

If you are planning on reading a super action packed 007esque spy story; this book may not be for you. Knecht focuses heavily on the quieter, more calculated surveillance kind of spy missions. Perhaps a more realistic depiction of spy work but not exactly enthralling content!

Brief summary: Knecht intertwines two perspectives throughout the novel, flitting between the present day in which Vera is on a mission in 1966 in Argentina to wiretap a Argentine congressman as well as befriend some student activists and her younger years in America. It is a meticulous character study of a woman who struggles to properly fit in as both a spy and as an individual. Knecht also provides the reader with an interesting overview of historical events in Argentina with depictions of the political and social turbulence brought about by Onganía’s coup.

I had done what I always vow not to do and that’s read the reviews before starting the book! A lot of the reviews complained how this was a slow story with very little action. It is, indeed, the case but nevertheless I really enjoyed it. I think because I wasn’t expecting a sexy, action packed 007 storyline I wasnt set up for disappointment.

Knecht focuses all of her novel on developing Vera’s character and I absolutely adored this. I really liked seeing her naivety in her younger years juxtaposed by her skilled management of the Argentine mission. Additionally, I really appreciate a new spin on the story of an LGBT woman. Instead of being a homosexual who doesn’t fit into a society in which she is outnumbered by heterosexuals; Knecht presents us with a gay woman who feels she struggles to fit into homosexual society. She is depicted as certain of her homosexuality but uncomfortable in trying to immerse herself into the gay scene. I just thought this was a nice alternative to other LGBTQ+ novels I’ve read. Unfortunately, this is not central to the novel’s overall plot and I would’ve enjoyed seeing this explored a bit more and in further detail. Often romantic encounters are left unexplored or cut short.

Admittedly, I don’t know much about Argentinian history during 1960s so sometimes the historical facts that are referenced went slightly over my head. I think there was enough to get a very vague idea but I feel like if you don’t know much about communism in Cuba, its spread to South America and the Cold War that you might get a little bit lost.

I found I got very lost when reading the first 50 pages of the book. Initially, I really hated the constant flitting between past and present. I found it very disorienting - like every time I got used to one time zone it would change to the next. But after a while I got the hang of it. I would’ve liked the chapters set in the past to be a bit longer. They were often only a page or two long.

I found it very hard to keep track of all the different characters! There were so many! I think it would’ve helped me if I had done a character list whilst reading but that would’ve detracted from the story. I felt the secondary characters were all inconsequential that it was hard to tell them apart.

Altogether, a very in-depth character study of a female spy who lives on the fringes of society. The book was well written and really picked up once I was 50% of the way through. Although, I would’ve liked to have explored Vera’s sexuality in more depth and I think there could’ve been fewer characters as I felt they just made the plot unnecessarily complicated.

I love this cover so much, and I think it's very apt, because this is much more of a character piece than a spy thriller. It's a compelling, readable story.

In the back of my copy of Who Is Vera Kelly? is one of those question sets designed to guide a reading group. One of the questions which caught my eye was ‘Lots of girls grew up reading Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew novels. Why do you think there are so few adult spy novels starring female spies?’.

It is a good question and the reason I was drawn to it is because the experience of reading Who Is Vera Kelly? was a very unusual one; firstly because there are so few female spies in adult novels, and because there are even fewer queer ones. In Who Is Vera Kelly?, Rosalie Knecht has created a world that manages to feel very familiar whilst also being fresh and exciting merely by who her main character is.

Who Is Vera Kelly? follows our eponymous hero on her first big mission in 1960s Beunos Aires, as she attempts to root out a KGB plot in the tumultuous Argentine political scene, all whilst posing as a Canadian student. Interspersed with these scenes are flashbacks to her life leading up to how she was recruited to the CIA, highlighting her poor relationship with her mother and the friendship with Joanne which seems to have been the main driver in many of the decisions Vera made along the way. It’s a relatively simple plot, not overly complicated as a lot of spy novels can be, but no less of a page turner because of it.

Where Knecht’s real strength lies though is creating the world of her novel. When I was younger, I was devoted to Graham Greene, and Who Is Vera Kelly? gave me a lot of the same vibes as reading his work. The sense of place is very strong, with sharp observations of Argentine life and the people who surround Vera. It is immersive writing in the very best way; not over descriptive, sketching in just enough details to paint a picture without being flowery. Knecht handles the world through Vera’s eyes as though she has been doing it for a long time.

And of course, what is really a bit of a revelation is that we are looking through Vera’s eyes at all. As the reading guide question says, there are not many novels like this with female protagonists, especially written in this way which seemingly deliberately invokes the tone of some of the very best spy novels of the past. The reason that this world feels familiar to me is because of the legacy of literature in which Who Is Vera Kelly? can fit, but the freshness comes from Vera being a woman, and being queer too.

In fact, I would say that more of Vera’s character comes from being queer than it does from being a woman. She knows how to negotiate the world as a woman; she is self-assured and confident. We could have been easily treated to any number of scenes in which Vera is forced to be afraid of the men around her, but I can’t think of a single time that happened in this novel. She glides through even the most dangerous situations at least appearing to be in control to the people around her.

No, Vera’s true struggle comes in her sexuality. She is afraid to find the underground gay scene in Beunos Aires because that is the thing that could leave her open and vulnerable if anyone finds out. In the flashback scenes, we watch a young Vera first discover and then explore her sexuality. She is very much enduring the early queer experience of not knowing why she is so sad to be separated from her friend, or wondering why her letters to the same friend look like love letters.

The thing that makes Who Is Vera Kelly? such a great read is that we need queer stories exactly like it. Coming out stories have their place, of course, but we are in desperate need always of stories which do not have sexuality or gender identity as the main focus, but rather as part of the rich tapestry of a character, just as in novels with cishet main characters. By invoking these old classic spy thrillers in her tone and world building, but introducing a character who is a queer woman to explore it, Knecht has done a great job of providing exactly one of these highly necessary stories.