Cooper is probably the most unlikely spy ever, and certainly far from the brightest. Through a series of unfortunate events (and inordinate naivety), he finds himself approached/manoeuvred into offers he’s unable to refuse, not only by the Soviets, but also the British. As a result, he somehow ends up working for both sides, and not even as a double agent, which may have (at least partially) made up for his previous incompetence.
I’m not sure whether this story is supposed to be a farce, but at times it certainly reads like one.
There are quite a number of characters who come and go throughout the novel, occasionally this was confusing. The author also has a habit of name-dropping various streets around Europe, which was a level of detail I found unnecessary at times.
As a spy novel, this lacked the element of suspense I was hoping for, and there didn’t seem to be a structure to it, or a specific plot. I wouldn’t describe it as character-driven either, although Cooper did become a little less naive towards the end of the story, but the character arc was minimal.
Without a clearly discernible plot (other than will the incompetent Cooper, by some miracle, evade identification) the end was somewhat sudden.
Overall, this felt very much like the author’s opportunity to showcase their own knowledge and interest in European cities, and the relationship between the UK and the Soviet Union in the period leading up to WWII.
I’m at a bit of a loss as to how to rate this one, as it wasn’t uninteresting and did hold my attention, but didn’t live up to my expectations. So I’m going with 3.5 stars, with thanks to NetGalley and WF Howes Ltd for the chance to listen to an ARC.
Every Spy a Traitor is out now.

Every Spy A Traitor by Alex Gerlis and narrated by Phillipe Bosher is an intriguing thriller set in the pre-WWII era during movements and machinations in Europe, under the nose of British intelligence, still trying to ascertain who is the primary foe, Stalin or Hitler. Added to this, there is a mole in the ranks on the brink of jeopardizing the entire British espionage and intelligence operation

The premise was very clever, the MMC travelling to Europe to write a novel, not with any intention of getting embroiled in espionage on a global level. Well written, unique and dynamic, a compelling listen

A challenging narration of a lot of different accents and personalities and Phillipe Bosher puts in a great performance

Thank you to Netgalley, W.F. Howes Ltd, the author Alex Gerlis and narrator Phillipe Bosher for this ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I've never read any espionage type of book before, so when I saw this on netgalley, I felt drawn to give the spy genre a go.

This novel as the description explains is pre world war 2 begining 1937 where an english man Charles Cooper is travelling around Europe to write his own novel and has become asked to simply take notes and pictures during his travels to which he replies you mean become a spy...!! Fully aware he decides this really shouldn't be too difficult considering his travels are innocent right although he does worry he may end up in jail or otherwise he has agreed to go ahead with the plan.

Throughout this plot there are various twists and turns simple things such as forgetting he is now an irish man not English and letting these things slip due to his own niavety when he meets various characters along his journey in Europe. Some situations that really leave him in some tricky situations that he just doesn't seem to quite ever learn the lesson of being aware and cautious even though he believed at times he was keeping to himself. He was briefed on how to gather Intel, etc, which in his eyes he saw this had been more of an entrapment rather than a recruitment process.

He thereafter takes on the identity of his grandfather to get away from the spy lofe he had been living to end the trace of which he had any involvement when he moved back to London where he was trying to write his novel. He begins to get pulled into things he should have stayed away from, but in Charles Cooper style he lets his curiosity and naivety take over. Then of course it doesn't take long for things to take a turn for him which lead to events he couldn't have expected nor did he wish to be part of but for him the life he began travelling in Europe when he agreed to be a spy set out the rest of his path. Once again he finds himself in a situation he feels he is trapped without a way out without a choice being recruited by MI5 in London to infiltrate, becoming aware if your not an asset you are a liability.

Who is Archie? This first book is setting the scene perfectly for a series with the initial outlay of Charles, code name Bertie now searching for another spy known as a traitor known as Archie in the later chapters....

Oh Charles Cooper how did you ever find yourself in these situations, there is a little humour in the way he trys to navigate his way through all these situations by minimising the severity or danger at times as a coping mechanism.

The narration is done well overall (side note below) and I think along with book cover gives the feeling of black noire movie when you begin to listen to the audio it takes you to that kind of vision until Charles moves back to London giving more of now feeling even though it is still based in the same timeline.

For me personally I don't think this is my usual genre and therefore the story didn't quite hit the mark for me however if this is your point of interest I do believe you would enjoy it alot more.

There has clearly been alot of research went into this book as the detail of this timeline and what was happening around these years from the little I do know is impeccable from this perspective I'd round up to 3.5🌟

NARRATION * Side note at chapter 21, the beginning, there is a repeat of the same sentence*

With thanks and gratitude to Netgalley and W.F. Howes Ltd for the opportunity to listen in advance to this novel in return for a review, all of which are my own views.

Dexterity, suggestion, misdirection. Tools of a great spy, and a great spy novelist. Brilliantly plotted, and excellently set. I am already anticipating the next instalment.

I’ve been spellbound by this extraordinary tale. There’s such a mix of characters and locations and with Stalin undecided as to which country he may pledge support, he’s keen to rid his system of anyone under suspicion of anything. The plotting is superb as the story unwinds and the various central characters are assigned to new jobs in different places. It’s difficult to précis without detains the plot, but suffice to say, this is real edge of your seat spy thriller stuff. There’s a real air of authenticity and it was fascinating to see how the participants learned and developed their tradecraft. There are agents, double agents, an art historian, unwillingly recruited to further his research and then becomes inextricably embroiled in the spy game. Throughout there’s an all pervading sense of Europe building towards a world war and the quest for power is almost palpable.

I really enjoyed this. Skilled and realistic. Narration was good, with a variety of accents, some better than others. Must confess I was niggled by the narrator being unable to pronounce Caius correctly. It should be ‘keeez’ not Cayous as in this recording.